Sharing Part Two!

So, what did you do with your Christmas vacation, June? Well, I finished up Caryn's Charm Wrap for one! Yeah! It's done and it has been worn everynight since I gave it to her! Can you believe it?
She wasn't feeling that great, and wouldn't let me take pictures of her face, so please excuse the cut offs! And she did want the sleeves that long too!

Showing Daddy:
I'm glad that one is behind me! It was a relatively easy knit, but stockinette is not really my style! Snoooze ville every time I picked it up! lol! I also made Chris a new hat for Christmas, but never got pictures of it! Gray/Black in Quebecoise wool from Schoolhouse Press, and he likes it!

So, I'm also trying to finish up with the Kai Cardigan too! Please ignore the background! When we have driving rain, we have problems with our back door, therefore the soak up towels go down on the floor, and I didn't see them until I looked at this on the computer!

Anyway, I've only got about three inches left and then I start the sleeves. I am really glad that I will have that star motif in there one more time, plus it will be up in the upper body and will be that much more noticeable, it will be one of the first motifs on the sleeves too. I really am tempted to design my own next time!

The other item I did was to start some Christmas knitting for next year! So here are some glove cuffs from Terri Shea's 'Selbuvotter' book. Now that I have had time to really look at this book, and I thank RoLynn for this as she wants a pair of Norwegian mittens for her PIF gift, I think I want to make them all! But here is the beginnings of Annemore #11 for Caryn:
That shot was taken yesterday when we had some great sunlight streaming in the living room, this next shot was taken this morning in the gray overcast light:

I am obviously not doing these in the traditional black and white, but in Caryn's favorite colors instead. This is Lorna's Laces in Ice House and Knitpicks bare merino. I am also going to make some sort of effort to reduce some of my stash this year too! Both of these come from the back room! You can see, I decided to do both at once, sort of, I'll complete one to the knuckles, then finish the other, then the fingers of one, then the other. We'll see how this works out!

So, this is the end of the vacation, but the Christmas tree is down and put up for another year, and so Yeah! We all made it, and that's saying something too, now isn't it?! Next weekend is Caryn's 18th birthday and once that is behind us it's clear sailing until Spring!

Too Many things to Share!

You know, when a person doesn't have to take eight hours (well, that's being nice, it's 10 in reality isn't it with the drive to and from) out of every day to work, well a lot can be accomplished! So, this weekend will have two posts, one for spinning and miscellaneous (which is today's post) and tomorrow will update you on the knitting front. M'Kay??

So Santa was cool and did bring my laceweight flyer for the Rose wheel! And look what I can do with it:
Are those colors to dye for or what? This was from Black bunny Fibers - one of my favorite dyers out there! I noticed when you open this picture you can see that I have tried to use a washer to reduce the noise from the bobbin movement clacking against the shaft thingy, it kind of works, but it is no where near where my Tina II is in the quiet department. Anyone have any ideas on this? All of my bobbins for the Rose do this and it makes me crazy!!!

Anyway, another Favorite is dyer of mine is Spunky Eclectic and I'm on her monthly fiber club and I am constantly behind, but, here is Goblin, from October:

These are both a lot of fun to spin, Goblin is Romney and Pinks is Corriedale. I have no idea what they will become. I was originally going to use the pink corriedale for the mittens for RoLynn's PIF but I decided in the end that it was really screaming pink and I don't think that is what she would like, so I looked and looked, but I wasn't happy with anything I found.

So, what's a girl to do? Well, I could dye it myself! So here is that experiment:

Well, that looks pretty unexciting doesn't it? But look! All the dye exhausted and everything! Well, let me tell ya, that what it looks like out of the pot is awesome:

So, as you can see I have been having a blast this week, I only wish I could afford to do this on a full time basis. . . soon, maybe.

On another note, look what happens when you start cleaning up, I started these in 1996 when I was totally into needlework, and all that needed finishing was the top to be sewn closed. Good Lord, what is my problem? Ok, so here is Bryan's:

And now Caryn's:
Guess I will put those away this year. I still think they are pretty cool.

Merry Christmas from Chez Potere

Not much time left, so here are some more of my Santa Ornaments:

Caryn's Favorite:




I'm not entirely sure what this one is made of, it may be sea shell, but who really
knows?




And from and old, old pop-up book and from our hearts:

This is the beginning of the end -

For Charmed that is! I have completed all the knitting, and I am now blocking this baby to size and I think Caryn is thrilled with it so far! She calls it the most beautimus sweater there is -

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I am wet blocking this one as, there is acrylic content in Wool Ease, and I wouldn't want to melt it at this stage of the game! Lord! You would hear the screaming at your house, no matter where you live.
And here is one final shot of the lace:


I am planning on another shot (final) of this with Miss Caryn wearing her "most beautimus" sweater, but that will most definitely be next week. Wet blocking takes a long time to dry, don'tcha know.

My Pay It Forward Roster is now full! Yeah! That makes me so happy! I have RoLynn on the list, and she would like some mittens in the Selbuvotter tradition. Although, we are going to be a little different with the color scheme, and they must have stars on them, and the stars must be gray. I am really excited about starting these, I just have to find the right combination of yarns!

My second recipient is Miss Ashley, RoLynn's daughter - she is so fun! Go check out their blogs - when your done here of course. Miss Ashley wants a Koolhaas Hat a la Jared style. In purple. I have to admit, this is one cool hat, but the circumference seems a tad small if you ask me - 16" ?? Huh? Is this a really tight hat? Or do I make it bigger? Hhhmm - questions that need to be asked I guess.

My third recipient is Miss Erika now, we haven't had a lot of time to talk since she is moving and playing with this guy at the moment:

So, we will catch up when she has a little more breathing room!

Bryan is home from UK and I now have the his Christmas wish list. Now to find the items on it! Well, I have a few days, I just can't do any on line ordering which is my forte! I love to have the whole family here - and I think that is the best part of Christmas.

Ok, one more shot of the Santa's from my tree:

Ok, I lied here's another one:

He is a snowglobe - isn't that cool?

Thoughts about PIF and the Holidays -

Hi guys! Well, the response to my Pay It Forward was underwhelming to say the least. I have one person, RoLynn, who is going to participate with me, but I still have two openings left!

So, what does that mean? I can't knit or spin worth a flip and no one wants my handmade gifts? In my heart, I don't feel that way, so please say it ain't so - Joe! Or is everyone too busy to respond? Has Ravelry completely taken away all of the fun of blogging? I love Ravelry, but it's sad that this forum seems to be lagging now. I know, I know, there is only so much computer time (or there should be) but, it's still sad.

With all of that being said I will leave those two spots open until they are filled, if and when anyone else wants to participate in making other knitters/spinners/crocheters happy in their own way in the future.

On the knitting spinning front here at Chez Potere, all I can say is this guy:is seriously getting in my way of my leisurely pursuits! We did a lot of shopping yesterday, and then put up the tree. That Santa above is my absolute favorite ornament. I have my tree complete in Santa's and angels now, since we have moved to a smaller tree. Here are a couple more of my favorites:
I got this one in work exchange years, and years ago! And now to see the complete opposite version:
Isn't he fun?! I may have shown you guys this before, but here are Caryn and Bryan's stockings: One Angel:and one Santa:to prove to you that I have been knitting here are Caryn's sleeves:
I do believe the sweater will be finished next week! Yeah!

Paying It Forward

I found this on Jen's blog, and decided this is a really cool idea for the upcoming new year!


I will send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange. I don’t know what that gift will be yet and you may not receive it tomorrow or next week, but you will receive it within 365 days, that is my promise! The only thing you have to do in return is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog.

I know that there are a lot of you guys that read my blog, that don't have a blog because for some reason or another it is not something you want to do, this would be a great opportunity to go out there on blogger to start a blog. Believe me when I say that this is not all that hard, and if you only want to post one time a month you can do that too!

I know you all know that I love to knit, and spin. Depending on who signs up, I can see lots of great gift ideas in the next year. And let's face it, who doesn't love to receive a random, handmade gift? So leave me a comment if you would like to receive a suprise within the next year, and if you are willing to pay it forward.

Here is a taste of some of my spinning right now, this fiber is from Kid Hollow Farm in Virginia, and she doesn't sell directly from her site, per se, but I think the extra effort to get this fiber is worth it!
I am getting 41 wraps per inch, and let me tell you spinning from the fold is hard for me! I think I need some lessons, RoLynn? Ashley? Help?!

It doesn't look the same here now does it? I'm hoping navajo plying will bring the colors back!

I think that's it from this blogger I hope to be hearing from some of you soon!

Beginnings, Middles, and Ends -

Yeah, but I am going to start with the ends first - or in other words Finished Objects! Holy Cow! This is June typing here. . . anyway I got a couple of things finished, not big things, but every knitted object counts, right?!

Here we have two pairs of Fetching's - I was mistakenly calling them Knucks, which is another pattern all together -Doh! to me.

I really, really like this pattern, it's a really fast knit (one in an afternoon) but, I think the first pair, the red ones, are quite short. Which is good for typing and working, but for reading or just hanging out as my Mom does I thought they would be too short. So it was a ripping party again at chez June's . I added more rows after the knuckle cable (6 all together) then another cable and four more rows to bring them up to the first knuckle on your (Caryn's) hand. Caryn and Mom have approximately same hand. Here is another shot, using our hands as models. I'm sure you know, but my hands are the short stubby fingers and Caryn has the nice long fingers here!
Now we come to the middle, and everybody scream with me!

Dang it! One inch forward and three inches back is the way this sweater goes:
Can we all say rip?! This is the way I put in lifelines I guess. . . I use a much, much, much smaller needle then rip away:

And now you can see that yes, I did put it in straight on that row. The initial problem was that I was supposed to decrease on the neck edge and increase on the side edge. Well, I decreased on both as we were watching a movie, and I wasn't paying attention! Yah, simple stockinette, no problem. . . ?? You think? Ok, so I am now up to the armhole, but I got bored and wanted to start this before I have to go back to work tomorrow (gag me!):

Starting is the hardest part on these, don'tcha know! So, look at that center - see how big the circle is? It's huge! This one starts with a cast on of 24 stitches. It's crazy, but here it is:
Size 20 Manuella thread on size 2.0mm needles, up to row 9 - this is a Christmas present (or maybe birthday) for next year for my sister! I am debating on going down to 1.75 mm but, haven't decided yet. I'm thinking it looks ok, and I may just continue -

Hope you all had a Happy Turkey Day, can we say no more Turkey left at chez June's!? Yeah, three meals in a row and it's all gone! Well, I make Turkey pie for the last hurrah, and it's a great way to end it!

Blue Man Group Rocks!

Caryn talked me into buying tickets to see The Blue Man Group at the Sommet Center in Nashville. I have to say that I was skeptical that I would like this, you know, I'm kinda getting older, but in fact it was a blast! We went into downtown Nashville and walked Broadway for twenty minutes looking for a reputable restaurant to have dinner.

We followed a couple of hookers (and not the crocheting kind) for four blocks until we ducked into a Bar & Grill that we walked straight through and out to the alley way back to the street! Ok, so off we go, back on the other side of the street and twenty minutes later, we finally went into Merchants Restaurant (which is the first one we came to out of the parking garage, I might add). The food was fabulous, and the desert even better! (Chocolate chip bread pudding, OMG Yum!) Ok now we are on our way back up the street to the Sommet Center - we had crappy seats, because dear ole' Mom didn't understand the seating chart, and there were some very old people (I mean older than me) sitting next to Caryn that were definitely not into loud rock music, (What the heck were they doing there???) but, we still had a great time! Rock on!! Caryn most definitely gets me out of my box, and I thank God everyday that she is in my life.

So, since I am on a kid roll here look at the pictures both Bryan (on top) and Caryn have done in their senior year in High School Art with charcoal:
They get all their talent from their Daddy-O. The doggy in the picture is our Holley dog, our first dog, and a Golden Retriever in her last months with us.

Tuesday, Chris and Caryn are going to UK for a school tour and to pick up Bryan for the upcoming Thanksgiving Holiday. Yeah! Bryan is coming home! It has been decided that I will stay home with the animals since it is an all day affair, and therefore, we won't be coming home to a mess. They do fine during a normal day away - 10 hours or so, but we haven't ever done more that that, so, since I am cooking for Thursday dinner, I will stay. Look at what I am planning on as one of our deserts:
This is definitely another thing out of my box, usually I only have pumpkin pie -

Ok, since this is a fiber blog, lookey what I am trying to spin into lace weight yarn for the upcoming Spring Shawl Surprice starting in January.

I have been really really trying to spin from the fold, I am not doing that well with it, but I will keep trying! I think I am going to start over and work on the Jensen, since I have the lace flyer for that wheel, it's just that I have this on her right now:
More Colette, but I have the next coming week almost entirely off, and just our immediate family to tend to, so I should be able to get it going I think. I will give it one more try on my Rose and just see. Just so you know, I never end up doing KAL's as they go, I always wait until the entire project is revealed to be sure I really want to do it!

Speaking of which, look at this fingering weight that I bought:
to make these Marvelous Mitts.

I think I have a pink problem! Not to mention a yarn problem. . . and a fiber problem. . .

Anyway, time to help put groceries away, so I want to say Happy Thanksgiving to All the Americans that might be reading this!!! And have a good upcoming week to everyone.

Weekends are Too Short!

We are pretty sure that this guy:

did a big stomp and cut our electric fence that we use to keep these guys:

In the yard! Our neighbors just got themselves a new little Dachshund puppy to replace the Dachshund Doggy they had for 10 years that passed away two months ago. Poor Ginger has been running for her life and we didn't even know it, until one morning I found Bailey in their yard! What a way to start the morning, let me tell ya.

So, yesterday was spent looking for the break in the wire. . . and roaming Walmart to find radio wire and batteries for collars. Then standing in line at Walmart to buy new batteries. Standing at the customer service desk at Lowes to have someone help me find radio wire. Standing at the customer service desk at Tractor Supply Co. to find radio wire. . . HOW can everyone be out of the same thing at the same time?!!! Drive to Bowling Green to get radio wire. . . Chris finished fence, June takes a nap!

On to better things! I finished up this bobbin of Colette on Friday night:

This stuff is just like Georgia, and almost spins herself! She is a mix I think, and definitely feels different than Georgia did, but she is mindless spinning and I need that by Friday evenings!

And I know you all remember this as I just showed it to you last week, but this was fun to spin up too. It was 3.5 ounces of mixed mediums that an Etsy Seller put together. (I'm an addict, and I haven't given Etsy up yet.)

We just watched Mr. Brooks - oh what a good movie! While we watched Kevin Costner killing people, I made this:

I am up to the thumb on the left hand, it is a really quick knit, and I have to say I love how these are turning out. What do you think I heard after Caryn saw what I was working on? MoM! What are you doing? What about my sweater? Well, her sweater is up to 20" on the left front, and I am off to finish that now - Have a good week everyone!

It's a Plying Party -who's got the Beer?

The beer might help me out here! I got my singles of the "In the Pink" batt all wound up in preparation for a battle with plying from a center pull single ball. I was a knuckle head and didn't undo the woolee winder to wind this off, and let me tell ya, it started the war off and the yarn was winning in this round, but here is the end result:

You may have noticed that my tone was not all that hopeful for a successful campaign! I have had major bad luck with doing this successfully in the past, and whole chunk of singles normally ended up in the trash. I had mentioned my dilemma of a:) knitting with singles I knew would bias, or b:) plying from a center pull ball to RoLynn on Tuesday night (we go to a stitch and b*tch at Barnes and Nobel on Tuesday night) and she had a lot of suggestions. One of which was to s-l-o-w d-o-w-n my treadling which was in fact what I did, but gosh it was hard to do! And besides that, I only have so much time to do this!!

See, I noticed that what happens is that I have a twist going in front of me making the yarn going into the oriface and a twist going on behind my fingers coming from the ball itself. That is my major problem, controlling the ball twist too:

Now, Caryn took four pictures and this is the only one that you can see what I mean, although this shot only has one twist behind. We need to practice our close up shots, I think! Anyhoo, this is my major complaint in plying this way, and if there are any suggestions about how to control that second ball twist, I may find I can do this a little better next time! I think I was the victorious one, though as I did go s-l-o-w and ended up with this:
I have a few spots that aren't that great, but hey, when the war was over I guess I didn't need that beer after all. Here it is in the skein form, with a total of 142 yards of approximate dk/light worsted weight:

It's drying now from a soak in soapy water and maybe next week I can show you the start on the knucks!