Uncle Leona's Day Camp

A little less roving, a little more yarn

I have too many boxes in the house right now. Most of them came last week with roving inside. Whatever the cause, it looks like I'm getting ready to move. And the two items I need to put in boxes to ship after eBay sales aren't going to clean enough of this up. So, I needed to get some roving converted over to a far denser material. Between last night and this afternoon, I managed to finish up 170 more yards of the Sunshine Wool:

I'm starting to think vest for this stuff. I still have some more of it to spin, so I'll know more once I have a clue on the yardage I've been given.

Did I say this was wool? My apologies. It's about 99.9% Cotswold Lamb...

...0.1% cat.

And we'll have fun, fun, fun 'til her daddy takes the wheel away

Well, this evening found me away from the wheel for the first time in days (if you don't count that silly thing called work). I had to go out to help my Mom with entrelac (she's now a pro) and my Dad with internet cookies. I plan on hitting the wheel at least for a little while to make up another bobbin of singles to match this skein:

This is wool from The Copper Moose in "Mountain Sunset." It's a lot like the other stuff, but with more magenta and less green. Personally, I think I'm going to use them both in the same sweater eventually; the difference is negligible.

The Sunshine wool has been plied:

Once again, I have no clue what to do with this stuff. It actually has a kind of fall-like hue--more burnt orange--now that it has been plied. A vest, perhaps?? No clue.

I did finish up the hat out of the first yarn I spun with the wheel:

"Warm" doesn't even start to describe this headgear. My father even gave the "it isn't even itchy" thumbs-up. From Dad this is high praise. If he's not careful, he'll wind up with a hat of his very own.

This eBay score arrived today:

It's confetti fiber from Frene Creek Farm. According to their listing, it's a mishmash of wools, mohair, alpaca, and "many more fibers." It's wild stuff, that's a given. I'm guessing that'll be the next thing on the wheel once I get the blues spun up. I may go a little more bulky with it to let the fibers do their thing. I feel experimentation coming on.

I'm looking at it as physical therapy for my ankles

I'm hooked on spinning. There, I've said it. I believe that's the first step toward recovery. Remember when I said the plying of the blue singles would commence after work today?

I lied. I was plying after Craig Ferguson had signed off on the Late Late Show. Here's the first 75 yards of the blues:

To answer all of you out there who asked, this is the "Wool Top, Dyed Heather" corriedale in Blue found at The Woolery. Don't have a clue what I'll do with it, but I'm sure I'll figure out something.

This arrived on my doorstep today:

It's Cotswold Lamb roving scored off eBay from the folks at Frene Creek Farm in Wisconsin. My apologies to Wendy, because I think I outbid her on this stuff. Sorry, Wendy, but you know about us addicts. It's all about the fix. Knowing Wendy, I'm sure she'll take care of her fix somehow... Anyhow, here's the first bobbin of singles:

Again, I'm still not sure what's to become of this stuff, but it's sure nice to see the sun again.

So, the bottom line here is that I am in love with my wheel. It's just so clever how this all works. I can't wait to try to get my niece to do this; that is a comedy routine that can't be missed. Of course, that means leaving the five mile radius around the wheel and heading to Toledo.

That could take some time.

God bless Eric Carmen, or I may never leave the house again

Well, folks, that day has arrived. I came home from my half day with the kiddies and my new toy was plopped on my doorstep. First, the unpacking:

Kato soon found her favorite part:

She managed to stay out of the way while I did my best This Old House imitation. And, amazingly enough, the wheel went together with no bloodshed (surprising, considering the screws didn't want to go in with mere superhuman screwing ability). Isn't she pretty??

So, now it's time to see if I can actually do this crazy craft. Remember, I have never actually seen anyone spin in person. I'm strictly an internet video/book learner. My stereo was playing a little Billy Joel, I thought I was relaxed, so I dug into the confetti roving and went to town.

Public Service Announcement #1: Billy Joel's The Stranger is not the most conducive background music for someone just learning to use a spinning wheel. Can't go slow to "Only The Good Die Young."

So, here I am, rueing the fact that there is fiber on its way off of eBay, and I clearly have no skill at this. Then, the CD switches over to Eric Carmen's Greatest Hits. It's amazing how much more one can relax to "Hungry Eyes." Just the thought of Patrick Swayze dancing on that log over the creek....

Sorry, I digress. Anyhow, all of a sudden, my fingers release their death grip on the wool, the singles are getting wound, and I'm actually spinning! Woo hoo! Here's the first roll of singles:

And, after another round of spinning and plying, the first 2-ply yarn:

Yep, just call me Captain Slub. It's a good beginning.

I managed to get a couple of small balls of yarn ready for knitting guild this evening, and managed to get this far on a overwhelmingly soft hat:

This may actually be more fun than I thought it would be. After guild, I had to try out some of my "nice" roving, so I managed to get two more spools of singles spun before my back told me to stop this madness.

I'll ply them after work. I need to earn money to support this silly new habit. It's fiber crack, I tell you!!

One more sweater down...too many to go

Well, I got tired of looking at blocked pieces parts, so I finished up Puffin Mania:

I love how these buttons worked out; I was going for the nautical look. Mind you, I live in Cleveland, where "nautical" means you're going out on the lake to troll for walleye. Not quite as romantic as the east coast, but it's what we've got.

T minus a day and a half until the wheel spins its way onto my doorstep. I won some awesome wool on eBay last night--yellows and oranges. It'll at least look like warmth.

Here we go again....

As many of you are aware, the winter apocalypse has hit us here in the midwest again. Five inches of new snow this morning, but more is falling. Tonight, the wind is supposed to kick up and blow this stuff all over the place.

I hate winter.

As mentioned in a previous post, fiber was waiting on my doorstep a couple of days ago. Here it is, waiting on the wheel:

I tried once again, in vain, to do the drop spindle. I think my inability to spin with that thing has now crossed over to a mental block. Sorta like the mental thing that happens to me whenever I try to hit my sand wedge off of grass.

Did I mention golf? I think I just got more depressed.

There was yet another box waiting on my doorstep (in a snowdrift) yesterday:

This is wool from Beaverslide Dry Goods in Montana. The color is absolutely fabulous. Really rich fuschia--it'll make a beautiful aran once I get inspired to do it. Did I mention it's fuschia?

Oh, yeah, I finished the back of the Floor Finder Pullover yesterday.

The front is about 8 inches underway. This is one interesting looking sweater. The alpaca coloring just adds that certain oomph. I'm thinking I'll need to get myself a petal pink turtleneck to go with it. Yet another excuse to frequent the Land's End website.

Like I really need an excuse to shop.

Tick, tick, tick...

Today, I believe there will be fiber on my doorstep when I get home. The wheel is still five days away (it shipped from Seattle...that's what I get for trying to overthink my ordering). I'm trying to be patient, really I am.

And before anyone starts thinking I'm complaining about the Copper Moose, I'm not. They have been wonderful with my questions, and the order process was smooth. I was the dipshit who thought I could have my wheel three days before I ordered it. Remember, I have NO patience.

I guess I'll try that drop spindle thing again. Maybe after a few of these:

Thanks, Lorette, for the suggestion! Last night, I whipped up a Fuzzy Naveltini (vodka, triple sec, and peach schnappes). It's amazing how much things don't matter when you're sipping a martini.

No one ever accused me of being patient

Do I have patients? Yes.

Do I have patience? Not a chance.

Well, I misunderstood my first tracking info from the Copper Moose. The fiber I ordered will be here on Thursday. The wheel is now scheduled for a Tuesday arrival.

That's next week. What am I supposed to do until then? Knit??? It's 15 freakin' degrees outside! I need indoor activity!

Vermont now seems as close as a former Soviet republic.

Just call me Ms. Hoover

First and foremost, I finished up the Kochoran pullover last night at Meetup. It will be on my body at work tomorrow; right now, my schedule is light and pukey baby free, so I think this beauty is safe.

Now it's time to clean up the floor. Of skeins of yarn that is (What? Me vacuum? You must be mad.). I was scavenging my pattern stash for something to use up tons of yarn in a not-so-long period of time. Trust me, that is some serious scavenging; I think my pattern stash is more pathetic than my yarn stash. I thought I found something, then my Mom showed this pattern to me:

It's from Silver Creek Classics; she ordered it when she was at Halcyon Yarn this fall. I saw it and had to use it. So, here's the first few inches:

I'm using Chester Farms Homespun Nubby and Great Adirondack Alpaca, which knits up to a perfect worsted gauge. I'm loving the heathering, and the alpaca softens up the wool nicely. Best of all, I will be removing a mass of skeins from the floor of my home.

Just in time for the wheel to arrive. According to UPS, it'll be here on Wednesday.

Kato can't wait.

I love bulky yarn

Remember how I was finishing sweaters? Well, the photos from the last entry reflect exactly what my sweaters still look like. Nothing like REALLY making sure things lie flat.

OK, so maybe I'm just lazy. There's football this weekend, so I'm guessing I'll be back in completion mode then. Until then, the Kochoran is being used up quite effectively. I'm using this pattern:

And here's where I am:

Yes, there are cables and seed stitch....just not the most noticeable...

Nevertheless, it's going to be one nice sweater. There's something to be said about a pattern using bulky yarn with no seams. It truly caters to my inherent laziness. The yarn is a joy to work with--the angora/silk/wool combo is probably the softest Noro I've ever used. I'm even going to have leftovers to send back to eBay.

That's all I need; more money in my PayPal account to buy more stuff. Actually, I already bought new stuff. May I present my Christmas gift to me:

An Ashford Traveler on its way from the Copper Moose. Why Copper Moose? I like the name. That, and they included a pound of wool and a niddy noddy, and Vermont is closer than some other places, so it'll get here quickly. I need another hobby like I need a hole in the head, but I've been thinking about getting a wheel for a couple of years, and it just seemed like a good time to do it. I'm sure my family will think I'm nuts, but that's not a new concept.

Sweater finishing 101

Today was a day set aside to start the completion process on two sweaters. The sleeves on Puffin Mania were completed late last night (or very early this morning, if you have to be particular about it). The front and back have been blocked, and now it's the sleeves' turn:

Such excitement one should not be allowed to bear.

I also got underway on the chore that will be the completion of FrankenCopley. It's purely a matter of a check-off list:

Shoulder seams: check

Pick up stitches for front edge: check

Rip them out when you realize you just picked up the side seams: check

Curse a little: check

Pick them up again, properly: check

Work the picot edging: check

Start sewing the edging down: check

Worry about the edging not laying flat: check

Hit the blocking again:

check.

Of course, now I have wet stuff all over the place and no project on the needles. Not for long. May I introduce you to my latest eBay score:

Ten beautiful skeins of Noro Kochoran, ready for a nice, bulky sweater. I start tonight. Hopefully, the gauge will behave itself. If not, there will be more cursing.

TGIF

It is one of those days. I had to check to see if it was a full moon; every phone call today just had "irritating" written all over it. Maybe it's a hormonal thing...maybe I just need to get away from the beeper for the weekend...maybe the weather has just brought me down.

Personally, I think a little rest and alcohol will do the trick later.

As for knitting, I'm in sleeve purgatory right now with Puffin Mania. If I hadn't fallen asleep yesterday after work, the first sleeve may have been completed. I also managed to get my hands on some Cascade Ecological Wool (partially paid for with that gift certificate), which is really nice stuff.

Now, it's just a matter of which aran to do next once the puffins are complete. Decisions, decisions...

Oh, and the next Knitting Meetup is a week from tomorrow at Starbucks in Rocky River--woo hoo!!

I'm bored

It's Monday. Work was only mildly insane today, seeing as all of the little rugrats headed back to school (or as I refer to it: "A Petri dish with desks"). I came home, ate dinner, plopped myself in front of the TV, and became bored. The Puffin sweater back is in the raglan decrease stage.

*yawn*

Football tonight is between two schools I don't care about.

*yawn*...pry eyes open

Here's my problem: Monday night is usually my night for community band practice, but we're in the middle of our winter hiatus. Thusly, I'm ready to do "something," but there's nothing to do. It's rough to be me sometimes.

OK, I have $35 burning a hole in my pocket. My uncle got me a gift certificate to one of my favorite LYS's for Christmas, and they are finally open again after taking a week off for the holidays. What should I get?? I'm at a loss right now. Don't need sock yarn. Don't want another scarf or hat. I have plenty of mitten yarn around. I really don't need another book. I am uninspired. Probably the boredom talking.

Suggestions???

Happy New Year! Doesn't seem so new, does it?

In my humble opinion, there is no more overrated holiday than New Year's. Except perhaps Sweetest Day, which I believe was created as a Hallmark/FTD marketing gimmick for the slow time of year. Anyhow, last night was spent at home celebrating in my traditional manner: takeout Chinese food and football. I also knitted....a lot. What, you may ask? First, a little background.

This diatribe is typed on the computer in my so-called "Puffin Room."

On the wall:

On my golf ball collection:

Yes, I collect puffins. Never have seen one, but I do think they're awfully cute. Hopefully, I'll see one when I head up to Nova Scotia this summer, but until then, the 18-odd characters in the guest bedroom will have to do. So what does this have to do with knitting? Well, while trying to come up with a sweater kit for my Christmas list, I came across Whale Cove Knitters, a small shop in New Brunswick with just the right kits available (for amazing prices, I may add). I sent my Mom the link to the shop with the instructions, "Guess what I want from here." She came through, and I finished the front of the sweater in the wee hours of 2005.

And you have to see this cutie up close:

This may be the best wool I have ever worked with, PERIOD. Great stitch definition, perfect ribbing...couldn't be nicer stuff. And they gave me a ton of it. I'm guessing I may be two skeins over what I need, and I'm knitting the XL. I'm already planning out the matching hat. The Uncle Leona Thumbs Up Award for today goes to Whale Cove Knitters.

And if that wasn't enough, FrankenCopley is all blocked up. Ready to sew together! Maybe I'll do that tomorrow during the merciful finale to the Browns season. Or not. I'm lovin' the puffins!