Something Old, Something New -

We took our first college tour yesterday with Caryn at the University of Louisville, which means we got up, on a Saturday at 5:00 am to drive 2 hours to UofL and sit and listen to all these professors going on and on about how wonderful their school is. And actually, I really like the academics and all that UofL has to offer in their programs for Caryn. I just hate the campus and how totally industrialized it is. So, we went away a bit disenchanted (again) but, like we said before she has to make this decision, not us and whatever she decides is fine.

Ok, so the picture content is going to be what I could take on the fly this morning to try and put this together while the dh is away doing the grocery shopping (yeah, I know, it's weird but he likes to go do it, and he spends way less money than I do, so it works for us!). I have started the Hemlock Ring doily/blanket that Jared has made so infamous. See his blog here: Brooklyn Tweed

Is that gorgeous or what? There is also a KAL for this on Yahoogroups, and if you need that link let me know, as I am being lazy here. So, anyway, I didn't want to buy more yarn (as I have closets full of it) and so I am using up the leftover Malabrigio from the B4 Bag, which of course I don't have enough of so this I am using three colors for this and I hope it will look ok in the end - Here it is in progress:

Center Flower:

And this is where you start the feather and fan portion of the blanket, and so, I started my second color here - this is a burnt gold, and after the burnt gold I plan to use a forest green of sorts, the gold and green really really go well together, but do you all like this?



Well, you know, if it's truly ugly in the end, I will just keep it for ourselves and not really let it out of the house. Who doesn't have some "fugly" at their house somewhere right?

I also got my heel turned on the Yogo Socks yesterday:

and I'm on my way to the toe - maybe during football this afternoon I will get there!

And here as a final note is painted desert after washing:

Definitely looks dull after all this brightness, but I still think it will work in the fairisle I have planned. Oh, and are you noticing that I finally have the pixal thing worked out, so the photo doesn't overwhelm you when you click on it??!! Hmmmn? Ok, so hope you all have a good week!

Dyeing Can be Quite Trying!

Hey guys!! Well, here it is a week later and can you believe that we finally got a couple of rain showers here! Wow, who knew that the weather was such an event in Franklin, KY? The temperatures have come down (yeah, to the 80's and 90's) and we are enjoying huge reductions in humidity so all is well again. We are still in drought conditions, but we have a little hope now!

Caryn has made her choice in the naming of this dyed wool and yarn. She chose Peggy's entry of Painted Desert. So, Peggy, the next time you come to knitting night at B&N I will have the yarn waiting for you! On this same vein, I have to show you all what a cool thing my sister in law, Carol sent to me:I was so darned impressed with this that I am going to send Carol the other skein of the Denim sock yarn! As you all know, I am a bit impaired when it comes to my photos and this combination just knocked my socks off!

Ok, so I got a lot of Painted Desert spun up and then I started to ply:

I think I am partial to these colors - what do you think? lol! Here is some on the Jumbo Bobbin:
After completion, I wound it up on the yarn skeiner, and this showed me that I got 346.5 yards out of this run,
but it also showed me that I had extra dye in the skein - Damn it!
I sort of tension the yarn coming off the bobbin as it goes onto the skeiner, which is how the extra came off like this. But, this skein is the most perfectly balanced skein I have ever made (doesn't that just figure).


so, I was in quite a quandary, what do I do now? Well, I don't want to go to all the work and have it run in a sweater, so I am washing the wool again. . . and again until it doesn't run any longer. Here is the skein pre-washed and a bit fuzzy with Georgia:

If I get to it, I will try to put up the skein after the wash later! What a drag! I have ordered some citric acid powder and some retayne to try to avoid this issue in the future. I just hope enough of the dye will remain to make this a fight worth fighting!

The Weather Outside is Still Frightful! 100+ Degrees Everyday and No Rain In Sight!

But inside it's so delightful! Got my dh to finally put the air conditioning up a bit (one whole degree) but it has made a huge difference in my life! I normally freeze and I know it is due to my sedentary nature, I work as an accountant and my hobbies are knitting and spinning! Not a whole lot a dancing being done there! But dancing was being done when I finally uploaded the Office 2004 for Mac's on this baby. Now I have a good e-mail program and I may possibly be able to find Money for it too. . . oh, I will dance on the roof top!

Got a few things done this week, I finished the B4 Bag, and since it came out like poo, I have decided not to add the buttons and to do this one more time - my first row of bobbles didn't really bobble out and it really looks crappy. I just can't give this to someone as a gift, it would embarrass the heck out of me:

See the dark holes where there should be nice big bobbles like up top? Darn it! Well, I am sure I have more yarn to do this again. And speaking of more yarn, look at the swatch I made for Beadwork, by Jade Starmore:


And this is another view:
I am getting approximately 8.5" to the inch on 3.25 mm needles using Merino Bamboo sock yarn no less. I love the shine and the stitch definition, I wanted to dye this light blue, but the yarn came out a very definite denim color which is not at all what I was looking for, so, I decided to stay put with the cream.

Mr. Fix It got my wheel to run without the chatter, although all possibilities were not tested, as we ended up changing the whorl, and all lubricants were wiped off the bobbin and shaft. The chatter stopped, so, I was happy and finished up spinning bobbin #1 of BloodyGuts - It really needs a prettier name though! Here is the bobbin:

So, I've decided to give one of the denim skeins away to the person that comes up with the best name for this color! I will let my very literary daughter, Caryn make all final decisions so that the judging will be totally neutral!

Here is a picture of two of the denim skeins (only one will be given away, though) this is superwash merino bamboo (60% Merino, 30% Bamboo and 10% Nylon), 400 yards in a skein.


PS: Do you like the change in template? I was thinking it was getting hard to read on the other one - See ya! June