yarnivore

Ladies and Gentlemen, Please, would you bring your attention to me...

2007-09-11T23:25:00.001-05:00

I think I've finally got it figured out.

From this point forward *crosses fingers* I should be posting directly to my website, using WordPress's lovely blog feature. I have set it up so that you don't need a special ID to post (though you can create one if you want), you can still comment, you can still see the art/yarn/woodworking, and I THINK you can even get an rss feed going.

If you would, please check it out and let me know how you like it, then bookmark it for future updates. I will continue to be a member of my LJ communities, of course, but will likely not post much of anything here from this point onward.

Eventually, I'll have divinebird.com point to the divinebird.com/wordpress/ address, but that's for when I have brain cells left to process the, uh, process.

Divine Bird Website Grand Opening!

Clicky!

Still Here!

2007-09-07T16:14:00.000-05:00

Wow, I have been a BUSY girl these days! Between getting a new job, spinning up a storm, and doing a demo at a local fair, I'm beat! I've spent the last couple of days photographing, arranging, and posting my latest yarns on my actual site. I thought about posting them here, but some of the collages are quite large. I don't want to break your screens, so check 'em out here: http://www.divinebird.com/textiles.html

I've also updated my Etsy shop with a whole bunch of the yarns pictured on my page! The crazy thing is that even MORE are coming...wait til you guys see the sock yarn that's on my wheel right now! It's fabu.

Tomorrow or Sunday, I'm dropping off my entries to the Big E skein contest (that's at the Eastern States Exposition, for you out-of-towners)...wish me luck. I've never entered yarn before! I planned to at this year's Massachusetts Sheep & Wool, but you may remember that I missed the deadline, making the Big E my actual first competition!

Speaking of which, I got the best compliment of all the other day. The guild member who told me about the competition is someone to whom I look up when it comes to spinning. When she heard that I had officially entered, she gave me a big grin and said happily, "Well, it's nice to know we'll actually have COMPETITION this year!" This is the kind of person who always places in these things, and rightly so. She and a couple of other guildmates usually compete and I think they've been hoping for some fresh competition. Though the statement could sound haughty to some, I know this woman, and I took it in the best way possible. If she thinks I can compete against her yarns, well...I feel better about entering now. :)

Ok, so I said I wouldn't post my collages here, but I can't resist a few. If they're too big, just go to my site and look at 'em there. :)

Ta!

Success!

2007-08-09T22:17:00.001-05:00

Pretty 3-ply yarn, spun from the July batch of Abby's Batt Club batts.

The process: spun 2 blended batts on separate bobbins, then spun the color-separated batt on a 3rd bobbin. Plied those 3 singles together.

The result: 430+ yards of 3-ply yarn, 26wpi, 3.75 oz.

The remaining batt: will be spun and chain-plied for heels & toes of socks. No, seriously, Abby, I will SO be making socks from this. ;)

The pics:

I hate how flash photography turns out, but this was the best I could do for the crappy light we had today. I will try to get better pics tomorrow.

I think this is the finest I've ever spun, and the most even yarn. This is for me.

Yarn. Harlot.

2007-08-04T10:10:00.000-05:00

Wow, so the evening was a mix of ups and downs that ultimately balanced out on the positive. I suppose you can't ask for much more in life, you know? I may go into detail later, but for now, here's the recap:

Went to see Yarn Harlot in Madison, CT at RJ Julia Bookstore. Of course she has a name (Stephanie Pearl-McPhee) but since I talk about like 8 million people here, I am not going to add yet another girl's name to the list. So she's YH for this entry. (Sorry, Steph!)

We got there about 20 minutes late due to waiting for someone who had specifically told me he'd meet us elsewhere (major mistake on my part and MAN am I sorry), trying to stop for gas at a gas station that was...closed(!)...and a set of the very worst directions I have EVER gotten from Google Maps. No, really. I have no clue why we ended up on back roads when there was a perfectly good highway nearby! Grr.

Still, we got to hear YH speak, and I got one good picture of her--because we were late, we sat on the floor almost at her feet. Here she is:

I tried to get a few others but they didn't come out. :(

So she finished her talk, and then everybody piled out of the room to get their books signed. I met up with Jenni and Briana, two more of my friends, and bought my book for YH to sign. We got in line to wait for the signing, dragged out our knitting, and just chatted for a bit.

Then this other girl came up to me and asked if my shirt was a Threadless shirt, which it was. And then it turned out she was on Ravelry. And so I brought out one of my Moo cards--the ones with my yarn on them--and I said, "awesome, friend me on Ravelry! I'm on there as Divinebird."

She blinked. "Are you a Yarnie?" she asked, and when I nodded, she said, "I need to give you a hug! OMG! I can't believe it's you!"

WTF? Someone recognized ME? Huh? Had she bought yarn from me before or something?

Turns out she was the recipient of a yarn swift I'd made. The moment she told me her screen name, I almost freaked out. What are the chances, really?? I hadn't thought about her being in the area, and I'd never seen a picture of her. Man, that ruled. So we all ended up at the back of the line, and I realized we needed pics all together. It was like Six Degrees of Yarn Harlot.

YH signed my book and chatted with us for a while, and then we got this pic (ignore my exhausted-hot-out-of-sorts expression--I wish I'd hopped to the back of the pic, for reals! And wtf is up with me looking taller than everyone?? I'm like 5'4".) of the whole group.

We all decided to go over to Village Pizza for dinner, as I had not eaten a real meal all day and it would give us a chance to hang out & talk. YH asked if we knew of a place to eat in the area. Props to Briana for immediately suggesting she come with us for the pizza. :) YH agreed, and we planned to meet over at the pizza place after she finished up some of her work at the store.

Briana was laughing at me when we walked down the street (we were on our way over to a new little tiny yarn store that had stayed open for the event) because apparently she's never seen me fangirl anyone before. I guess she's only seen me around people who, though famous in some way, don't impress me the way YH does.

To put it another way, Stephanie Pearl-McPhee is one of my personal heroes. Not because she's a funny writer who writes about knitting (though that does make her COOL), but because she uses her powers for Good. She never shoves it down our throats, but somehow she manages to convince her fans over and over again that Medecins sans Frontieres could use a few bucks. She turns her tour stops into opportunities for local shelters to receive hand-knitted hats before the winter. She raises our collective awareness of individuals and groups in need of help--monetary, emotional, and physical. She seems to do this as a matter of course, and that's an aspect of her personality that I would like to emulate. I always fall short, but it gives me something to which I can aspire. It's like thinking of others and how we can help in a tangible way is something that's second-nature to her, and through it all she remains an exceptionally cool chick who enjoys a drink and some pizza with absolute strangers.

So yeah, I fangirl her. I can't help it.

Meanwhile, back at the description of the evening...the wool shop was tiny. No, smaller than that. And it was warm. I mean, something like 8 people who are already warm from walking on a hot night suddenly pile into a small room filled with wool--that is a recipe for HOT. I grabbed a card, though, and I will def. stop back in next time I'm in the area. When I'm not distracted by personal heroes and heat and a strong desire for food.

The Village Pizza folks were lovely and very tolerant of our taking over the middle of their restaurant, half an hour before they closed for the night. We hung out, had some food, drank some birch beer, and generally had some nice conversation. I do hope I didn't make too much of a fool of myself (see above fangirling) though Melissa and Lilith said I wasn't too bad. ;)

After YH left to go back to her hotel, we headed out ourselves. We made a quick stop for gas (at a gas station that WASN'T closed, take THAT, other gas station!) and water at a grocery store, then got on the highway.

I don't get down to Madison often. On average, I go once every year or two for specific events. I don't know the area well, or oh, which exits to take on the way home. I somehow missed the exit for Rte 9 and didn't realize it until I'd gone about 20 minutes past it. We got our bearings again, turned around, and went BACK to the right exit. Once back on track, we didn't have any problems the rest of the way home.

This was totally going to be a short entry but I guess there's no way to talk about the evening in ten words or fewer. I kicked myself all night about missing Aaron, because that really was my fault, but there wasn't anything I could do by the time we connected. Lilith DID say later, "Jenny, next time we go to see YH, we are leaving TWO HOURS EARLY."

Sounds like a plan.

Oh, and furthermore...

2007-07-22T22:41:00.000-05:00

For the non-yarny folk, here is a cute picture of my newest CHOCOBO. He is winking, and walking, and he has a little feed bag. He is SO CUTE.

That is all.

Bag, v.2.0

2007-07-22T21:47:00.000-05:00

This is a VERY LONG POST about the process I used to design a new knitting/sewing/drawing bag; I will try to title further entries about the process the same way I did this one, so you non-yarny/textiley folks can skip it (or at least be WARNED). ;) --JBB

ETA: Now with 100% more pics!

Last year, I designed what I hoped would be THE ultimate knitting/sewing/drawing bag for myself. I used some black twill, some gorgeous cotton printed with Chinese horses, and a few metal findings I'd been hoarding for some time. While I still love the bag, it never really gelled as THE bag for me. I know this because I took the strap off to use on something else a couple of months ago, and never put it back. The bag has since been sitting unused in my bedroom, which means it's time to attempt an upgrade.

This entry is mostly for my use & my notes, but I know many of you sew, and some of you who don't sew have wondered what goes into planning a project. You'll notice that I am not using a premade pattern. While I have a huge collection of them and could probably find an easier one to get my desired result, I wanted to do this entire thing from scratch. This may make me a sucker for punishment, but this also allows me to sell my work later, or even sell my design. Everything here came about through my observation of how the hardware works, what I want and need from my bag, and my particular aesthetics. This design is also not for reproduction (though I highly encourage you to use the process) or sale except by me, because man, I did a lot of math for this. :)

The Process

Before I did anything else, I made a list of the things that I did & didn't like about Bag v.1. I came up with the following:

Good:

LOTS OF POCKETS
washable
sturdy
large enough for multiple projects
easy to transport
got to use fabric from stash
able to use for spinning, sewing, knitting, crochet, and even artwork
specialized pockets: needles, pens, folders/patterns, phone/wallet/etc, medical & emergency
very roomy
color scheme was very striking: black outer fabric, brown/blue/red/black fabric inside, red zippers

Bad:

no structure, falls down
flap gets in the way
strap never properly made
strap pulled bag out of shape every time
hard to get into bag when carrying it
too many pockets--collected junk & weighed bag down
black fabric shows dust, kitty fur, sand, lint, fuzz from yarn, etc.
black fabric is boring
clips for strap kept getting twisted or caught
didn't usually bother to close zippers, making them unnecessary
hard to transfer projects out of bag; had to dig in pockets to find things

This list was mostly in my head; I started to think about the things I would do if I made a new version for myself. From the above items, I was able to get a better idea of what I wanted from my next bag:

Plenty of pockets, but now most with assigned uses (to cut down on clutter)
No zippers (not really needed)
No flap over main opening
Matching removable small notions bag
Matching drop spindle bag
Mylar sheets in sides & bottom for structure & shape
Fabric interlining for extra body, nice sleek feel
Defined, clean-lined, vertical design
Stay open when I want it to
Want to use "Rowan" fabric from England for lining
Must be washable, or at least dry-cleanable
Must be able to carry multiple projects, like old bag
Convertible from hand-carry to shoulder-carry
Most importantly, must look like "me"

Materials

After all that thinking, I finally started to write & draw things on paper--partly to get them out of my head. I like to sketch out designs on large paper using woodless colored pencils. They're like China markers, except there's no wood or paper to seal them; think of conte crayon with a plastic casing to protect your hands. I like them because I can use different colors to edit my drawings, keep layers straight, and define sections without redrawing the whole thing each time. I use a large 18x24 spiral-bound drawing pad for paper; it allows me to flip to different pages without earlier ones falling out, and later I can go back to refer to the drawings if I need to.

Pic: the sketchy notes

I have a multi-step process for creating the actual pattern pieces. This helps me figure out the basic shapes needed to make my sketch into a 3-D object, how they will be placed on the fabric I have to work with, and allows me to fix my math BEFORE I ever put scissors to cloth. Once I have the design sketched out, I will grab some graph paper, note that each square=1", and draw out some boxes. I don't worry too much about the pieces' overall shape yet, since I just want to see the area required and to see how the pieces relate to each other. I don't worry about seam allowances either, yet.

Pic: graph paper & little pieces

Once the pieces are graphed out, I color them different colors (orange for interior pockets, green for sides, etc) and cut them out. A second piece of graph paper becomes my fabric. It's like setting out a pattern for a Barbie doll at this point. I arrange them in the tightest formation possible (adding a rough estimate for seam allowances) and then it's time to move on to full-size graphing.

Pic: Large pieces, cut out with notes

At this point, there are two ways I can go. I will either grab a Sharpie, my cardboard cutting board and a bolt of nonwoven interfacing, or I'll use my colored pencils with a giant easel pad pre-graphed with 1" squares. Since I am doing a bag and the pieces aren't too big, I chose to use the easel pad this time. Using the small pieces as a guide, I drew out the first piece: the side of the bag. I had planned for the bottom to be 13" long, and the top edge to be 16" long, giving me the shape I wanted. Out of curiosity, I noted where all the pockets would go on both sides, the handles, the d-rings...and something felt wrong.

This is why I draw things out many times. I had forgotten that my 13" base was an oval, NOT a straight seam. When thinking about the shape of the bag, I had pictured a soft, flat-bottomed V. The piece was shaped like an upside-down trapezoid, which worked with my mental image. However, the pieces wouldn't have added up when I sewed them together if I had left them that way. In order to go around the edge of the oval, I would need to have a 16" bottom edge! Therefore, if I wanted the final bag shape to be that flat-bottomed V, I would need the side piece to be a rectangle, NOT a trapezoid. The trapezoid would occur when the pieces were attached and viewed in 3-D.

The above doesn't make sense to you? No worries. Just so long as you understand that my math was off for that one line--which meant I went back over the rest of the entire pattern just to make sure nothing ELSE was out of sync. I re-drew that piece, then the rest, and cut them out after making notes on each one about how many I needed to cut out of each fabric.

Pic: Pattern piece comparison. The tiny piece is the original graph paper version.

The Actual Design

This bag evolved around the piece of hardware I'll be using as a closure. It's a 16" "snap purse frame", which opens up into a six-sided lozenge shape. I have been wanting this kind for some time because it stays open on its own. It's the type used for carpet bags and such. When closed, it's 16" but when open, it's 13" long and 7" wide. I envisioned a trapezoidal bag that would become a rough cylinder when open. The bottom is a long oval, and there are only two pattern pieces for the upright sides (meaning there aren't gussets or shaped sides, like my old bag had).

There would be two pockets on each broad side, with unsecured flaps and box pleats; one would be 8" and the other 3", for wallet, phone, keys, sunglasses, etc. These would be lined with the same fabric as the interior of the bag.

Inside, I plotted out seven pockets. On the right side, pocket 1 would hold patterns even if they were in pocket folders, and then the remaning section (pocket 2) would be divided at every inch for tall knitting needles. On the left, pocket 3 would be pleated with a flap, to hold extra 'supplies' and a pillbox for emergencies. Pockets 4, 5, and 6 would be the same size but without pleats or flaps. Pocket 7 would be shorter; this and #6 would also be divided at each inch for holding pens, crochet hooks, and small knitting needles.

Even with all these pockets, I think the bottom will remain uncluttered. Between the structure of the Mylar and the overall shape of the bag, I think this time the center will stay roomy and open--no matter how full the pockets end up! I have only two small sections that haven't been 'assigned' a use, so I can use them for holding my business cards or a small notebook. They're small enough that even if I try to throw yarn labels, receipts, or test projects in there, I can't take too much.

Notions & Accessories

To carry the bag, I will be looking for a pair of arch handles that are 6" between the ends. I may make them myself if I can't find some I like, but I plan to do a lot of looking around. I might go with leather ones depending on the outer fabric. There will also be a 'D' ring attached securely at the right corner on both sides of the bag so I can add a shoulder strap. I wanted to keep this as simple as possible: one strap, attached at either end on opposite sides. It should maintain the balance of the bag without affecting the hardware.

The hardware will be hand-sewn into a casing made from the main body fabric. It will be added after the mylar inserts go into the sides, probably after the handles are added. I will reinforce the seam with grosgrain ribbon, also hand-sewn in.

While I work on this bag, I will be making some accessories as well. I have always wanted a spindle bag for my drop spindle; I have seen them at my local Guild meetings and it seems like a much nicer alternative to the plastic bags I've been using up til now. I have enough of the lining fabric left over to make a few, so I might just do just that. I will also be making a removable notions bag out of the same combination of fabrics, styled somewhat after my current one, which is a zippered makeup bag. I might monogram them both, just because I want to do some embroidery.

Fabrics

As I mentioned above, I know for a fact that I want to use my "Rowan" fabric for the lining. It's a lightweight calico cotton printed with blue and lavender knitting swatches, needles, and balls of yarn. I bought it on Ebay from a woman in the UK, which is the only place it seems anyone can find this line. I have about a yard, and it's 60" wide--PLENTY for the project and then some. I knew when I got it that I wanted it for a knitting bag someday.

Unfortunately, I don't have a specific outer fabric in mind. I think I'd like it to be one of the colors of the fabric, or at least a complementary color. Naturally, I'm thinking greens right now, which honestly wouldn't be bad. If I can find a nice bright--but not too acidic--green or green & yellow fabric, I think this would be a really pretty bag that would look nice at least two seasons of the year. One idea I had was to use some velveteen I have in my stash. I have a sagey green and a nice buckskin tan; I can envision the tan as being a nice neutral counterpoint to the busy calico. It would also give some additonal structure overall, which again, this bag seriously needs. I might use the green velveteen for my practice bag.

Interlining will be of plain white cotton muslin, pre-shrunk and ironed. I'll baste it to each pattern piece and treat it as one with the fabric. I thought about iron-on interfacing, but I like the look more of an independent layer. I used this technique when making bodices, which were very stuctured, shaped garments, and it was always easy (for me at least) to tell when I used it and when I didn't.

Back to the Present...and Future

Now I'm armed with the design, some ideas for fabrics, and most of the hardware & notions I'll need. I will add updates as I work--at this point, there may not be many if I can get to the fabrics I'm thinking of using & I can clear out my sewing area again. I WILL be making a practice bag, as noted above, which will let me tweak the design further and experiment with the fabrics, textures, etc. before cutting into my hard-to-get "Rowan". If this works, I might consider adding them to my Etsy shop or giving them as gifts.

I'll also note if I change things; the handles might end up being switched with a different style, or pocket sizes may adjust...whatever.

Comments? Suggestions? Questions? Been there, done that, don't do X? PLEASE let me know. :)

ConnectiCon is OVER

2007-07-16T10:32:00.001-05:00

How would you like some pics?

http://flickr.com/photos/divinebird/collections/72157600855121801/

View as a slideshow and you'll see 'em all. These are just the photos of my friends & my table; the rest of the cosplay is coming soon.

However, there were a couple of characters who had something to say to some of you...

Drakon, Cendri, you know these guys? ;)

Much love. More coming. Now, I go get breakfast with some of the money I earned at Con. :D

Aeris

2007-07-11T11:25:00.000-05:00

Some new yarn for ya.

I got the fiber from Street Legal Designs during one of Jo's awesome sales. I'm not really a rainbow person, despite my obsession with color, so when I opened the package I remember thinking, 'what possessed me to buy this?' However, the fiber was very very soft and dense, and the colors were pretty, if not 'me'. I brought it with me to show my uncle & aunt how my spinning wheel worked.

Once started, I just went ahead and finished it the following day. I gotta say, the singles were UGLY. I mean I was sitting there, spinning, wondering again what I'd gotten myself into. There was so much...PINK! And the colors didn't seem to do anything for each other, either. There were, however, spots that I thought lovely, and I suppose that's what kept me going.

As you see, the resulting yarn reveals NONE of these color flaws. I did a simple center-pull ball and plied the ends on themselves, and this is what I got. 240+yards of soft, smooth wool, in muted, transitioning colors that run up and down the plies. If I had any clue of a project to do with it, I'd save it for myself, but I bought it with the intention of selling whatever yarn I spun it into, so...there we go.

The yarn is called "Aeris" after one of my favorite characters in Final Fantasy VII. Aeris was a flower-seller who wore a pink dress; the main pink in this yarn is actually a perfect match to the official art of the character. :) The other colors are obviously flowers, and there's a wonderful couple of sections where the pink is plied with a pale green, which is a significant color that you'll get if you've played the game.

I'll be offering this at ConnectiCon this weekend, and if no one buys it then, I'll put it up on my Etsy shop.

In other news, I've done some knitting & crocheting:

The ubiquitous Mystery Stole 3:

A pair of green socks (still on the first one):

And a purse for myself, crocheted out of some organic cotton:

What have you been up to?

Oh, the Ravelry!

2007-07-11T01:24:00.000-05:00

Yep, I finally got my invite to Ravelry, the new online community for knitters, crocheters, and other yarny folk. The site is still in beta, so they're still on an invitation-only basis. If you haven't yet, go to the main page and sign up for the waiting list. I waited a few weeks--almost a month--to get in, but they're adding people by the truckload every day now. Check out ALL of the screenshots, too!

Here's the link for the folks who are already there: My Profile

This means that I've also fleshed out my account on Flickr, so if you're there, please add me as a friend! I'm Divinebird on both sites, and though I've added a few people I knew off the bat, I'm certain there are more of you out there.

ConnectiCon is this weekend, which means I'll be incommunicado for a few days. Here's hoping some of my prints sell, some of my yarn sells, and I drive a bit of traffic toward my website. :D

Y HALO THAR

2007-07-05T15:51:00.000-05:00

It's been a busy month for me, involving very little spinning. Most of what I've done has been Sock Hop-related, though I managed to take a bit of a break to spin this:

The fiber is wool/mohair from The Painted Sheep, handpainted by my friend Kristen G. She'd offered some of this at our Guild's Scotch auction last month, and I ended up having to get some for myself. :) There are 2 skeins of this, each about 85yards of 3-ply. I spun and plied it on my Babe using the 'Navajo' or chain-plying technique. I got about 18wpi, which isn't bad, but nowhere near what I wanted. (I was going for 22-24wpi) This will probably end up as an accent on socks or gloves. The color changes were preserved nicely with the plying, so I'll have a nice stripy fabric when I'm done knitting.

The other fiber-related thing of note is...Batt Club. How perfect is this? 3 packages of luxury spinning batts, each with enough to make, say, a pair of socks. Hee. The first package looked like this:

It's merino/silk. Three batts are fully blended to make a nice mixed-color yarn, while the fourth is left for stripes or other color effects. They make me happy.

Other than that, there's not much to tell. I'm doing MS3 (Mystery Stole 3) and am falling behind a bit, though it helps me that one of my LYS is having a knitalong every Friday night for the locals who are participating. My stole is being knitted from some white vintage yarn I acquired through a swap last year, with beads from EarthFaire. I recommend them for beads--they have a nice selection of colors & sizes, and the beads I ordered came with some sample packets & a bead threader. Not bad, plus they take PayPal. :D

I promise a more cohesive update in the future. Right now, I'm trying to deal with the chaos in my house after we moved ALL of our furniture around. It's nuts. I had no idea there was so much stuff in my apartment that I won't ever use again. Salvation Army, NADA, and FreeCycle will be hearing from me within the next week or so. :)

Drop me a line and let me know if you're still reading my stuff--sometimes I wonder if I'm just shouting into the void.

Blocking Handspun Yarn

2007-05-31T23:00:00.000-05:00

An in-depth, step-by-step description of one way to do it

So you’ve got a spindle or a bobbin full of your newly spun and plied yarn. You’re aching to knit or crochet or weave or sell or do whatever with it, but it’s not quite finished—there’s the final step of blocking it (or setting the twist, to put it another way).

Blocking is wicked easy, trust me. It requires about an hour of your time to prep it and then about one night to dry, and that’s a generous estimate.

MATERIALS:

Niddy-noddy or something to wind the yarn into a hank

Several lengths of undyed cotton dishcloth yarn

Shower curtain rod & hooks (I use book rings, those hinged metal rings that snap shut, or old shower curtain hooks work too)

Soap suitable for handwashing delicate clothes (if desired)

Clean, dry towel (I have two I only use on yarn, lest dyes run, etc.)

Your Yarn, duh

WHAT TO DO:

1. Wind the yarn into a hank.

This is accomplished using a niddy-noddy, skein winder, swift, back of chair, someone’s hands, arm of couch…you get the picture. You want it to be between one and two yards AROUND, measuring the distance from one end of the loop to the other. Any less and your skein will be too small to twist neatly and it will tangle; any more and it will be hard to manage when you eventually wind it into a ball for use. You can buy niddy-noddies for $10 to $30 on average for a decent one; I made one using a ¾ inch dowel and a 1 ½ inch round. Directions are available if you want ‘em.

NB: When you wind the yarn, try not to pull it too tightly. Keep some tension on it so the yarn doesn’t curl back on itself, but don’t go nuts with yanking on it. Stretching the fibers too much will weaken the yarn and can lead to breakage, among other things. More on this later.

2. Tie the hank in several places.

Do this BEFORE you take it off whatever you wound it on. If you have a lot of yarn, my preferred method is to take a piece of undyed cotton dischloth yarn, make a figure-eight through the skein, and then loosely wrap it once around the entire section. This is mostly if I’m not planning to use the yarn immediately, because it keeps the strands secure and organized. If you plan to wind the yarn into a ball right away, then just tie a loop around the section with a half-bow. Make 2 to 4 ties like this.

I usually take the ends of the yarn and use them as ties as well. This makes it easy to find them when I’m ready to start winding the yarn later. Be sure the ties are NOT too tight—you want them just tight enough that they don’t slide all along the yarn, but also loose enough that they don’t pull the yarn into a clump.

3. Carefully remove the now-tied hank from whatever you wound it on.

It will likely want to curl up on itself like ramen—this is ok. I try to keep a little tension on it but it’s not a real issue normally. That curl will go away soon. :)

4. Fill the sink about halfway with lukewarm water.

Add the soap if you desire; it’s not necessary unless your fiber is dirty or you want a scent added. Plain water works just fine.

5. Holding one of the ties, dunk the hank of yarn into the water several times.

You want to be sure the yarn gets completely wet at this point. Don’t agitate the fibers too much, since you don’t want to felt them! You’ll notice that most of the ramen curl goes away once it’s full of water. Let it drain a bit, then gently but firmly squeeze the water out as much as you can.

Once you’ve done that, neatly lay the hank on the towel and roll it up very tightly. I like to lean on it to squeeze as much water out as humanly possible—you will be surprised how wet the towel is when you unroll it! Wool especially can hold up to three times its weight in water before it feels wet, so the towel step is very important. It keeps your bathroom floor from getting flooded!

6. Thwack it.

This is a great step for getting out some frustrations. Take the hank by each end and gently but firmly (sense a pattern yet?) tug on it to align the strands. Gather both ends in one hand and then thwack the folded end against the side of the tub a few times. Make it a good solid thump—this wakes up the fibers and causes the yarn to ‘bloom’. If you think the yarn needs it, do this from the folded section as well. Find one of your ties and then realign the strands by putting your hands into the center of the hank and pulling outward a few times.

7. Hang it up to dry.

I put book rings through one of the ties and then around the shower curtain rod, though I have also used shower curtain hooks, plastic hangers, and lingerie hangers to do this as well. Make sure the hank has a lot of space around it for air circulation and if you want, put the towel you used under it on the floor to catch any drips. Realign the strands one last time if you need to, and then let it dry overnight. When I have the A/C on in my apartment, a skein of 300 yards of sock weight will dry completely within 8 – 10 hours. Usually I’ll get these hung up around 8pm, then slightly rotate the skein on the hook just before bed. This also helps prevent a hanging divot from appearing in the yarn.

NB: Do NOT weight the skein! As noted before, this can cause the fibers to weaken if you’re working with a fine yarn, meaning it can break the strands eventually. Not good! Also, if you weight a skein when it’s wet, it will dry that way…but beware, because the first time you wash an item knitted with that yarn, the yarn will want to revert to its natural bounciness, and you will have puckering where the yarn contracted. Some books talk about weighting yarn, but it’s not necessary. At most, if you’re having issues with it still curling up on itself, loosely roll a washcloth up and set it into the bottom of the hank while it dries. That will keep the strands from curling too much and won’t affect the shape of the yarn.

8. When it’s dry, twist it into a skein.

Unhook the yarn and put your hands into the center of the hank. Pull your hands apart until the skein is taut between them. Twist your right hand away from you and your left hand toward you until you can’t twist them anymore—the skein will be VERY tight. Grab the center of the hank under your chin and then bring your hands together, looping one end over the other. Let the part under your chin go. The hank will want to twist around itself very prettily, so just arrange it so the twist is even and the hank is attractive. The yarn will rest like this until you’re ready to use it. It’s better to store your yarn in hanks rather than balls, since they’re under less tension like this.

…And you’re done!

WHEW, that seemed like a lot, didn’t it? It’s really not that hard, though, just involved a bit. I often wait to do this until I have several skeins that need it. Just about every fiber works with this—wool, silk, cotton, linen, alpaca, etc. If you wonder what this does for your yarn, here’s a short list of benefits:

--makes the yarn drape better

--softens the twist

--sets the twist so it won’t curl up on itself or untwist

--evens out the skein

--makes the fibers lie neatly

--fluffs up fluffy fibers (think of angora and alpaca)

--acts as a double-check for dyes that run, etc.

If you are in a rush and you need this done, you have the option of steaming instead. I have one of those travel steamers, the kind you plug in and use to un-wrinkle suits & stuff. An iron set on ‘steam’ works the same way—just NEVER actually touch the yarn with the iron! You can also turn the shower on VERY hot and close the bathroom door to steam up the room. I found that direct steam gives a much better effect than the hot-shower method, but either works in a pinch.

Remember, this is only one way to do it. I have read many different ways to set the twist, but the fundamentals are the same.

Hope this helps! Enjoy yourself!

Meddling & Lateness: A Cautionary Tale

2007-05-26T20:57:00.000-05:00

So today was the Massachusetts Sheep & Wool festival, and Dragonmaille and I were planning to go up, enter our respective skeins into the handspun contest, and hang around. We had also planned to go for both days.

I got to D's house, where she was almost ready to go except her skein entry hadn't been wound long enough to twist back on itself, and was too thick to dry properly from the night before. (Don't worry if you non-yarny folk don't understand this; suffice to say that there was stuff that needed to be done to it before we could enter it in the contest.) I took it upon myself to wind it for her while she hopped in the shower. Big mistake.

Upon untying it and getting it ready, I managed to pull out the wrong end of the yarn, and immediately tangled the entire thing. No, wait--I didn't tangle it--I made it EXPLODE. Cue much frantic scrambling by me and then D and then me AND D to get it into order. A few hundred yards of Romeldale went SPROING and then CLUMP and I think it was then we realized that I had royally screwed it up.

We got a late start, with the nearly-always-Zen D actually showing irritation (well-deserved by me) and trying desperately to restore order to what was essentially a slightly damp ball of sheep that kept reverting to its pre-blocked curly state. I drove for 45 minutes from her place to the fairgrounds, and the entire time she fiddled with knots that appeared and disappeared at some cruel cosmic entity's idea of funny.

Of course, the late start coupled with some rotten slow (FOR NO REASON) traffic on Route 9 meant that we were late getting to the fairgrounds, which meant we were late getting to the building where the judging was being held. Which meant that we staggered up to the doors about five minutes after they had finished judging the skein contest entries. Which meant...yeah. No skein contest for us this time around.

I suppose it was karma, since I had--no matter how unwittingly--made D's entry impossible through my own meddling-in-helping's-clothing. I don't know how she felt inside, but I know I was ready to cry. Actually, we talked about it a lot, and I think she was pretty much at the same point. At least her problem was that someone else made a mistake, not her. *hangs head* It sucks, because I was really happy with all the yarns we both planned to enter, and I think we both had a shot at placing at least.

OK, so the crappy part is over. Now the fun.

After I chucked my bag of skeins into my car, we walked around the booths to see who was there, what was for sale--you know, the REALLY fun stuff. We ran into some vendors we'd met a couple of weeks ago at WEBS's tent sale--it was nice that they remembered us. It's ALWAYS nice when a vendor remembers us. It's harder for them than it is for the customer; they see so many people everywhere they go, so standing out (in a good way) is always a pleasant surprise. They even remembered what we BOUGHT. That was cool. :)

One booth had silk waste, the stuff used for spinning recycled silk. SO cool, and a good price--we each picked up a bag. We also grabbed a knot of silk thrums, though I have no clue what to do with them. I think they're for weaving, but I'm not sure--got to figure it out. Til then, I'll be playing with the knot and admiring the deep turquoise color. :D I also found a trio of dyed mohair locks in cobalt blue, bronze, and gold. I really mean those colors, too--the bronze & gold are almost metallic, they're so deep. Last, I grabbed some casein needles (made of milk protein) and some maple spread & candy. Some people will be receiving maple candy from me in the next week or so...some of you have specifically mentioned missing/wanting some. :)

We decided not to go back again tomorrow, since we didn't have stuff to pick up from the contest, and we had pretty much spent our budgets, and we'd seen everyone and everything we'd wanted to see. I actually uttered the words "I'm tired of looking at yarn." I thought D would pass out in shock. ;)

It really was nice to walk around, and though we didn't do any of the contests/spinning/workshops, we still had a good time. I think next year it will be easier to participate in stuff, and the staff was really nice about us being late and they were very apologetic. We'll just have to make sure next time, our stuff is ready way ahead of time--and next time I will NOT interfere with D's yarn, no matter how well-meaning I am. Because meddling cost us both the chance to show off our badass yarn, and that sucks.

And now, if you don't mind, I'm off to spin some of the fun stuff I bought today. :)

Jenny-colored Part 2

2007-05-24T12:45:00.000-05:00

I couldn't keep my hands off it. :)

Jenny-colored yarn:

This is half of the fiber; I tore the long piece in half, then split it down the middle, spun 2 almost-exactly-equal-length singles and then plied them together, ending up with a nice shaded striping yarn. I'll do the same thing with the other half, and I should have a pair of mostly-evenly-striped socks when I'm done. :D This skein: 2oz Superwash wool (merino?), 145yd. Let's see if I can do the same thing with the other half!!

(the other sock batts will follow once I've finished the rest of this one :D)

Knitting Skills Meme--because I was tagged :P

2007-05-23T16:14:00.000-05:00

The Knitting Skills Meme

Bold is for things you have done
Italic is for things you want to do some day
Leave anything else plain

Afghan
I-cord
Garter stitch
Knitting with metal wire
Shawl
Stockinette stitch
Socks: top-down
Socks: toe-up
Knitting with camel yarn
Mittens: Cuff-up
Mittens: Tip-down
Hat
Knitting with silk
Moebius band knitting
Participating in a KAL
Sweater
Drop stitch patterns
Knitting with recycled/secondhand yarn
Slip stitch patterns
Knitting with banana fiber yarn
Domino knitting (=modular knitting)
Twisted stitch patterns
Knitting with bamboo yarn
Two end knitting
Charity knitting
Knitting with soy yarn
Cardigan
Toy/doll clothing
Knitting with circular needles
Baby items
Knitting with your own hand-spun yarn--OH YEAH baby <3 Slippers
Graffiti knitting
Continental knitting
Designing knitted garments
Cable stitch patterns (incl. Aran)
Lace patterns
Publishing a knitting book--Sort of--have a pattern in a calendar. Does that count? :D
Participate in an exchange
Scarf
Teaching a child to knit - I keep trying with my girls!
American/English knitting (as opposed to continental)
Knitting to make money
Buttonholes
Knitting with alpaca
Fair Isle knitting
Norwegian knitting
Dyeing with plant colors
Knitting items for a wedding
Household items (dishcloths, washcloths, tea cosies…)
Knitting socks (or other small tubular items) on one or two circulars
Knitting with someone else’s hand-spun yarn
Knitting with dpns
Holiday related knitting
Teaching a male how to knit
Bobbles
Knitting for a living
Knitting with cotton
Knitting smocking
Dyeing yarn
Steeks
Knitting art
Knitting two socks on two circulars simultaneously--not this, but I've done it on 1 set of DPNs though
Fulling/felting
Knitting with wool
Textured knitting
Kitchener stitch
Knitted flowers
Purses/bags
Knitting with beads
Swatching
Long Tail CO
Entrelac
Knitting and purling backwards
Machine knitting
Knitting with self patterning/self striping/variegated yarn
Stuffed toys
Baby items
Knitting with cashmere
Darning
Jewelry
Knitting with synthetic yarn
Writing a pattern
Gloves
Intarsia
Knitting with linen
Knitting for preemies
Tubular CO
Free-form knitting
Short rows
Cuffs/fingerless mits/arm-warmers
Pillows
Knitting a pattern from an on-line knitting magazine
Rug
Knitting on a loom
Thrummed knitting
Knitting a gift
Knitting for pets
Shrug/bolero/poncho
Knitting with dog/cat hair--Does it count that everything I knit ends up containing a bit of cat hair? ;)
Hair accessories
Knitting in public

And a question: What have you learned to do that has marked a definite change in your knitting life?

I learned to break things down to their base forms--patterns & charts are reduced to individual stitches, rather than looking at a complicated design as a whole. By doing that, I found that there is NOTHING that is 'too difficult'. It's all just knits and purls, ones and zeroes. :) Complex patterns are much less scary when I remember that they're formed one stitch at a time.
--

I don't usually participate in stuff like this, but I REALLY liked the list and anyway, Lucy tagged me. :D How could I not?

Jenny-colored

2007-05-23T12:00:00.001-05:00

Abby sent me a box of sock batts and a surprise--special "Jenny-colored" superwash roving. I had asked once if she could do colors like the ones I love, so she came up with this:

And here's the "Jenny-colored" fiber. Aptly named, ne?

My only question is--which do I play with first? :D

Yarn, redux

2007-05-21T16:49:00.001-05:00

To wit:

Merino/silk/firestar from Abby's Yarns. 314yards, 2.3oz, 30wpi

Wool/mohair from the same source. 150yards, 2oz. One ply is mostly solid green, the other ply varies from aqua to lime to green to blue.

How the Time Flies

2007-04-27T10:12:00.000-05:00

WARNING: HIGHLY PIC-HEAVY. If you're on a slow connection, you may want to go fix yourself some lunch or something.

Ok so--I've been so busy that I haven't even taken the time to make a real blog post for most of the month. This should catch you up to what's going on in my world--at least the fibre-enhanced portion thereof. ;)

It started with the arrival of a box from Crown Mountain Farms. I am spinning some of their Sock Hop yarn, so three pounds of it are sitting in my living room right now. :D I plan to do about a pound a week, but the first one went VERRRRRRRRRRY slowly as I was getting used to my new wheels, the fibre, and concentrating on making it to their specifications. Teyani (and everyone else) warned me that spinning for production is a very different mindset than spinning for oneself, and I completely understand it now. I'm about halfway through the box, which is good, but much slower than I'd anticipated. I see myself speeding up a lot in the coming weeks, though, so I should do pretty well with this.

A massive collage of pics I took a couple weeks ago of my first 2 skeins (in colorway Great Balls of Fire):

Here's a couple of collages featuring yarns I've finished. You may recognize the Iris Garden Stripe as the yarn that was on my wheel in the last entry.

My crochet class ended on Wednesday, on a high note. I was thrilled to bits to see everyone making something--even the two who had never done any yarn crafts before! It's so amazingly wonderful to see progress like that. Even the one who was frustrated because she didn't think she'd ever get it was changing colors, experimenting with yarns, and gaining confidence. My work here is done.

About midway through the month, I was struck with an inescapable urge to dye silk. What a success! There's nothing like seeing a brilliantly-colored swath of silk fibre to make one feel like one can do ANYTHING. I used McCormick's food coloring, citric acid, some plastic containers and my microwave, and in one afternoon I had this:

The pink/orange/purple one is spinning up beautifully.

I finished two pairs of the mittens in my 3-pair commission; I got slowed down considerably when I had a few weeks of no knitting at ALL. I worked in the wood shop, babysat, ran errands, did taxes (both personal AND business), cleaned my apartment, did a mountain of laundry, and cleaned out the van & my car. Oh, then I helped my sister pack for moving (she's coming back to CT! YAY!), worked for my dad, and went through a series of doctors' appointments for various small things. I have discovered that I am highly allergic to cats (though mine doesn't bother me symptom-wise), somewhat allergic to dogs and some pollen, and not allergic at all to dust mites or cockroaches. Eww. I...guess that's good?

I got the Babe spinning wheel at this month's Guild meeting, and though I loved its portability and durability, it just wasn't working out. I was kind of disappointed after spending a tidy sum on it, and couldn't figure out why I liked using Debbie's so much but disliked mine. Why was it so difficult to spin?

It turned out to be a combination of things. First, I had used Debbie's on her hardwood floor, whereas I have thick carpeting with double padding. The entire apparatus would wobble when I treadled, meaning it was extra work to keep the wheel going. This wouldn't have been a problem, except that the very design of the wheel put it off balance. The maiden juts out unsupported over the treadles (you'll see it in the photos below) and once it starts to move, the only thing keeping it upright is a single pole along the back of the wheel. Think of a flagpole in the wind--it's still upright, but it snaps back & forth at the top. It affected the takeup as well, making it hard to wind the yarn onto the bobbin.

My solution was to add stability to the design by placing a support under the maiden that would attach to the bottom frame between the treadles. I found a piece of cherry (my favorite!) that had a slight warp in it, and therefore was unusable for furniture. It's unnoticeable in this situation, though, so I cut it to length, then cut out the areas for it to surround the frames on each end. I put a small nail into each end, then drilled a tiny hole in position on the frame to correspond with the nails. After adding a decorative cutout and a good sanding, the piece was done. Check it out!

The wobble is gone, and I can even use the support piece as a carry bar. It's like a totally new wheel.

On the shop front, I have seen my sales pick up a bit. Instead of months between sales, it's been a few weeks between each one. This IS an improvement, though far from my goal of a few sales a week. I've got a bunch of new yarns that will be posted in the next week or two; I want to do a few craft fairs over the summer and I'll need stock! I've also got a crochet project in the works for the shop; not sure what it's going to be but the squares have built up throughout my crochet class.

Not sure if you remember the Tiger Lily yarn I spun up from Abby's luscious batts, but I was JUST getting ready to wind it into a ball after the guild meeting so I could start knitting my socks. I was showing the fat skein to one of the lovely ladies of the guild when she gasped and said, "You HAVE to enter that into the skein contest this fall!" I demurred (I really wanted my socks) but when I talked to Abby, she was like, "GO FOR IT." And so I'm gonna re-skein it (it's gotten a bit out of place from being handled so much), tag it, and enter it in pretty much ANY skein contest I can find this summer. :) Why not? It remains my favorite skein to date--and I'm a girl who LOVES all of my yarn. It would be kind of cool to even say I participated, y'know?

Geez, I think that's enough for now. I'm sure there's a ton I've missed, but it will have to wait til later. Enjoy the pics, check out the shop, and drop me a line to let me know someone's reading this! :D

A quick PSA

2007-04-27T09:29:00.000-05:00

...Before I post my real entry later this morning.

As knitters, crocheters, and spinners, we often feel the need to 'knit/crochet/spin/DO SOMETHING' in support of people affected by tragedies. Thankfully, there's a way to let our hearts speak through our yarn for those affected by the VA Tech massacre earlier this month. Click on the image below to be taken to the yarn shop's blog and mailing address.

Just spreading the word. :) More yarn, fibre, dyeing, and wheel modification photos coming later today. :D

Mine. ALL MINE!! :D

2007-04-05T22:46:00.000-05:00

Thanks to the lovely Yarnyoga from Livejournal, I am now in possession of a nearly-new spinning wheel. It's an Ashford Traveller, which is one solid hunk of wood, let me tell you! I feel like I could knock it over and it would still spin just fine. :D

And I CAN spin fine on it; took me a half hour of fiddling around with the tension and learning how it acts differently from the Thumbelina (my borrowed wheel)--which is in just about EVERY way. I do think this is far more adjustable, and at least I won't have to make replacement parts!

I love that it's unfinished; there's nothing on it except a single coat of furniture wax that YY put on it in 2004 when she got it. I can do anything with this wheel!

So the plans are still to purchase the Babe production wheel, to use for my Sock Hop spinning, and to use this one for my personal spinning--that way, I can have one dedicated wheel that is always used for the same purpose so I don't have to adjust it repeatedly, and the second wheel will handle my stuff for my shop, my personal use, and testing out new techniques or fibers.

Isn't she beautiful? :D

(please ignore the craptastic low-light pic. I'll take better ones later. :D)

So far, the things I've noticed:

The wheel will stop if I stop treadling. The Thumbelina would keep going, so I have to get used to this.

I love having the maiden (the part on the top that holds the yarn I'm spinning) on the left. I draft from that side of my body, and this makes it more in line.

Treadling is much more work overall, but the double treadle makes a huge difference and puts less strain on my legs than the single treadle did.

Adjusting the tension is FAR more complicated on this wheel than it was on the Thumbelina.

The bigger wheel puts a LOT more twist into the fiber with MUCH less effort. Spinning is, therefore, faster.

And there's more, I'm sure, but now I want to get back to the delight of spinning on a wheel that is not only nearly brand new (it was built in about 2004) but is also...MINE.

*cackles*

Lookee! Alpaca!

Sometimes It's Good to be a Woodworker

2007-03-29T23:59:00.000-05:00

When I got to borrow the Sleeping Beauty wheel, it had been used for a long time by several different owners. The wheel itself is at least as old as I am, perhaps more--this model was made only during the early 1970s before it was redesigned. I got it with two bobbins, and there were some worn parts. So I decided to spruce it up a bit (with the permission of the owner, of course!).

First, the brake on the maiden was simply worn out. I just needed to cut a new piece that was 1/16" larger than the old one.

A more complicated fix was the broken bobbin. While not completely necessary for normal spinning, the section that had broken off the whorl rendered the bobbin too short to fill completely. I sanded the broken edge smooth, cut a new piece from a thin scrap of wood (poplar, I think) and glued it on, then sanded it all smooth. This removed some of the old finish, sadly, but it's worth it to have a better working bobbin. Apparently, this also cured an issue with balance, as it seems to spin better now than it did. I also filed out the bushings (the interior liners for the openings) a bit, as the wood had compressed them over time. It's still noisier than the other original bobbin, but MUCH better than it was.

And yes, that's the beginning of my work on the Sock Hop yarn. :D Colorway: Great Balls of Fire! :D

Last, and most complicated, was the reproduction of a new bobbin. Bobbins (and frankly, any parts) for this particular wheel are extremely rare and hard to come by. My dad and I got out the lathe and designed a replacement whorl and head out of Spanish cedar. The shaft is just a normal 3/4" dowel, drilled through. It's pictured here before I polished it with steel wool, to get rid of any tiny roughness raised by the tung oil used to finish it. For reference, the bobbin with blue singles on it is the old one, while the empty one is the new one. :)

The hardest part was reproducing the drive whorl--it had to be at least ALMOST exact if not perfect, so this bobbin would turn at the same rate the other bobbins do.

After giving it a whirl (hurr hurr), it looks like the bobbin is just right! The brake works beautifully on the maiden, and the broken bobbin doesn't act up as much as it did. All in all, not a bad day in the shop. :)

Back to spinning!!

Awesomeness.

2007-03-28T22:21:00.000-05:00

See this?

Yeah, this?

Look a little closer...

That got me a job.

Spinning this.

...I am a very, very happy little bird right now.

Periodic Updates

2007-03-27T01:10:00.000-05:00

1. New Online Portfolio Here. Nothing you guys haven't seen before, but I love the interface and how nice the images look on the page.

2. Nearly done with my current knitting commission; I encountered a snag when I had to change the size from adult to child on part of it, but now it's smooth sailing. I am aiming for the end of the week to be finished.

3. Received a box of Wensleydale locks in a yellow orange and a pink orange, as well as some more Zwartble roving and a darling wrist-style yarn holder--for the yarny types, it's like a distaff for spinning but you can use it to hold a ball of yarn to help facilitate knitting while walking. :D

4. Getting rid of the van. Husband got a raise, a bonus, and a nice tax return--and so we got a new (for us) car. Hey, look, we have two cars that are decently reliable!

5. Reinventing myself as a spinner & textile artist. Will it work? Stay tuned.

6. Teaching two classes through Adult Ed: Basic Knitting (on Monday nights) and Basic Crochet (on Wednesday nights). Both are fun, though hard work, and totally worth it. Thursday nights are now taken up with SnB at Starbucks. I taught my husband and a male friend to knit. :D

7. At this rate, I will never have to buy coffee at Starbucks EVER AGAIN. :D

8. I got the spinning job. :D I will be spinning sock yarn for Crown Mountain Farm's Sock Hop line. :D Can not wait. :D

9. Experimenting with Limonata-can crochet. This should be amusing.

10. Godzilla movies rule. I just watched three of them with my husband, and we are so hooked. Again.

No pics this time around, sorry. :) 'Night!

Small Yarns

2007-03-18T16:06:00.000-05:00

Working through my stash some more--today I've got just a few small skeins to show off. Some of these were spun a couple of weeks ago but the weather hasn't cooperated to give me good light lately. It's a bit on the bright side today, but still MUCH better for photos than dull grey!

First, here's the purple contrast for the Tiger Lily yarn, also displayed against the striped skein to show how they'll look together. It's the same blend of colors only MORE blended, with an emphasis on the purple.

And this is a little collage of three different sock yarns. Yardage is noted on the collage.

I may be posting more later--I am spinning up some mystery fiber in a beautiful range of light blues and greens, among other things. :D

Spinner-friendly SnB in Connecticut!

2007-03-14T11:47:00.000-05:00

Come one, come all--now, every Thursday night from 7-10, drop in at the Starbucks on Rt 75 in Windsor Locks, CT for a brand new Stitch N Bitch group! Our little twist (see what I did there?) is that we invite spinners, too--so bring your spindles and come hang out! Turns out the manager is a crocheter...so she's happy to have us yarny types around!

You don't need to be a Connecticut resident, either--since the Starbucks is located RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET from Bradley International Airport, feel free to drop in if you're passing through our fine state!

There's a yahoo group set up just for the SnB; go here:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TVSnB/?yguid=294740022

...and sign up. :)

x-posted to some other fibery communities and my personal LJ.

Limonata

2007-03-10T17:59:00.000-05:00

I'm always pleasantly surprised by how different the final product looks after spinning. On the right, you see the fiber before spinning, and on the left, 200+yards of perle-cotton-thin yarn. I haven't done the actual WPI yet, but it's pretty fine. :) I love silk. :D

I kept out the rest of the fiber because I have thoughts of plying it with something else. Not positive yet, but there's also no rush on it.

There are a couple of other yarns to show off, too, but it's been SO GREY and dreary outside whenever I've been home with the camera, so I don't have any good pics yet.

Sale on Yarn! Buy Stuff! And a funny story.

2007-03-06T22:57:00.000-05:00

First off, check out the March Sale at my Etsy shop! All GREEN items are 10% off until the 31st. This includes my Mardi Gras yarns, the Iris Garden yarns, and the Dragonfly scarf. I have some other green things coming soon; mostly yarn, but we'll see if I can get my butt in gear to post some other fun things too! Also, I have a signed print of the Mermaid from last year's Merchant Road series up for auction on Ebay. Please consider placing a bid, or spread the word! :D

OK so, funny story.

I signed up to teach 3 classes in my town's Adult Ed program: Basic Knitting, Intermediate Knitting, and Basic Sewing. The second two were cancelled due to not enough people signing up, which was too bad, but I'm ok with it. The first one started last night and was GREAT, but that's not what this story is about.

So I'm home tonight, plying some pretty pink self-striping yarn when I get a phone call from the secretary of Adult Ed. What follows is pretty much word-for-word.

Her: Jenny, do you crochet?

Me: ...uh, yes? A little?

Her: Would you like to teach a course?

Me: ...I, uh, well, I don't know, I, er...

Her: It's just Basic Crochet. *cheerfully* I'm sure you could do it.

Me: ...Jule, I don't know...I crochet, but not a lot...I've never taught it before...

Her: *reading the pamphlet* Oh, it says "Fun with Granny Squares"! See, that's really easy.

Me: I've never done a granny square in my life!

Her: It's only for six weeks. It starts tomorrow night.

Me: O_O (I'm sure she could hear it, too)

Her: See, the problem is that our usual teacher thought the class was going to be cancelled, but at the last minute we got eight students. But the teacher went to visit her family in Norway, so she's not here...

NOTE: I would like to mention that I am not making this up at all. This is pretty much how it went down.

Her: *continuing* ...and I know your Wednesday classes were cancelled, so you could teach this one instead...

Me: ...ok. But...this is not enough time. I need to learn how to make granny squares and work out a curriculum before the class, and I can't with less than 24 hours' notice. Can we start next week instead? Since it's only six weeks anyway?

Her: *thrilled* Of course! I'll call the students. See you next Wednesday!

*end call*

*cue Jenny freaking out, with husband LOLing at her*

So yeah, now I have a Basic Crochet class to teach. I have never taught crochet to anyone, nor have I ever actually crocheted a granny square. Ever. I need to learn how, preferably right-handed. I'm a lefty. *facepalm* And then, slightly less pressing, I need to come up with 'fun projects' that use granny squares. Please don't tell me--I know I'm screwed.

Actually, I'm not, but MAN I am feeling like I am at the moment. I'm gonna get some sleep, then tomorrow I'll grab my crochet hooks and see what I can do. I at least have a week, thank the gods.

And remember--this is on top of my knitting commission, my artwork, and my spinning. Oh, and babysitting. *diez*

So, anyone got any good sources for ambidextrous crocheting of granny squares? :D

Yarn Pr0n - 2 new yarns!

2007-02-28T11:38:00.000-05:00

First, the Zwartble I spun earlier this month is going up for sale, so it got the full photo treatment. :)

And here's the first of two skeins of alpaca, also up for sale, in a colorway called "Iris Garden". The alpaca is raised, shorn, carded and dyed by a local farmer who also happens to own my favorite yarn shop in the world, Criations in Somers, CT.

Go check out the yarns and let me know what you think!

The Numbers that Shape Your World

2007-02-27T17:45:00.000-05:00

Since receiving the spinning wheel 18 days ago (on 2/10/07), I have spun 1633 yards of finished yarn on it, resulting in 14 different skeins of yarn.

Of that, only 125 yards were single-ply, which means the remaining 1508 yards of finished yarn actually represent 3016 yards of singles.

(This does not include the skein of practice yarn from my first attempt, nor does it include various smaller amounts of fibers to test. Those probably total another 50 or so yards.)

All but one skein is worsted weight and lighter. Most of it is DK, sock or laceweight.

I have put up 3 skeins for sale on my shop, and should have another 2 or 3 up by the end of the week. I also have pics of my latest spinning, though you may have to wait til later tonight or tomorrow for them. :)

Birthday Weekend, and Yarn for Sale!

2007-02-26T03:07:00.000-05:00

ETA: OMG I TOTALLY forgot to mention this!! I'm selling a signed print on Ebay. It's The Mermaid, #2 of 20, signed & numbered in silver pen. The print is 8"x8" square and it's one of my favorite images from last year's Merchant Road series. Please check it out, and feel free to bid. ;)

----

So...Birthday Weekend is about 2/3 over, and it's been lovely so far. :)

Friday morning was spent mostly hanging around the house, spinning, and knitting. I got a few dishes done (strange how they keep getting dirty), cleaned out the corner near my desk here so I wouldn't have to deal with an avalanche, assembled some tax paperwork, and then did a little stash-diving. Came up with a gallon bag of about 6 or 7oz of that green sparkly batt I've been working on FOREVER and decided that it was time to just spin it up and say goodbye. So I did just that. Halfway through, the bunny got home and we went over to Dragonmaille's to hang out and spin and play video games. While we were there, a mutual friend, SkullX, came by to talk about a project with Dragonmaille, and we all ended up hanging out together. It's been a long time since we had a chance to really chat with Skullx. I asked him about the icons he'd done for Dragonmaille, which I love. The result of his inspiration is the new icon on my LiveJournal. Every color and element was chosen for a specific purpose, and I couldn't be happier with it. It's a new vision of the Divine Bird! :D After all that, we got home, and I grabbed some earlier attempts at spinning the green sparkly wool and decided to ply it with cotton thread. The results are below--I named the yarns "Mardi Gras" and "Mardi Gras 2-ply". Both are now up for sale on my Etsy Shop. There are about 80 yards on the Mardi Gras and 100 yards on the 2-ply.

Next morning, bunny & I got up and went to eat breakfast at The Diner. It's a little local place, owned and run by a retired police officer from our hometown. We love going there because it's cheap, the portions are huge, and the food is SO GOOD. Seriously. SO GOOD. After that, we headed to the bookstore where I received one half of my present from the bunny--a copy of "Knitting Beyond the Edge" by Nicky Epstein. We hung around for a while, I cast on another mitten and got a few rows worked on it before we went home. That night we went to my father-in-law's for dinner and good conversation. :)

Today, my actual birthday, I spun some angora (which is also going into the shop once I photograph it), went up to Criations to spend a gift certificate, and then had my official Birthday Dinner (tm) at my parents' house. Both of my grandmas were able to make it, happily, though it was a little odd not having Granddad there. He hasn't been gone for even a year; he was at my last birthday and it seems a little quieter this time around. Still, it was a lovely, relaxed time. I got to talk to my sister on the phone (she was stuck in DC, waiting for her severely delayed flight). Both of my grandmas oohed and ahhed over my yarn--I brought the Mardi Gras AND the Tiger Lily (from my previous post) to show them. After they left, my dad put in a movie--Master and Commander--and the four of us watched it together with cocoa and popcorn. I am thoroughly impressed with the movie; it was just amazing--and it didn't hurt that we watched it on my dad's awesome home theatre! Seriously, I felt the rumble of the waves. :D Coolest present--my parents got us tickets to see Macbeth at UCONN next Sunday!!

So tomorrow, Bunny stays home and we have plans to go see Ghost Rider (movie passes), eat dinner at Outback (gift certificates) and then just veg out at home. :D It's the kind of day that we just love to have. I plan to knit & spin some more--gotta get my speed up--and add a few new things to the shop. The angora goes up tomorrow, and I just added a mohair scarf to my stock as well!

And that's the end of my boring (for you) and fun (for me) Birthday Weekend post.

Tiger Lily

2007-02-22T17:14:00.000-05:00

I can't help it--I just can't stop spinning.

This time you get one big collage image. :)

From Fiber to Yarn:

I couldn't quite get the light to work properly for me, and photoshop was no help today. The blues in the pic are actually much more purple, but that's what the lens picked up. It's a very rich and decadent looking yarn.

I spun two plies in the same color order: Red, Pink, Purple, and plied them together. The color runs, while in the same order, ended up overlapping, though there are places where the plies worked out to the same color nicely. I am going to be making socks from this yarn. :) I got about 385 yards in the big skein, plus another 50 or so in a smaller skein that was spun randomly instead of in order.

Enjoy! Comments and suggestions are always appreciated, too. :D

Yarn Pr0n - some duplicate pics and some NEW ONES

2007-02-20T11:00:00.000-05:00

Results of the Baby Camel/Silk.

Foreplay:

~~Swinging~~ Spinning Single:

In Flagrante Delicto:

Afterglow:

*lights up, looks at yarn* So, baby, was it good for you, too?

Mega-super-ultra-stupid-fine

2007-02-18T23:02:00.000-05:00

This is some Baby Camel and Silk top.

This is the single I'm spinning from it.

I feel happy. For reference, the orifice (the black tube that the yarn is coming out of) is 3/8" across.

The best part of this? I have been spinning it on my drop spindle as well as on the wheel, and both are the same weight/thickness. I'll be able to use all of it in the same manner. :)

And in today's episode of "Pimp My Ball-Winder"...

2007-02-18T10:49:00.000-05:00

Sick of my spinning yet? :D

First off, two very awesome quotes from two chats I had today:

[11:17] friend a: [...] I've just felt my legs and have the sudden NEED to shave them.
[11:18] friend a: For the good of humanity
[11:18] friend a: You know, I should NOT have to be wearing pants in my own house.

*****

Re: chocolate covered potato chips

[15:34] friend b: I call them PMS Wafers
[15:34] ChocoboNoMegami: LOL
[15:35] friend b: they're MEDICINAL
[15:35] friend b: health insurance should pay for them
[15:35] ChocoboNoMegami: LMAO
[15:35] friend b: they save our loved ones
[15:35] friend b: "You seem filled with rage. Here, shove this in your mouth and shut up."

--

And now for spinning news. I plied about 175 yards of the Scottish wool and have at LEAST that much left to do of what I already spun. I would like to point out that I haven't finished spinning even the FIRST batch I washed, let alone touched the second batch. A one-quarter of a fleece gives a LOT of yarn. :D I'll post pics sometime this weekend. I still have a lot to card, too. *sigh*

A picture of the plied Scottish wool

So anyway, I got it into my head that I wanted to try spinning a worsted-weight single. For the non-yarny folk, that's basically the most common weight people think of when they think of yarn. It's not especially fat or thin, but I know I tend to spin very fine. (Not as fine as Dragonmaille but still pretty fine.) It's actually work to spin anything thicker at this point.

Using the wheel and some wool/mohair roving that had been gifted to me, I started by spinning 'from the fold' (thanks, Abby!) and drafted what I thought was something VERY thick, then measured it. Yarn is measured by 'wraps per inch' (wpi)...literally how many times you can lay the same yarn next to itself over one inch. Worsted is generally about 14 wpi. My first 'thick' yarn came to about 20 wpi.

Had to go thicker, so I went on and added MORE as I drafted. This time when I measured, I was better at 16wpi, closer but not quite there. This time, I added WAY more than I thought I needed. I was sure it would be TOO bulky...

Nope, I got it dead on, 14wpi.

So I kept going, since I'd finally made my goal. Upon checking the wpi when I finished, I found it had gone back to 16. However, it's consistently 16 throughout most of the yarn, so I can't complain TOO much. All I have to do now is get used to doing the same thing only heavier.

I admit it's not bad considering it's my first time trying to spin heavy singles. This is also completely usable, of course. I have about 125 yards of the DK single and 16 yards of the smaller part plied.

See?

Not bad for an evening of work! :)

IN OTHER NEWS:

I got my amazing package from my "Spin to Knit" secret pal yesterday morning--and I say amazing because it REALLY WAS. First off, I get this HUGE envelope from the Post Office--check out all the postage!

It didn't really sink in that the package was from AUSTRALIA until I got into the car. :D

Check out that haul!! My pal sent one big package rather than two smaller ones, and I couldn't be happier. The two yarns are called "snow" and "no snow". Both are very thick and OMG-soft. There were also some candies (whoo!), two postcards (double whoo!) and vying for attention for 'favorite part of gift' was a bag of Polworth poufs. :D Since I opened the package while we were out to breakfast, I ended up grabbing a pouf and a pen from the table so I could start spinning RIGHT THEN. (Good thing we were in our favorite diner where everyone knows us--all the waitresses came up to us and had to fondle the yarn & the wool! XD)

What a great intro to a day of...YARN STORE CRAWLING. Yep, Dragonmaille and I went off to Avon to visit an LYS that was closing. It's very sad to see a shop like that close, but the owners were retiring. At least it wasn't because they were forced out or something. Still, Wool Connection was the very first real LYS that I ever visited, and it's where I bought my first 'real' non-craftstore yarn. Holding true to my "no buying yarn for a year" promise, I walked out of there with some baskets and a pair of Mission Falls 1824 Wool skeins purchased specifically for a commission. Note: no stash enhancement took place. :D I almost broke for a trio of the same yarn in three shades of green (OMG COME ON IT WAS LIKE $3 A BALL) but I resisted temptation and put it all back.

Dragonmaille bought a TON of MF1824, though. I do love that stuff.

After that, we decided to go in the opposite direction, past BOTH of our homes to Northampton, MA. Yep. WEBS.

Again, resisted the impulse to buy yarn. It was easier there, actually; everything I loved was something I could make on my own. Why buy it then? I did pick up 2oz of Ingeo fiber in a royal purple and 1oz of Firestar in greens and blues with a hint of yellow and red. I want to use the Firestar sparingly in an upcoming spinning project idea, and I have wanted to experiment with Ingeo.

I also got to try a Louet wheel (not sure which model, but wow did I love it!) There was a man sitting over there when I was checking out the wheels; I thought he was a spinner himself but he confided that he was only back there because the 'man chairs' up front were full. WEBS really was packed, I have to admit. So we got to talking, and I sat down to try the Louet. The guy was FASCINATED. His wife came back and she, too, started asking a lot of questions. XD I felt like a master spinner sitting there, making up samples of wheelspun while talking about why the flyer moved at a different rate than the bobbin or what the hooks were for. :D Dragonmaille also came over and showed them how a drop spindle worked. I think the guy left with a new appreciation for textiles and how they were produced.

Oh, and Abby--I got to use your line about how machines were made to replicate what humans could spin, not the other way around. XD I think that was when the guy got really interested. haha!

All in all, I am very proud of my ability to resist the lure of new yarn. I went out yesterday with a definite plan in mind--to buy a ball winder--and I fulfilled that goal. I even got to test it out later at Dragonmaille's when her thread-thin singles were tangling while she plied them. :D I think I wound like 200yards and it didn't look like ANYTHING. :D

And now for some ball-winder porn. CHECK OUT THE LEOPARD-SPOTTED PILLOWS, AWWW YEAH!

See you later. I've got some yarn to wind. :D

Weekend Spinning: Wheel Version

2007-02-14T23:18:00.000-05:00

Well, you all know I got to borrow a wheel this weekend. I will be keeping it for about a year, which means that I'll have plenty of time to spin my stash down to nothing! ;)

Thought I'd post a few pics of the result of my spinning. First up, we have Zwartble (the dark brown black, 120yd) and an unknown wool (the white, 70yd). The extra pic of the Zwartble is a flash pic so you can see it a bit better.

Closeups:

And here's the Alpaca (caramel, 2 skeins equalling 140yd) and Llama (oatmeal, 70yd).

Closeup:

Add to these another 200yd or so of singles spun from that Scottish wool, and you have my spinning on the wheel since Saturday. :D

I'm also working my way through that baby camel & silk; pics of that next time!

No, I mean it, I REALLY love fibers.

2007-02-12T09:41:00.000-05:00

It might kinda sorta be obvious to the casual reader of my blogs that I kinda sorta like yarn. Not to put too fine a point on it, I kinda sorta like fiber.

I know a lot of spinners and knitters out there. Some like coarse, heavy fibers like Navajo Churro. Some like fine, soft luxury fibers like silk and cashmere and angora. Some like soft, spinnable wools like Shetland, Romney, and mohair.

Me, I like 'em all.

Enough with the rolling of eyes and stuff, you guys, I know this is nothing new. It's just...I found myself getting choked up over the page for the Foxfire Fiber Farm. Specifically over the parts that talk about spinning. Also over the Jager Icelandics webpage, and their pictures of "Fresh Fall Fleeces".

I don't know what it is, really. I started spinning only a little under two years ago, and I've been knitting for maybe five or six years. I have always loved patterned, woven fabrics. I do have an appreciation for textiles in general. Still, there's nothing in my past that I can recall that makes me go all emotional for fibers and yarns.

My husband jokes that I'm part kitty because I play with yarn. My beloved Drakonlily once said, "CG, I think you don't just like yarn. I think you...LIKE...yarn." I go to Guild meetings and get a contact high from just being around so many fibers in different stages of preparation. I love the smell of lanolin, the feathery texture of angora and baby camel, the smooth sliding of silk or alpaca over my fingertips while I spin. I seek out every different possible fiber I can find, just so I have something new to try.

I revel in a thin, even single. I keep going thinner and thinner until it's hair-fine and still strong, always thinking of how I'll ply it to make a finer and finer finished yarn. I hold the yarn or the fiber or the single up to the light to study the halo of fine hairs surrounding it, and to see how deep the colors appear, like a newly-engaged girl admiring her diamond ring.

I do the same thing with my spindles. I sometimes take out my box of drop spindles to admire their different qualities--the slender, handmade, unique ones; the heavy beginner ones; the one I made myself; the unusual stone ones. I like to see how the bloodwood inlay on the top of my favorite spindle can look satiny when I turn it. When I spin on the small purpleheart spindle, I barely feel it moving, it's so well-balanced.

I dream of the day I own a parcel of land and can put sheep, maybe an alpaca or two, out to graze. Maybe I'll have a few different breeds, maybe even have a goat! I want a bunny. I'll get a llama or a dog to watch over them all.

I wonder if I'll have a wheel of my own. Or two! Or three! One to spin fine yarns, one for production, and one to take with me wherever I go. I'll settle for one. I'll probably end up making it myself.

I dream of spinning. My husband woke up a few weeks ago to see my arm sticking up in the air, and when he asked what I was doing, I made the motion as if I was winding on the single and put the 'spindle' down. All as I slept. I woke up this morning to find my foot 'treadling'...that is, pedaling the spinning wheel.

Here's the wheel I'm borrowing:

It's a Thumbelina "Sleeping Beauty" wheel, made in the early 1970s. It's older than I am, though not by much. :) I'm borrowing it from a fellow guild member, who will forever be thought of as 'the awesome lady who fed my fiber addiction in a big way'. ;)

And here are the first two bobbins of singles that I spun on it. The one in my hand is actually only about 100yd of singles; there was already some commercially-done yarn wound on the bobbin that I used to work on my treadling. The bobbin still on the wheel is more of the Scottish wool. I've since added more.

And now I'm off...got some more of that baby camel/silk to spin. :)

incommunicado

2007-02-10T12:07:00.000-05:00

I just want you all to know, if you're trying to reach me and I don't answer the phone, or my email, or smoke signals, or banging on the door, or...well, you get the picture...

It's because I'm a bit distracted.

I am borrowing--BORROWING--a spinning wheel from a Guild member who lives down the street from me. I will be, shall we say, 'occupied' for the next few days. ;)

Please ignore the loud swearing for the first few hours; I am still getting the hang of treadling/pinching/drafting/treadling/keeping-the-yarn-in-one-piece-ing. And stuff.

:D

I love fiber

2007-02-05T12:08:00.000-05:00

Five times a year, I make space in my schedule for an all-day meeting. I pack up several bags, a lunch, and a carefully-measured amount of spending money, and head across the Connecticut River to my alma mater. I come home hours later, happy, tired, my head brimming with ideas and new techniques--my pockets are usually empty at that point, and my bags are even MORE full of stuff. ;)

Yep, I'm a member of the Nutmeg Spinners' Guild.

This month's meeting was the pot luck lunch meeting, where everyone brought food to share. We also didn't have a speaker or mentor this time, which meant everyone just sat around spinning, talking, sharing knowledge, sharing wheels & spindles, and experimenting with new fibers. It was amazing.

I always love the meetings to begin with, but this one was just so laid-back and relaxed. It's cool to have mentors and teachers, but sometimes I think we all just like knowing we can connect with other spinners. This time around, I tried baby camel/silk for the first time, learned the proper method for carding wool and bamboo fibers, tried a Great Wheel, tried a Traveller wheel, and arranged to borrow a wheel from another member.

I'm ecstatic about that last thing--I have wanted a wheel for so long, and haven't had a chance to try one for more than a few minutes. This way, I'll have a chance to experiment for a much longer time. I have a pound or so of wool that came with my Louet spindle--something I swapped for. I was planning on giving it away or selling it. Now, though, I think I'm going to use it as my test wool--I won't be crushed if it doesn't come out the way I want, since I didn't buy it in the first place.

I did buy a new spindle, as I mentioned in the last post. It's a Spindlewood mini drop spindle, made of purpleheart and yellowheart. Here's a pic of it from The Wheel Thing's website:

Next to it is a pic of my bloodwood Kundert spindle, also from The Wheel Thing.

The mini is so pretty and cute, and I barely feel it moving, it's so well-balanced! I'll post a pic of my own later on, when I receive my Aztec spindle, too. Right now, the mini is being used to spin some of that baby camel/silk top.

Which brings me to my fiber acquisitions of the day. I bought the baby camel/silk top from a vendor I hadn't met before--the colors called to me from the moment she put it out. They're mossy, deep greens and browns, with a few hints of russet in there for good measure. Then I headed over to Dragon's Lair Farm's table to look over the Navajo-Churro roving she had. I found three smallish bumps in her clearance bin, one pink, one orange, and one yellow. They were coarse and hairy and exactly what I wanted--I have wanted to make a felted bag in those colors for a while, and Navajo-Churro should wear like iron. Last, I bought an ounce or two of Shetland from Cairn Farm's table--a lovely heathered warm grey.

That was supposed to be the end of it. I had my existing stash at home, plus the Scottish fleece (which didn't get drum carded, sadly, but now I know how to card by hand), plus my new stuff. Then, however, I went to reclaim some sock needles I'd lent to C from Dragon's Lair. She was working on a pair of socks, and decided she didn't want to take the needles out. "Would you be up for trading your needles for some roving?" she asked. WOULD I. I ended up with about 1/2lb. of heathered grey Navajo-Churro--this stuff was much softer than the colored roving I'd bought earlier. Hurrah!

So we were packing up. My husband and Dragonmaille's husband & son had stopped by, and they were talking to another Guild member, T. Turns out she and her family do Revolutionary War reenactment, which appealed to my husband. Then she heard me exclaim about how much I loved fiber (while brandishing my new roving) and she said, "Come with me."

We went out to her van. She opened up the back to reveal a large box of dark caramel-colored alpaca roving. T reached in, grabbed a large handful, and gave it to me. ALPACA!! :D I learned how to spin on alpaca! This was lovely, soft, and so warm. Then, when we went inside for our stuff, she brought over a bit more, as well as a nice handful of pale grey llama.

It was just so nice. SO NICE.

When I went home, I pulled out all of my stash and re-packaged everything. I'd been using shopping bags and plastic grocery bags for most of it, but now that I have a real stash, I don't feel comfortable doing that anymore. I put everything into clear plastic ziploc bags, labeled them with fiber content, weight, and approximate date of acquisition, then neatly put the bags into some fabric cubes I got from Target. I now can see everything I have, and it's safe from moths or bugs or whatever. Heck, they're safe from my cat's mischief! :D

The spindles have a new home, too--I've been hanging them on my wire cubes, but I don't really like them there. Now they reside in a plastic shoebox with a lid. My small niddy-noddy also fits in there--bonus!

All in all, I have a really nice stash, though I think I'm done for a lonnnnng time. I had purchased enough to spin over the next few months, but with the gifts, I'm set for the whole summer at this point! I'm also done buying spindles for a long time, too. The only one I truly want is a Turkish spindle in Osage Orange that always makes my heart skip a little. However, just like last time, I am going to hold off on the purchase until the next meeting or two. If it's still there, then it was meant to be. If it isn't, well, I'll always find another one someday. :)

I'll take pics sometime soon so I can show off how pretty everything is.

OH OH!! And The Wheel Thing is now going to carry some of my peg swifts!! Watch for the update soon! :D :D

And now for a Project Update:

Sock yarn for husband: FINISHED
Calorimetry (from Knitty): FINISHED
Art Scarf--Neutral colors, Plant fibers: IN PROGRESS
Green Scarf in Alpaca yarns: IN PROGRESS

Latest Handspinning & Spindle Update

2007-01-25T22:48:00.000-05:00

Just a few pics of my latest handspun.

First, a comparison. The fiber is Corriedale, from Yarnpunk on Etsy. I first bought some back in August, spun it up, and promptly ordered more. The first batch was...not bad, for my spinning at the time. I ended up with a heavy worsted-to-chunky single, somewhat consistent but still varied. I was really proud of it, though.

After the first batch, however, I discovered that I wanted something softer that would show off the colors more. In that time, I attended two Guild meetings and worked on spinning some angora, which was an amazing fiber yet required more attention than I had ever needed to give before. Once done with the angora, I started spinning up some Rambouillet/Border Leicester that had been given to me back in April. Imagine my surprise when I was suddenly creating even, thin singles that plied into a nearly perfect (for me) sock yarn!

I turned back to the green and tried working with it on my current level of finer spinning, and ended up with the lovely 2-ply you see on the left of the picture above. The old single chunky yarn is shown for comparison on the right.

Here's that Rambouillet/Border Leicester I told you about (thanks, Patty!):

The green--I don't know what it will be yet. I have about 100 yards plied with some black Corriedale, plus all the chunky stuff, and now this pretty thin stuff...plus I have another 6oz or so left to spin. The grey-brown wool will become socks for my husband as I promised him. The heavier grey-brown, my first skein that I spun before realizing it was a bit too thick for what I wanted, may go to something else for my husband or else I'll gift it to someone.

All in all, I'm really happy with what I've done in the past month. I feel like my spinning has taken a turn for the better, as well as becoming FAR more consistent and predictable.

My spindle collection is growing, too! In my possession now, I have:

Ashford 'boat anchor'--sturdy, heavy, and my first top-whorl spindle. Also the first spindle I actually owned, given to me by a secret pal early last year.

Louet beginner's spindle--lighter, though with a very large hook, with sheep woodburned into the whorl. I entertain thoughts of replacing the hook and turning the shaft on a lathe to make it a bit prettier, as it's an otherwise blocky piece. Still, I have used it for several fibers and it's a good, solid spindle. Received as part of a swap.

Kundert Bloodwood & Maple spindle with Walnut shaft--my main workhorse spindle. I adore it, I love it, I am lost without it. It was the first one I'd bought for myself, at the Guild meeting in October. I was expressing frustration with the Ashford because I couldn't get thin singles that wouldn't break, and two guild members (one of whom ran The Wheel Thing, who may be carrying some of my swifts soon) said, "The spindle makes a difference--try spinning on a lighter one." So I did, and almost cried at how pretty the single turned out. I experimented with a few different ones, but ended up with this one because of the gorgeous deep red color of the inlay. I now use it constantly.

Stone Whorl spindle from Running Moon Farm--the newest addition to my collection. I heard about RMF through the spindlers group on Yahoo; a stone whorl spindle intrigued me and I checked it out. Boy am I glad I did! It's light, unique, pretty, and spins forever. I got some very nice, very thin singles with it, though I haven't used it enough yet to really get to know it.

Prototype Turkish spindle--made from a Windsor chair spindle and two pieces of cherry. I have a few things to iron out before this can go into production, but I have the basics. It DOES spin, and it DOES work, but I still need to play with it for a while. It doesn't spin long enough. I'll show pics of it at some point.

Coming soon:

Stone Aztec spindle--from Salome on Etsy. An early birthday gift from my husband to me. The whorl is an authentic archeological find from the end of the Aztec empire, about the time Cortez brought them down. Salome turned a new spindle, and I can't wait to play with it when I get it.

??--from The Wheel Thing. I have my eye on a small Purpleheart & Yellowheart spindle, though we'll see if I can still get it when the time comes! I may change my mind, though I've been thinking about that particular one since December. Actually, since October, when I had to choose which one to buy. I got the Kundert then, but I've been thinking about that small one ever since. I recently sold a scarf on Etsy, and the deal was that I could get something at the meeting if I sold something...so new spindle, here I come!

And that, as they say, is that for the night. :)

SNOWWWWWWWWWW

2007-01-19T10:23:00.001-05:00

SNOW!

It's not much, maybe an inch at best, but here it is 10am and it's still hanging on. I am so happy about this. I was really worried that we'd make it through January without so much as a flake. :)

Speaking of which, I think that's what my friends think I am for loving this stuff so much. Of course, I got no less than 3 calls (one from my husband and two from RL friends) who all wanted to make sure I saw that it was snowing. :D I can't help it, I know you guys think I'm nuts, but I really really REALLY love snow. It hasn't felt like winter without it.

I was very warm going outside in my new mittens and my artscarf--the scarf is long enough to wrap around my neck twice AND tie in the front, and the mittens are SO thick and warm. All I need now is to complete a hat that I like (I ripped out my Calorimetry and decided to start over--it was WAY too big) and I'll be set. I have some leftover green from the mittens and a whole other ball of the purple as well, so maybe I can do something that matches.

My art has stalled out; I had a small pair of commissions that were cancelled, which is sad, but I understand why. Now, though, I need to get my butt in gear and start doing SOMETHING. Same with my writing--I reworked the beginning of one of my stories and I like it more, but it's still missing something important. I think I just need to keep going and I can figure out what I need later.

I fell far behind in critiques on Critters.org, which means I need to catch up. That'll be 'fun'. ;)

Oh, and as I mentioned in another post, I decided that this year would be not only Knit from Your Stash year, but also Spin from Your Stash. In light of that, the first thing I chose to spin once the angora was done was some really pretty grey-brown wool that was gifted to me last year. I'm glad I'm doing it now--it practically spins itself! I am also much better at getting a uniformly thin single. This is going to become really nice sock yarn for my husband. :D I've done 100 yards so far--that was within less than 24 hours of spinning!! I need about 300-400 for a decent pair of socks, so another few days of spinning and I should have enough.

My arm is totally feeling it, but it's a good ache. I never thought of what a workout spinning could be, but it forces me to raise & lower my left arm a LOT. I figured out that for every 100 yards of finished yarn, I probably raise my arm to its full extension about 350 times. This is really good for me. My left arm is the one that had problems a few years ago, and I've been coddling it for so long that I was losing flexibility. I'd like to get to where I don't feel a difference anymore between my arms. I am good about taking long breaks between spinning periods and shorter breaks during.

I guess that's it for now. I was only planning to write a 'SNOW' post, but you guys get the scoop on my life as well. :D

Mittens!!

2007-01-15T23:00:00.000-05:00

I made my first pair of mittens this weekend!

I've done gloves and all sorts of other items before, but I've never done mittens. I wanted this particular pair, ever since I saw someone on DeviantArt who had made hers in blue & yellow. I almost did the same thing, but then I saw the purple & green next to each other and...well, I had to have it.

The strings on the cuffs will be knotted into loops for hanging the mittens when they're wet. :)

x-posted to my personal LJ & the punk_knitters LJ community.

Joshua's Sweater

2007-01-05T23:04:00.000-05:00

I can't believe I didn't post this here. My aunt had a baby 2 weeks before Christmas; his name is Joshua. Since he is likely the last baby to be born on that side of my family for a VERY long time, I decided he deserved a sweater of his very own.

I've never knitted a sweater before, actually--but the One Skein book by Leigh Radford had an awesome baby bolero in it. I happened to have some Mission Falls 1824 Wool...it was just meant to be. :)

So here you go:

:D

PS: More spinning, knitting and sewing stuff to come. Honest!

Looking for Christmas Music?

2006-12-20T10:15:00.000-05:00

I hate "mall mixes"...you know, the stupid replayings of holiday music that play the same crap over and over and over until you WANT TO KILL SOMETHING AND IF YOU HEAR SOME 80s NEW WAVE VERSION OF RUDOLPH AGAIN YOU *WILL* KILL...

*ahem*

So I like the 40s and 50s for Christmas music...and I went to Pandora.com and made my own holiday mix. Starting with Bing Crosby's "White Christmas" and let them do the rest. It rules. So far, I've listened to Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra, Perry Como, and of course Bing Crosby. It's exactly what I wanted.

Naturally, you can also put together your own preference for music--looking for that Beach Boys version of "White Christmas"? Or the one by Lee Ann Womack? Go ahead and click. :)

I sound like an ad, I'm sure, but c'mon! Free internet radio, tailored to your personal tastes. If a song plays that you don't like, you give it a thumbs-down and it'll move on to another song. Add more music or more types of music, and it'll grow as you like. I had a subscription to another Internet radio site, but I'm thinking of letting it lapse.

The only drawback to the site is that it doesn't do classical music...yet. Check it out, read about the Music Genome Project (which is freakin' cool) and if you do sign up and want my mix, let me know and I can email you an invite. You don't need to download anything, even. And when the holidays are over, check out the selection on other types of music. I have two techno stations--two different subgenres, natch--as well as a hard rock station and a soft-folk-guitar station. Seriously!

*urges* Now, go check it out! :D

Pandora.com

My First Angora

2006-12-02T23:54:00.000-05:00

Angora bunny is one of those fibers that make my life worthwhile. I love everything about it: the range of colors from blinding snowy white to deep brown and black, the softness, the halo--not to mention my obsession with bunnies in general. It's also one of those fibers that you find in the LYS going for $25 for a 2oz skein. It's one of my 'holy grail' fibers, and until today I have had to content myself with buying blends and playing with inexpertly-cut bits that have been given to me because they were unusable otherwise.

Apologies for the crappy pictures.

Bought at today's Nutmeg Spinners' Guild meeting and spun on my lovely Bloodwood spindle. I have 2oz, though this is only about 1/2 oz so far. I couldn't wait to get enough to ply. :) I started spinning it almost immediately upon purchasing it. The fiber came from the lovely Woolybuns, who will be posting a picture of me on her blog, in which I grin like a fool and hold up my spindle with the first part of my singles on it. :D Not necessarily a flattering pic, but a fun one nonetheless. :D

A Winner is Me!

2006-11-30T23:38:00.000-05:00

Just so y'all know. :)

Flash yer Stash!

2006-11-21T01:36:00.000-05:00

Sorry I haven't posted recently! November is National Novel Writing Month, which means I have been working like crazy on a story that's fallen behind, and on top of that, this is the time of year when I freak out about how many gifts I need to finish by Christmas...not to mention that both of my parents' birthdays are in December. *cries* I have too much to do.

So of course, with all this Stuff to Do, I decided to ~~slack off~~ participate in the "Flash Your Stash" on secretpal_lj3, over on LiveJournal. It took me an hour to photograph the whole stash, which I discovered would NOT fit onto a queen-sized mattress. Not even with stacking. -_-;;

So here we go!

My Spinning Stash, with my 3 spindles, niddy-noddy, 3 bumps of wool from a local CT farm, a lot of my handspun, a bag of washed but uncarded fleece, and a bag of bunny

Debbie Bliss Cashmerino aran & cashmerino chunky, and a few skeins of a knockoff

Assorted chunky plied yarns, some of my chunky handspun, sparkly and shiny yarns, recycled silk, recycled silk & wool...the white mass in the middle is some fingering weight vintage wool.

Worsteds & DKs, plied. Lots of KnitPicks WotA, Cascade 22o, Cascade Eco wool, some vintage teal green wool, two colors of a local co-op's wool (the bright green & yellow on the right), 2 cones of wool, OH and some KnitPicks Ambrosia in the very front & center. :) Also, some laceweight alpaca made it into this pic somehow; I must have been distracted by the cat and put it here by mistake. :)

Cottons, sock yarns, & Superwashes. Superwashes in the upper right, including some Filatura di Crosa and some Mission Falls 1824. Kitchen cottons in the upper right, then moving down to Berber Cotton, then sock yarns...some Mountain Colors Bearfoot, Trekking XXL, Cascade Fixation, some leftover Artyarns Ultramerino 4, then some Nature Cotton, and mercerized cottons on the bottom left.

Single-ply wools. Includes some Tibetan wool on the left, then some Manos del Uruguay and some debbie bliss that matches it exactly, a lot of Reynolds Lopi & Lite-lopi on the right, the multicolor in the front is Farmhouse Yarns (local spinner), 2 skeins of Brown Sheep Co. Lamb's Pride in purple, and last some assorted yarns from old projects.

Fuzzy and shiny yarns. Starting in upper left, a metric tonne of a kid mohair/acrylic blend that I got online, some acrylic thick & thin that makes amazing scarves, 1 skein of Berroco Sizzle, several skeins of Bernat Boa and some Splash that looks like lettuce, 4 skeins (well, 2, but the socks take up the other 2) of Reynolds Devotion, an angora/nylon blend that makes awesome socks, a few balls of mohair, some Plymouth baby alpaca, a few Target yarns, some mohair/nylon blend called "college", and the single green skein on the left is what's left over from my husband's alpaca socks.

Eleanor (from the book Scarf Style) in progress, with 3 balls of the yarn being used, plus 1 of the same yarn in a different colorway. The yellow is called 'citrus' and is dyed locally by my favorite LYS owner. She dyed the yarn for Eleanor specifically for me; it's called 'citrus grove' because it uses the same colors but in different amounts. I have 2 more skeins of this on hold for me at the shop...I'm buying it one at a time. :)

...And that, my dears, is what obsession looks like.

This week is killing me. I will have pics of the finished bad-ass bag once I recover from finishing an art commission AND a knitting commission that's almost done. XD

Anything in the stash that you have suggestions for me to knit? I'm open. I need to add some new items to the Shop. :D

BAD ASS BAG

2006-10-24T22:49:00.000-05:00

Aww yeah.

Last night, I designed my ultimate knitting bag. Then I created a pattern and cut out the pieces. Today I sewed it all together.

Aside from some details, the thing is done. I took it with me to my class tonight; my students were suitably impressed. XD Less impressed when I rolled over the strap a few times... XD

Anyway, the kick-assinest knitting bag is almost ready for its photo shoot. I am making a matching needle roll, too. I'm just totally enamored of this bag, because it is pretty much 100% my design. I used a very old Vogue pattern as a jumping off point, but never actually used the pattern itself. My bag has about a million pockets of varying sizes and positions, 2 zipper pockets, and space for my patterns. I made sure there was a spot for my cell phone and my wallet, as well as extra needles and plenty of room for even the sweater I'm working on. It RULES.

Here's a sneak peek at the lining fabric. I've been hoarding it for YEARS:

Anyone who can read Chinese--just let me know one thing. Is that real writing, or made up stuff? I am fairly certain it all means something, and I recognize a character or two, but I know of someone who wore a shirt that said "Prostitute" and she didn't know until someone told her. XD

And with that, I am off.

Swifts

2006-10-20T01:29:00.001-05:00

One of the many hats I wear these days is 'cabinetmaker', which means I'm an extra pair of hands for my dad in the woodshop when he builds awesome furniture for people. I also get to use the tools for my own stuff...which is very cool.

A few months ago, I made myself a peg-style swift out of some leftover poplar. For the non-yarny folk: a swift is something that holds the yarn while you wind it into a ball. You know that thing the yarny person in your life makes you do? Where you have to hold your hands out while the yarny person winds a seemingly endless ball of yarn? A swift does that for you, and spins. A swift is a good gift for the yarny folk. :D

This is what mine look like:

I started making these because recently, someone on a knitting community I frequent on LiveJournal mentioned that she wanted to find an affordable swift. I replied that I make them, and she immediately asked if I'd make her one. Shortly thereafter, another person requested one (it just went out in the mail!) and I made a couple extra out of some lovely solid cherry I had lying around.

The one pictured is cherry. My poplar one is paler, with a yellowish cast.

I do indeed make these, and I will be happy to put one together for you or the yarny person in your life. Email me for more info, or check out my etsy shop to see if one is up for sale. I will also do requests within reason, just let me know what you're looking for.

Oh, and check out what I devised for myself to help with my spinning:

The wood shop isn't safe with me around. :D

Funky Scarf!!

2006-10-19T20:14:00.001-05:00

I actually got this yesterday, but my camera and my computer don't like talking to each other for some reason. Making them work together is like convincing two petulant children that they have to be nice to each other. XD

I got my GORGEOUS Funky Scarf from my Funky Scarf Swap Partner, Jill, who sounds like someone I would totally hang out with in real life. :D Check it out--it's Silk, Rayon, & Wool...and the colors ARE that bright!! <3

Full view:

Detail:

Closer detail:

In other news, last week my husband celebrated our 5th anniversary with SEX--Stash Enhancing eXpedition, that is. ;) (There was the other kind, too, but you guys don't want to hear about that, now, do you?) We ended up taking a long drive through beautiful Granby and Avon and Simsbury, CT, on a perfect day to view some awesome autumn leaves. We're talking blue sky, puffy white clouds, brilliant yellow and flame red trees, and...ponies?

Yep, East Granby was hosting some of the Painted Ponies. It really was too bad that I didn't have my camera with me, but suffice to say that the ponies were all awesome. My favorite was a geometric rainbow-colored one.

Then we reached our destination: the Wool Connection. WC has the distinction of being the first 'real' LYS I ever shopped in--I talked about it a few posts ago when I ran into Linda, a spinner who works there. I had some Citrine-colored Manos del Uruguay in my hand when I happened to find their bargain bin...HOT DAMN but they had four balls of Devotion in a delicious deep magenta. Let's see, what's more enticing: a yarn I can find elsewhere for the same price, or $40 worth of angora/nylon yarn that happens to be the precise yarn called for in a particular pattern I wanted to do...for $25? Yes. Twenty-five dollars. Be still my heart.

I also happened to notice a single skein of Mountain Colors Bearfoot that exactly captured the autumn colors of my drive up there...which meant it, too, came home with me. I JUST finished winding the skein into a ball, and I aim to make a pair of socks using the doubleknit technique described in Knitty. Oh yes.

Pic of my haul (total price: $44)

In sad news, DM's brother-in-law passed away last week on the very same day, so it's been a week of ups and downs. The funeral is tomorrow...so I'd probably better go get my clothes set now.

Much love!

Midnight Meadow

2006-10-16T21:38:00.000-05:00

I have been showing off a lot of my spinning of Yarnpunk's colorful fiber lately. Today, I was helping DM ply her first handspun and happened to see my yarnpunk singles sitting next to my black Shetland singles. I'd toyed with the idea of plying them together, since I was concerned about the colorful singles ending up with a muddy effect from too much color on color. I've noticed that already with the heavier-spun skeins I did with the first batch.

I have to say I love the result of the color on black plying. This is my first time plying two different yarns together, and I'm very happy. I have about the same amount of black left to spin, so I'll only get another 90 or so yards out of it, though I have a ton of the colorful left. It looks like I'll be spinning up some white to ply with the next batch; maybe I'll think of a project that will let me use both at once.

So here you go: pics of the latest experiment, now known as "Midnight Meadow".

Detail shot (from which I've made my current wallpaper):

The two skeins next to each other:

A bigger pic of one skein:

Because of the difference in the two sets of colored singles, one skein ended up about DK weight while the other is more fingering weight. There's a definite difference in the two skeins that's not immediately apparent in the pictures. The thinner yarn actually has about 10 more yards on it than the heavier one, but it weighs LESS. I am feeling really good about my spinning right now. :)

Revised Spinning

2006-10-08T23:02:00.000-05:00

First, before I go on and on about the Guild meeting & stuff, here's the purple yarn I ended up with from the last post. It's not nearly as bright, but it's a pleasing effect. I spun 2oz of both a bright purple and a grey purple, then plied them together. There were about 6 or 8 yards plied left over of the grey purple, so I gave that to a friend who knits for her to play with. I think this will be one of my submissions to a spinners' swap that will take place next year.

So anyway. Guild.

Saturday was my second meeting with the Nutmeg Spinners' Guild. I brought a good friend (Dragonmaille, who I've mentioned in the past) with me...she showed up as a guest, and within an hour decided to go whole hog and register as a full member. I love having RL friends who spin. :)

DM and I were among the only people who weren't doing the workshop that day, so we set up our chairs toward the back of the room and pulled out our drop spindles. DM is new to spinning, and I've been spinning about a year. I was able to help her get started (indeed, I think I'm the reason she started in the first place...sorry, DM's husband) but honestly, I muddled through a lot of this on my own, and my technique isn't the best. Or wasn't, until Saturday.

Soon after we got settled, another woman came in. I vaguely recognized her, but figured I'd seen her at a previous meeting. She grabbed a chair, announced that she was 'going to sit right here next to these girls' and quickly struck up a conversation with us. She praised DM's wonderfully even single (makes me JEALOUS, I tell you; that girl has been spinning for a tenth of the time I have and her stuff looks better than mine did until like six months in), showered both of us with encouragement and generally exuded an aura of 'ultimate spinner' that was pretty impossible to resist.

However, it wasn't until she produced her own (tiny) spindle and set it twirling by running it along her leg instead of the wrist-wrenching motion DM and I used that it clicked for me just HOW I knew her. She was L, the woman I credit (blame?) with truly making me WANT to spin.

Back when I learned how to knit, my husband took me to my first real Yarn Shop. We were greeted and led around the store by an energetic, enthusiastic slip of a woman who had awesome hair (no really, it defies description) and seemed to know just what to show me. At one point, she showed me a hand spindle and described the process of hand spinning. I left with two balls of yarn and a fierce desire to find out more about this cost-effective method that I hadn't known was available.

A year later, after I've spent this time learning the craft and becoming obsessive about fiber, who should sit down with us but that herald of handspinning, the lady who made me realize I COULD spin (and gosh wasn't it fun), L. She laughed when I blurted out, "It's YOUR fault I spin!"

From there, she REALLY started to help us out. I watched her work on some wool samples she was thinking of buying. It was impossible not to notice her techniques and compare them to my own. Everything she did seemed effortless, which only was fair, since she'd been spinning for much longer than I. However, what could I learn from her? I don't know many other drop spindle spinners in real life.

To show the difference, here is a little collage that shows the difference one afternoon made in my spinning. First is a pic you've seen before, from my last batch of this fiber from Yarnpunk. Next is my new spindle, with a new batch of the same stuff. On the bottom, you see the new spindle next to a ball of the first batch, which REALLY shows the difference. I think my new yarn will be thinner PLIED than my singles from the first batch. HUGE difference.

Now, if you've made it this far, here are the tips I learned and would like to share with other hand spinners who are at the same 'kinda-got-it-but-need-more-guidance' stage:

1. Instead of twisting the spindle with your fingers, roll it against your thigh. This puts a powerful spin on it, without the jarring movement of wrenching your wrist. It's especially good on heavy spindles, but works for light ones as well. For a standard z-twist single, roll it from knee to hip; for s-twist, roll it from hip to knee.

2. Get a new spindle if necessary. I love my Ashford that I received through a secret pal exchange, but it was too heavy for the yarn I wanted to produce. I found a lightweight bloodwood-topped top-whorl spindle that let me spin yarn so fine it brought tears to my eyes. I kid you not. The benefit: the Ashford is ideal for plying, while the new one is better for spinning. The other benefit: I don't have to worry if one is full and I want to spin something different. :) The other other benefit: now my husband can learn on a spindle and I don't have to give up the one I'm using. :D

3. Learn to draft while you spin. No, really. I have been a yearlong advocate of pre-drafting, but I don't know if I can even go back to that now. There is nothing like seeing how much control you can have over the thickness of the yarn.

4. Don't draft too close to the spindle, and don't keep your hands too close together. I didn't see how holding my hadns farther apart would help, but help it did. Loosening up my grip also made a huge difference; rather than losing control of the roving, I had a much greater control and could spin MUCH finer singles.

And that, my dears, concludes my long rambling post about how kickass it is to run into the people who inspire you to do something in the first place.

The end.

Art vs. Artisan Craft

2006-10-08T22:54:00.000-05:00

I belong to several communities on DeviantArt under two different identities--one is my personal ID, "chocobogoddess", and the other is my community about spinning, "daspinners". DASpinners is part of a larger network of 'artisan crafts' communities. One of them posted a poll asking what we thought the difference was between an art and an artisan craft.

I voted "something that gives priority to function over design" because I think that's really the only difference. As a spinner (of yarn, not of wheels ;)), I know that my end product can be utilitarian as plain white wool with no embellishment or as frivolous as cashmere and silk spun with glass beads and flowers.

Honestly, for me, the difference between art and craft has always been the same as the difference between talent and skill. You are born with a talent, but you can learn a skill. I know many skilled people who can draw pictures with amazing detail, and people who have little skill but form pictures that evoke an emotional response. The talent lies with the second person, not the first. It's the same way with artisan crafts--the question is not how technically well does one do their craft, but how beautiful is the product?

Food for thought.

Scarf Recipe

2006-09-19T23:23:00.000-05:00

Since the funky scarves from my last post drew so much attention (I posted them on three communities, and everyone was so flattering), and I've been asked to post my 'recipe' for them, here you go! (Note: The pics are the same as they were in the previous post, just separated and shown here again for reference, should you link to just this post and not my whole blog. :D)

First, choose your color families. For the first scarf I chose Red, Green, and Purple (RGP); for the second, I chose Blue, Purple, and Green (and I refer to it as the Blue scarf). Don't be afraid to put opposite colors together...on the flip side, you could do something like Pink, Red, and Orange where everything is related somehow.

Next, choose three yarns in each color family. The method I used for the scarves shown was as follows: Select one plain yarn that exemplifies the color for you. Then select one that has a definite texture, like mohair or eyelash or glitz, etc. Then select one yarn of any texture or pattern that still falls within the color family, but only barely. (For example: in my greens in the first scarf, I chose a forest green alpaca, a soft eyelash yarn in lettuce colors, and then a wool yarn in a green that looks almost yellow-gold at times, but is still green.) It helps if the yarns are similar weights/gauges, but it's not vital. It just helps.

Plan out how random you want to be. The first scarf was simply thus:

CO 20sts
Row 1 (RS): K across
Row 2: K2, P16, K2
work 11 rows total this way, ending with a RS row.
Row 12: Change yarns and work 11 rows as you did for the previous yarn.

This gives you stockinette-reverse stockinette-stockinette etc., which is the effect I wanted. The k2 on the WS rows keeps it from curling at the sides.

I repeated the colors 3 times. The RGP scarf has only 9 yarns in it; I knitted all 9 and then, when I finished section 9, I pulled out my yarns again. Here's where a little thought is needed.

I decided that I didn't want any yarn to touch any other yarn more than once. I also didn't want the same yarn near itself; I set a guideline of minimum 5 other yarns in between. This meant I had to be careful about what the order of the next section would be. I tried to keep it random, however, so I would figure out what yarns could be used next to each other and would grab from that pile without looking.

Repeat this for a total of 3 sections or 27 blocks. The scarf will look horrific until you weave in all the ends, etc. I knitted some ends in where I could; use your judgement.

You can either block the scarf now and leave it borderless, or do what I did and crochet a black border around it. I highly recommend a solid black yarn, preferably superwash (since scarf ends tend to pick up stuff) and plain. You don't want to take away from all the color and pattern of the other yarns, y'know?

Remember to crochet extra sc in each corner so they stay square!! Also, I used a larger hook than I normally would, since I wanted the edges to be able to stretch. I hate it when the sides of a scarf are crocheted too tightly; the scarf does that weird pouching thing and never hangs quite right.

The Blue scarf was done a bit differently. I was making that one for me, so I felt freer to experiment more. The changes:

--12 yarns instead of 9
--Changing stitch patterns with each yarn--there's garter, moss, seed, stockinette, etc.
--3 borders crocheted on: black, noro kureyon, and black again.

I hope this helps you design one of your own! I also sell these on my etsy shop, http://divinebird.etsy.com if you're not a knitter or don't want to do this yourself. :)

Enjoy!

A return to the computer!

2006-09-17T21:21:00.000-05:00

Heya!

I have been gone for way too long. My monitor died, as I mentioned in the previous post, and I just got my new one a couple of days ago. After catching up on all my messages, webcomics, forums, and groups, I can finally update my blog.

It's been a busy few weeks. Since I couldn't really play on the computer as I wanted to, I turned to knitting and spinning to fill the void in my life. :D Below are the fruits of my labors.

First, knitting.

Dark Rainbow:

Made from 1 skein of a mohair blend I can NOT for the life of me remember. Yarndex didn't jog my memory, but if you recognize it, let me know! I keep all my labels, but I remember putting this one away a long time ago. Grr. It had a black label and came in a flat ball. Made for a friend.

And my Funky Scarves--one is for my pal, the other is for me. :D

Yarns include (but not limited to): Plymouth Alpaca Boucle, Mango Moon Viscose, Manos del Uruguay, Le Fibre Nobili Imperiale Mohair, Dalegarn Heilo, Target, Carol Martin Farmhouse Yarns, Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Chunky (and knockoff), Sirdar DK, Noro Kureyon, Bernat Boa, Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride, Lite Lopi, and more.

And then some spinning:

First, some purple Dorset, 2 oz of each. I have finished the lighter one and am about halfway done with the darker one. I'll be plying them together for a heathered effect, and should have about 200yds when finished. :D

Purple Dorset

Next is an old project that I finally finished. I bought the alpaca back in October of last year. I started it back then, used some to ply with other yarns (see older posts), and got tired of having it take up room in my spinning box. So it's done. About 90+ yards of worsted weight, 2-ply.

Alpaca "Vamp"

And finally, my favorite, 3oz of roving from the awesome Yarnpunk. I have more on order. This was received on a Thursday afternoon and was dry by Saturday morning. That's how obsessed I was with getting it spun. I left it at single ply, and have since knitted a hat for winter. There's still some left over! I will probably spin the next batch more fine so I can ply it with itself, and I'll also separate the colors more to get a less mixed effect.

Yarnpunk

It's good to be back!!

Monitor! NOOOOOOOO!!!!

2006-08-29T07:17:00.000-05:00

My computer monitor died last night while I was in the middle of about five things. It just made a little *click* and then the picture shrank to a tiny dot and disappeared. I still heard my music, but ended up having to shut down manually since I couldn't get even ctrl/alt/del to work...probably due to the comp thinking it was in sleep mode or some such. Grah.

I am looking for a replacement for a temporary fix, but I don't know what is going to happen. Also, my printer/scanner/fax is hooked up to my computer instead of this one (my husband's), and it's too far away from the machine to jury-rig it. This week's update may not happen on time.

I'm really upset, considering I just finished getting my comp to where I liked it with the new HDD, though I can't be TOO upset since I knew this was going to happen sooner or later.

I can access my sites & stuff, but I can't look at any mail that has been sent in the last 24 hours, pretty much. I will be posting this message on my LJ and on the divinebird.com site so you all know what's going on. Once I have a monitor, I'll let y'all know that, too.

*sigh* :defeated:

Booga Bag--PWNED

2006-08-17T22:44:00.000-05:00

I can't believe I finally finished it. I really can't.

First, the basics: 3 skeins of Noro Kureyon in 2 different colorways (one for the bottom third, the other colorway for the top 2/3 and the I-cord), size 10 1/2 needles, hand-fulled. It took me about two days of on-and-off knitting to create--LAST YEAR. The fulling part...well...

Here's the story as I told it on the punk_knitters community on LJ:

So I have this Booga Bag that I knitted months ago--no, make that a year ago at least. I used Noro Kureyon, which I know felts like crazy, but I had no access to a washing machine. Thus, I decided to try felting it by hand.

How hard could it be? I thought to myself. It's just moving it around in water--should be easy. I filled the sink with water, dropped the bag in, and started wringing away. I scrubbed, twisted, even tried using the ribbed handgrip of a broom to get the stuff to full. It sorta did, but the stitches were still very visible. All I had to show for my efforts were a sore back, aching arms, and a slightly fuzzier version of the unfulled bag.

I tried again a few days later, by dropping it in the shower and stomping on it when I was done washing. Aha, thought I, this will do the trick. I stomped and rubbed and smooshed the thing around...again to no avail. Disgusted, I gave up, hung it up to dry, and then put the thing away for a long time.

From time to time, I'd see it as I looked for another project, taunting me. Teasing me. It laughed in my face and knew it had defeated me. Time passed. I moved into a new apartment, another one without a controllable washing machine.

Last night, I washed some socks in the sink and happened to catch a glimpse of the bag, which had somehow worked free of the box into which I'd tossed it. And then a light bulb went off.

I changed the bulb, then looked over at the bag again. Stupid bag. I can make handspun yarn felt itself just from accidentally swishing it around a little too much while setting it, but I can't full a stupid bag? I wonder...

Grabbed the bag. Grabbed the soap. Got the water really hot, then plunged the whole thing in. THIS time, however, there was no scrubbing, no--this time, there was just swishing around, a gentle pedaling motion with the fabric held loosely in my hands. I twisted, folded, and pedaled until, triumphant, I lifted the PERFECTLY FULLED BAG from the water! YES! I DID IT!!

So the moral of the story is...you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. Or, to put it another way, don't kill yourself when felting by hand. Just pretend that what you're working with is an heirloom sweater that MUST NOT FELT. Treat it gently, and the thing will shrink up in no time.

The end.

Funky Scarf Swap Questionnaire

2006-08-14T13:54:00.000-05:00

Are you allergic to any fibers? No, but I am allergic to anything--ANYTHING--with mangoes or mango extracts. Just so you know.

Do you prefer any fibers over others? I love angora, alpaca, wool, silk, cotton, mohair, cashmere--anything natural with a preference for animal fibers. I don't care for ribbon or eyelash yarn, and I try to avoid manmade fibers in anything I wear when possible.

Thinking back to Scout’s post about what funky means to you, post an image of something that you think is funky! Since I don't want to steal this person's artwork, here: http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/25257552/

Would you prefer funky yarn or a funky pattern? Either or. :)

What are your favorite colors? Anything rich and deep--cobalt blue, firecoal red, vivid gold, royal purple. I am currently obsessing over summer colors like turquoise and lime green, but the scarf can be anything that fits my profile. I do have preferences for bright and complementary colors (orange/blue, or yellow/purple, etc.) Also, look at my other posts about yarn to get an idea of what colors attract me.

What is your favorite piece of art? The Kiss, by Gustav Klimt. I love stained-glass windows, too--all those jewel tones outlined in black.
For reference:

What colors would you NEVER have up close to your pretty face? Lemon yellow, sadly--used to be able to wear it all the time, but it just doesn't go with my complexion anymore. If it's with other colors as an accent, that's fine.

Would you prefer an actual scarf or a cowl? Scarf, actually. I love the look of cowls/neckwarmers, but my neck is too wide or short for most, and they make me look like a turtle. XD

When you wear a scarf do you prefer a wider/shorter scarf or a thin/long scarf? Wider, longer. Thin scarves look like string and short scarves look silly on me.

What is the climate like where you live? Really friggin' hot & muggy in summer, bitterly cold in winter. I'm in New England. XD

Would you prefer a functional scarf (to keep you warm) or one just to funk-up your wardrobe? Functional is preferred, but decorative would be ok if it's light like mohair or something. I overheat with too many layers indoors.

What else would you like your partner to know about you? I am an artist, I'm married, and I also work as a cabinetmaker. I have done Renaissance and Victorian costuming. I plan to learn and master every textile art/craft during my lifetime. I'm the kind of person who believes that this life is short, and we need to do things that make us happy, whether that is painting our toenails each a different color or hanging out in a cafe while pretending to be someone famous. I almost never wear makeup. I have a fat, spoiled cat. I try to surround myself with color because I live in an apartment with plain cream walls that I can't change. I adore bunnies and chocobos (it's ok if you don't know what chocobos are). I want to find out who my partner is after this is done because I like meeting new people who might see things the way I do.

And there we go.

PS: Just because, a picture of my workspace:

Major Update on Projects

2006-08-10T23:31:00.000-05:00

I'll have the divinebird.com post soon--for now, though, I am sharing my load of finished objects & yarn with you. WARNING: SUPER pic-heavy...I just got hold of a camera that works so I'm using it like crazy.

First, the yarn I bought at KnitWits in Westerly, RI.

Recycled silk from Mango Moon

Need a better look? How 'bout THEM apples?

I love this yarn. It isn't as consistent as most of the recycled silk I've used, but I have a feeling this will make a GREAT bag. Word of warning, though--the blue rubs off on your hands. Highly recommend washing before using whatever you make out of it. :)

Here's the alpaca I found. It reminds me of 1950s and 1960s camping. Like, these colors would totally belong in a woodland lodge, probably on some fedora-wearing dad who smokes a pipe and wears black-rimmed glasses. It's all the tan and green, I think. Yarn is Aurucania Nature Alpaca, handpainted.

And then we have the projects.

Summer Dice Bag
Yeah, I have a seasonal dice bag. My cashmere/alpaca one is too fuzzy and warm for summer gaming, and I liked the Berroco Cotton Twist in these colors. It's a little shiny and silky, and less likely to make my hands damp or sticky when carrying it in our 90+ degree muggy summers here.

Stripy Crochet Bag
This wasn't meant to be anything originally, but I crocheted the circular bottom and thought, why not keep going? More Cotton Twist, but in solids this time. The green is about right, but the blue is a rich, bright turquoise that never translates well to the screen.

I like the bag; it's cute, but I don't think I'll actually use it. This may end up on my Etsy shop when I update soon.

Crochet Linen Market Bag
Another crochet project, though this time, I used a finer gauge hook and yarn. I wanted an open, lacy design that I could do without having to refer back to a book constantly. I found this pattern in my awesome "Encyclopedia of Stitchery" that I got for a dollar on the bargain table. BEST-SPENT DOLLAR EVER. The yarn is Louet Sales Linen in a very deep plum color. (I'll edit with the correct name when I find the label.) I tried to adjust the colors in the images so you could see the color better. This is a bag I know I'll keep; I've already started using it like crazy!

If you like the pattern, I'll post it--I kind of made it up as I went along, and I've never written a crochet pattern, but at least I can give guidelines & stuff if you want to make one yourself.

Granddad's Scarf
Not really FOR my Granddad, but knitted in May & June while he was in the hospital and then, after he passed away, during my grieving. I usually think seed stitch is annoying (albeit a more beautiful alternative to garter), but it was so soothing when my nerves were frayed. It was just enough pattern and thought to keep me conscious of what I was doing, but rhythmic enough to do without making mistakes or having to keep track of anything when I needed to focus on my family. I don't honestly know what I'm going to do with it yet, but that's ok. I will figure it out when I need to. Yarn was a Soy Silk, can't think of the brand name right now. I'll edit that when I find the label, too.

Whew.

And one last pic of my pretty Miao Yin. Just because.

Finished Objects!

2006-07-21T19:55:00.000-05:00

First off, the title contains a link to my forum, where I posted the full convention report. It was HUGE, so I figured I'd just link to it instead of posting it here.

As you can see from the sidebar on the right, I have a couple of new prints since my last update. Please go check them out either by clicking on the thumbnail here or by going to www.divinebird.com under "Merchant Road" and "Non-Series Images".

Now, on to the finished objects!

I started these socks in June at my sister's graduation from Dartmouth. It was cold, rainy, and grey for most of the weekend, so the yarn was a real pick-me-up! I did my new favorite method of casting on both socks at once so I wouldn't be tempted to give up after one sock. I use DPNs instead of circulars, so that meant at least eight DPNS were in use at any one time. :)

Finished sock from the side...

Looks normal, doesn't it? Now look at the sole:

Hee! Tabi-style socks!

I like toe socks in general--the weirder, the better. However, by the time I reached the toes on these, I was just ready to finish. The first one got a normal toe, but it was just a tad bit short. When I started the toe on the second one, I said 'what the heck' and made a big toe and then used the rest of the stitches to make the remaining two-thirds-sized toe section. I made up this part as I went along, but I do have my notes if anyone's interested.

Yarn used was the ArtYarns Ultramerino 4 from my post back on April 26. I used most of the multicolor and about half of the solid green. The pattern was Ann Norling's basic sock pattern (by Deirdre Wallace) with my own adapted toe. I used size 2 dpns throughout. If I were to change anything next time, I'd use smaller needles for the ribbing. That's about it.

Around the same time that I cast on for the socks, I learned how to crochet. You've seen some of my projects here already, but the first real ITEM that I made was this cute purse.

And inside, with the zipper I found in my mom's zipper stash...

Note how the colors match the socks. I think I'm obsessed. :)

Yarn is some brand of kitchen cotton--Sugar N Cream, I think--and the pattern comes from "One Skein" by Leigh Radford. It took me about a total of four hours from start to finish--keep in mind, I'm a learning crocheter. This was one EASY purse. The strap was my own addition, which I think I'm going to take off and rework as a pair of shorter handles.

Still working on the Eleanor stole, and I just began a new pair of socks out of some pretty Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in Rainbow. I'm using the same base pattern I always use, but this time I'm putting some cables in around the leg. We'll see if that works. :) I'll keep you posted on that as I go.

And that's what I've been doing lately!

ConnectiCon - Tired Jenny, HAPPY Jenny

2006-07-09T23:57:00.000-05:00

WOW.

I just had the most amazing experience at this convention. I got home only about 20 minutes ago, so please excuse me while I go catch up on the sleep I lost this weekend. 9 hours total over the course of four days and three nights does NOT a healthy sleep schedule make.

Sometime tomorrow I'll post the whole report and tell you guys how much fun I had.

Much love.

Need Writerly Help!

2006-07-01T01:52:00.000-05:00

And you don't have to be a fanfic writer, but it helps.

I'm about to do a half-hour presentation/Q&A about what I termed "Fanfiction Ethics". Basically, I wanted it to be an informative panel that would allow me to reach out to other fanfic authors and demonstrate how I approach the source material, skirting legal issues that arise in the fanfic universe, and why we should respect the original authors'/owners' wishes. I have some points outlined, but I wondered what you all thought.

If you were able to tell a captive audience just one thing about how to approach fanfic, what would it be? I'm not talking about the writing process itself, since that's the panel I teach immediately after this one. For me, the main point is to remember this is a privilege and not a right; the owner of the source material has final say on whether or not they allow fanfic, both legally and ethically. What would you tell your fellow ficcers?

To the non-fic writers, I'd like to hear from you, too. If your book hit the shelves tomorrow and there was a good chance your characters were going to be ficced, what would you hope the ficwriters would do or not do? In this case, what comes to mind is JK Rowling's oft-ignored request that fanfics not portray her characters in sexual situations. In Anne Rice's case, she has demanded that no one write about her characters at ALL, meaning she could conceivably legally shut down any site or archive that allows fic of her work. What do you think? What would you want your ficwriters to think of or do before they put pen to paper?

Other points I plan to make are:

consider the repercussions of what you write (will this make my beloved fic community look like a bunch of pedophiles?)

not everything you write needs to be posted (basically, prevent badfic, exalt goodfic)

accept constructive crit with grace (and learn the difference between cc and flames)

rate your fics appropriately (meaning, no rating your fic R when it's really X but you want to sneak in under a lower rating so your fic won't be rejected by an archive)

...and more.

I really mean it, guys. I could honestly use your help if you have five minutes to tell me what would drive you crazy, what would make you love your fans, what you wish your fellow ficcers would do or not do to make the fanfic world a better place. I lead this panel on Friday night, and won't be able to look at responses after Thursday night, so please comment or call me before then.

And if you DON'T have a response, then comment or call me anyway. XD I miss all of you so much, in real life and online.

New Name

2006-06-25T13:56:00.000-05:00

Yes, I am now the YARNIVORE. This is because I consume a steady diet of yarn of all kinds, and often the best part about knitting or crocheting something is how the yarn looks, feels, smells...and so on. >:D

Lock up your wool. Hide your silk and bamboo.

The Yarnivore is on the prowl.

Rar.

Site update

2006-06-07T23:26:00.000-05:00

First, go look at the pretty new pic! Please notice that I added a commenting feature to each pic on the site. Go ahead and comment! :P

"The Leatherworker's Daughter"

I won't be around for a few days--going up to New Hampshire to cheer my sister on while she graduates from Dartmouth. Remember that scarf from a few months ago? Yeah. That was her Christmas gift. :) Looks like it'll either be bright and sunny or cold and rainy. I don't care--it'll be a vacation and a great family time. :D

And now, look at what I've been knitting:

Entrelac front

Entrelac back

This is the alpaca yarn in Citrus Grove, dyed especially for me by Erica of Criations, my favorite LYS. The pattern is for the Lady Eleanor stole from Scarf Style. I wanted a pretty and warm wrap this fall and early winter, so here we go. :)

That's it for now!

Roving all over

2006-06-05T08:06:00.000-05:00

Here's the addendum to yesterday's post:

First, the last two skeins that I spun this weekend:

1 is the rest of the blue, about 30+ yards
2 is an unnamed sheep's wool, about 8 yards

And below we have the contents of the 'bag of needles & hooks' that I had been expecting. As you see, there are needles, and there are hooks...but what's all that fluffy stuff??

1. 4 oz Wool/Mohair
2. 4 oz Rambouillet/Border Leicester in Brown
3. 4 oz Rambouillet/Border Leicester in slightly darker Brown
4. 1 oz Shetland sheep in Black (the only thing that wasn't in the bag; I bought that)
5. 200 yds Tencel/merino/glitz/alpaca/silk, about sport weight yarn. The color is turquoise shot through with pink/blue/black/green and some holographic glitz.

Yeah. NOT expecting the huge bag o' roving. Now you see why I spun so much this weekend?? :D

All roving & yarns EXCEPT the Shetland came from Blue Moon Woolworks in Coventry, CT. The Shetland came from Cairn Farm in Springfield, VT. I have the contact info for both places if you're interested.

Now pardon me, I have to go swim in my new roving. :D

The Weekend Spinning Report

2006-06-04T22:43:00.000-05:00

I decided that this weekend, I wasn't going to go anywhere, do anything, or see anyone. I had a meeting scheduled for Sunday and that was it. I wasn't going to answer the phone, talk to anyone but my husband, and all errands were called off. I wanted one quiet day at home, without any interruption.

That changed on Friday night.

"I have left a bag for you with the needles and hooks that I promised," said the email, "Since I know you're a member of the Spinner's Guild, I'll have the Membership director give them to you when she sees you tomorrow."

I panicked; there was a meeting? I didn't even know. Admittedly, it's been hard to connect with the lovely lady who wanted to give me the needles, and we've been talking about them for months. I wasn't really a member of the guild, though I'd been invited many times and I always meant to go but something always came up and weren't guilds generally clique-y and what if they were mean and and...

What the heck, thought I, I'll go and put in an appearance. Maybe I'll stay for an hour. I'll bring my drop spindle and the small amount of fiber I have and maybe it won't be too bad.

Not too bad my FOOT. I had a freakin' blast.

Despite some serious spinning wheel-envy, I can't believe how much fun I had. I know, I know, most of you who read this are probably going "arg, more textile stuff" but I have to tell you that I am actually SAD that the next meeting isn't until October. SAD!!

I met a girl around my age who is also married and is on her second wheel. I met a bunch of ladies who were much older, too, but I wasn't nearly the youngest one there, either. The program for the day was about spinning with exotic fibers, such as silk, qiviut, mohair, cashmere, and angora. I thought I knew a lot about fabrics--and I do--but I still learned even more that day. I never knew the difference between different kinds of silks, or how the fiber producers divide their business between industries. Fascinating, for me!

I got inspired to spin all that day--you KNOW I stayed for the entire SIX HOURS--and as of this writing, I have spun up all the small (and some of the large) amounts of fibers I had lying around. I don't even want to stop, but my shoulder is protesting. In a good way, like, I worked out with it. Not like I strained it. :)

The fruits of my labor:

First, we have the overview, labeled for your convenience.

Here's the progression on the blue:

1. The original pic from when I got my Secret Pal package a few months ago (note also the camel, which also appears above):

This is the best image for the color of both the camel and the blue.

2. The singles for the skein in the pic (which ended up around 67 yards):

3. The plied yarn:

And now some closeups on the other yarns and things I did this weekend:

1. "Vamp" (named for the 1990s Chanel nail polish), a red and black alpaca yarn, spun to about sport weight (@ 30 yards):

2. A single of Vamp and a single of mohair plied together (@ 9 yards):

3. The silk (@ 23 yards):

For comparison, my very first handspun yarn (NOT the stuff from a few posts ago--that was my first spun/plied/set yarn, which I consider the real accomplishment):

This is going to become another bunny. :)

Beyond what you see in the pics, I also have the rest of the purple-blue and a small skein of a pretty natural greyish-brown sheep's wool drying on the shower rod. Those will be done tomorrow.

OH, and the reason for my mad spinning up of many little fibers? Because that bag--you remember, the reason I was going to 'put in an appearance' at the Guild meeting--contained much more than a few needles and hooks. Oh yes. Pics of that will be coming...tomorrow. :)

(THANK YOU PATTY)

I feel more relaxed now.

PS: the image at the top of this post is a wallpaper I made using the pic of the blue plied yarn. It's sized for 1024x768, which is my resolution. Click on it to be shown the full size image, and save it as your desktop wallpaper if you like. You can also resize it by choosing "stretch" if your resolution is higher or lower than mine. Enjoy!

Coming Down to the Wire--HELP ME

2006-05-31T17:18:00.000-05:00

Today is May 31.

In exactly two months, I will have to make a decision about what I'm going to do about my artwork.

The plan back in January was simple--update every week with a new image and a new story for each image, offer each one as a print, put each one up on Cafepress as t-shirts and merchandise, and offer commission work based on the style shown in my character art. People would buy the image they liked on the product they liked. I would give out business cards with all my information, and every site, sig, and blog I had would clearly direct people to my shops. I joined many internet communities that would help me get my art out there. I have even begun the search for an agent to represent me to even more prospective clients.

Now, I have some low-priced commissions out right now. I did get one commission client since this started--though it was barter for a product she sells, so I have yet to actually make money from my work.

I have been told by a lot of people that they'd be happy to buy my art if it was available as a print. Unfortunately, I have not sold a single print since I started offering them in January, despite making it very easy to find and buy them through a reputable, well-established site.

I understand that everyone has financial responsibilities they have to take care of before buying things like art their friend draws. However...I need to make this work. I have worked really hard to make my deadlines, and though I know not every piece is hugely popular, I really hoped I'd sell something before now.

My cutoff date is July 31. By then, I need to have something to show for my time.

All I ask of you guys is that you recommend me to people who might appreciate my work. You don't even need to buy something yourself (though I'd love it if you did!) The prices on my prints are FAR lower than my commission prices, almost to the point of being ridiculously reduced. On top of that, I only get about half of the selling price at all. Or, if you know gamers--video, tabletop, whatever--who might like an artist's portrayal of their favorite avatar/character, please send them my way.

I need your help, everyone. July 31 is coming up, and I can't count on ConnectiCon to make up the business I haven't been getting these past few months.

Jenny

http://chocobogoddess.deviantart.com/store

CROCHET OMG

2006-05-30T22:39:00.000-05:00

Your reactions to this will be either OH COOL GOOD JOB or OH GODS HERE SHE GOES AGAIN...

Yeah. I taught myself how to crochet this weekend. Be afraid. Be very afraid.

My third, first, and second projects. From left to right, all with a K hook (as that's the only one I had): My third project, in lime green kitchen cotton; my first project, in Cascade 220, Evergreen, I think; and my second project, in Manos del Uruguay Cotton Stria, in lavender.

My REAL first project was taken apart, actually, and turned into the middle thing on the picture. I have now figured out chaining, single, double, half-double, and treble crochet. I actually have a fourth project (lime green cotton again, also in the round) that I did tonight while in the car on the way to a meeting. (I was not driving. XD)

I also picked up a copy of "Big Girl Knits" after hearing everyone rave about it; once I realized that I would make three of the tops in a HEARTBEAT, I knew I had to get it. Since then, I've looked through it and decided I would actually probably end up making half of the projects in the book. It's just that good. I also love how the models are big and gorgeous but not like, size 14 big. Some of the girls make ME look skinny. <3 Already planning on the wrap sweater, the red tank top, the green coat, and the bombshell sweater. That last one is EXACTLY what I've been looking for all year. I can't wait to start on them. XD

Divine Bird updates coming tomorrow.

Back, Late, but Here Anyway

2006-05-11T00:33:00.000-05:00

I signed out at the end of April with the intention of being gone only a few days, maybe a week. Instead, it's been almost two weeks and I'm still behind. Just after I moved in (literally hours after we put down the last box) I got a call from my mom saying that my granddad would not live past the weekend, and I should go see him in the hospital ASAP.

Granddad was sick for a few weeks in ICU; he went in with chest pains, had open-heart surgery (triple bypass), had a stroke, contracted pneumonia, a staph infection, and on top of all that, he was getting dialysis almost every day. Mom, my sister, and I pulled shifts in the hospital waiting room with my grandma. The prognosis was positive until just before I got that call, and so instead of him getting better, he got worse. By Sunday night on the 30th, Granddad had passed away surrounded by just about every family member who needed to be there.

It's been a rough week since then. On Monday, I felt myself getting sick but brushed it off as allergies until I realized I had a fever, too. Turns out I have bronchitis--AGAIN. We spent the next few days preparing for the wake and funeral. It wasn't until just the other day that I was finally able to get online for more than a moment, clear out my messages, reassure my e-family that I was indeed still alive, and update my gallery, LJ, blog, and site.

The new pic for this week will be up by Thursday evening. I still don't have my scanner set up, which means I have to bring my pics to my dad's to get them scanned in. The Javelineer has been 'emotion' inked, and he'll be colored by tomorrow night. I think you guys will like the new pic for this week, too.

Thanks for your understanding and support! Your comments and faves mean a lot to me. Anyone who sent a request or comment and didn't get a response, please comment and remind me to contact you back.

Oh, and check the gallery for final versions of Nemerenth, Iyan, Daene, and the Messenger. All have been given backgrounds and should be available as prints as of Thursday or Friday, and all pics except Nemerenth, Iyan, and Daene are available on Cafepress on the usual selection of fun stuff. The last three will be set up later, but now I'm fried and I need sleep before I help my dad tomorrow.

Anyone ever notice when you move that you seem to have WAY more clothes and books than you thought you had??

CG

I am le tired.

2006-04-26T17:17:00.000-05:00

Dragonmaille and I went up to WEBS on Saturday to see if we could meet the Yarn Harlot. By the time we got there, though, it was insanely busy and the line for book signings was out the door. We decided to shop for yarn instead.

Now, DM and I are both knitters, and we both love yarn. We love to pet it, love the texture, love the colors. However, our tastes...well, they're a little different.

DM likes browns, clarets, burgundies. Forest greens. Greys. She REALLY likes grey-browns. Don't get me wrong, I think those colors have their uses, but my hands reach for things like this:

See the difference? :D Can we see the trend in Divine Bird's knitting these days?

From top left: Two balls of ArtYarns Ultramerino 4. These will be socks. They are sitting on top of an already-started cake of Cascade Eco Wool. YES. ECO WOOL COLORS. The four Lite-lopis were bought for a shawl I mis-remembered. I kept thinking it called for Lite-lopi, but when I finally got back to look at the book, I realized the shawl was calling for something completely different--which works out, since I have JUST the yarn for it already. The Lite-lopi had been called for in a different pattern in the same book, so now I'll have the excuse to make THAT pattern as well. :) Am I gonna be warm this winter!!

I had planned on using the Eco Wool as the base of a sweater for myself, but while working on my first Icelandic design, I realized I really WANTED some lime green in there. Thus, I dipped into the center of the cake to help create this:

It's my first real colorwork. I did some jacquard knitting for the Pac-Man scarf, but hadn't ever tried a real charted design. I love doing stranded colors. This is also my first real SWEATER. I started on another one but need to redye the yarn for the body before I can continue; we'll see how it comes out later. This one is using some dark blue-green vintage wool that I acquired over a year ago as the base. I worked out the math for the increases so it will fit me; it's a top-down Icelandic cardigan with steeks. I am kind of winging it in places, but so far it seems to work. I am about halfway through the yoke. The patterns for the colorwork came from some books on scandinavian and fair isle knitting, though I'm editing some for my own purposes. Each section is a nearly-random selection of two of my five yoke colors: Magenta, Yellow, Orange, Lime, and White. The plain rows (where I increase) are the body yarn.

I'm exceedingly proud of this sweater. It is also a great way to keep my hands occupied while sitting in the hospital waiting room. My granddad has been in ICU for a few weeks now, and my mom, sister, and I are pulling shifts sitting with Grandma while she looks after Granddad.

And now I am signing off this blog until next week at the earliest. We are moving this weekend, and DSL won't be back up til Tuesday. And then we have unpacking and setting up and OMG shoot me now. >_<

Spun the Bunny

2006-04-09T18:24:00.000-05:00

I really wanted to make the yarn (from my last post) into something great, so I settled on a popular pattern for a stuffed bunny that didn't take much yarn. I had spun 44 yards once it was plied, so I had JUST enough (and by just enough, I mean I had only one yard when I was done) to make the bunny. Some pics to demonstrate the cuteness:

I learned several things by doing this project. First, of course, was the entire process of spinning, plying, and setting yarn from start to finish. Second, I learned how to make a toy, since I'd never done one before. The bunny was extremely easy--he was essentially one square, three inches of I-cord, and the two ears. I stuffed him using some Wool-Ease Thick&Quick that I didn't like. His name is "Spun".

I also now have several orders from friends and family for bunnies of their own. :D

Spinning Yarn

2006-04-06T15:14:00.000-05:00

First of all, head on over to www.divinebird.com to see the new pic. I was so sick last week and the week before that I just couldn't update then, but now I'm back on track. The image is my April Fool's Day image, inspired by my friend duskydawn. I am thinking of reworking it in black & white for when I do the t-shirts for it. :D

And now, on to the spinning.

As seen in my earlier posts, I received a lot of roving and a spindle from my most recent Secret Pal. The first thing I did was this:

That's just under two ounces of sheep's wool. The pic is actually pretty close to the color, which is a lovely pale grey.

I brought the spindle to my LYS to show it off. :) There, one of the owners (Pam, the knitter) and I wound the singles into a ball using the ball winder. This was also a test of how well I spun, since if I hadn't done it properly, the yarn would have unspun and broken. However, all was well, so I ended up with a little cake of yarn.

A few days later, I brought the cake back and the other owner of the shop (Erica, the spinner and weaver) showed me how she plies from a center pull ball using the spindle. It went pretty quickly!

When I got home, I measured the result using my stepladder, which just HAPPENS to be a yard around. (Niddy noddy is next on my list of things to make for myself!) 44 yards!! I set the twist by soaking it and hanging it to dry in my shower, et voila:

Add this to my first few tries at spinning--

And now I need to figure out what to make with it all.

Any ideas?

Next on the spindle: Wine and black alpaca, probably no more than DK weight when it's plied.

In addition to all this spinning, I've been working through a ton of UFOs and WIPs that needed my attention. Now finished are my mom's Rabbit Tracks scarf, my dad's Trigger Mittens, and three new baby hats. I'll be posting pics of the hats once all of them are done--see my posts back a few months for pics of the first three I did. I have about three or maybe even four left to go, depending on how well the yarn holds out.

My husband's alpaca s0x0rs are almost done--all that's left is the peasant heel on both of them, and then they'll be ready to wear. I hope they fit him, after all this time!!

All in all, I'm feeling pretty good about how things are coming along. I really wanted to complete the Knitting Olympics, but failed miserably due to too many other obligations. However, now that I can sit back and admire my finished pieces that have been hanging over my head in some fashion since before Christmas, it's refreshing to be able to say, 'what else could I knit now?' without feeling guilty about starting something new!

So there we go.

Site Update

2006-03-16T00:35:00.000-05:00

SITE UPDATE

Heya, all--

I just did a bit of an update on Divine Bird, including new art, new commission info, new commission sample pics, and a few other tweaks here and there. Check it out, and sign the guestbook if you do! (I give secret prizes to certain numbers.) :)

COMMISSIONS OPEN

I've gotten back on track, so new commissions are open and are finally doable in a three-week timeframe. The sooner I get a request, the faster it gets done, since all work is first-come, first-served. Check the site under "commissions" to see how to request an image.

REFERRAL SPECIAL!!

I really appreciate word-of-mouth referrals most of all. Because I like them so much, if you refer someone to me and they order a commission or buy a print, I will give you 50% off the price of your commission or print! Just let me know in some way (PM, Email, comment here, what have you) that you directed someone to me. You don't even have to be close friends with them; just knowing that you guys are looking out for me is enough. :D (One per person per referral, please. Meaning, if they order three commissions, you only get one at the special price. I have to eat, yanno. XD)

COMING UP ON THE DIVINEBIRD.COM SITE:
-- A newsletter feature, where you can enter your email and get notifications when the site is updated

--A revised front page, sans redundant info

--New art every week (as always!)

--A gallery of handknitted items for sale on The Divine Bird Etsy Shop

--The Forum will be revamped and made a little more prominent, since I'd like to see some conversation there--especially in the 'Requests' forum :D

--And finally, a redesign of the main "Stories from the Merchant Road" page. The list of images is getting too long to scroll through, so it's about that time to rework it. This may happen sooner rather than later.

FEEDBACK?

Please let me know if you have questions or see a mistake, etc. on my site. I will also be happy to do link exchanges with your sites, especially with my RL friends. XD We could all use the extra traffic, I think. ;)

That's it for now! Thanks for stopping by!

THE BIG REVEAL

2006-03-15T15:11:00.000-05:00

It has been FOREVER since I updated, and last time it was for Secret Pal 7, too. XD This time, I eagerly awaited my last package from my pal, who was kind enough to email me beforehand.

So I collect this large, light UPS box today--and race inside, tear the tape off, and...and...and...

WELL, LOOK!!

Roving--LOTS of it, in blue and natural grey/white and even some CAMEL. And a spindle!! And a BOOK about spinning!

I learned how to spin on a borrowed spindle several months ago, but I returned the spindle to its owner. I haven't replaced it, and I really like spinning. NOW...NOW I have the opportunity to keep at it. I've already made yards and yards from the grey; I started playing with it the MOMENT I finished taking pics. XD

THANK YOU, SP!!! You've been the BEST!

WHOO!! MORE Yarn in the mail!!

2006-01-28T18:09:00.000-05:00

Omg. I love Secret Pal 7. <3

My dear SP sent me my first package today, and it makes me so happy! I got a copy of Yarn Harlot's "At Knit's End", a box of Toblerone chocolates, an ADORABLE grey sheep tape measure (XD) and best of all, a skein of Mountain Colors BEARFOOT--what an awesome name for a GORGEOUS yarn!

Here's a pic of my haul:

...er, let me move the cat and see if you can actually SEE the stuff.

There, that's better. XD

This RULES.

THANK YOU, SECRET PAL!! <3

Site update

2006-01-25T23:09:00.000-05:00

New pic up on divinebird.com; the Wednesday Merchant Road update is the Artillery Mage. Check him out, and if you stop by, sign the guestbook!

He's also upon DeviantArt under my chocobogoddess gallery.

That's all for now!

I Must Be Insane.

2006-01-20T22:17:00.000-05:00

I have joined the Knitting Olympics.

In one of my less than perfect moves, I have decided to take Ms. Stephanie Pearl-McPhee up on her challenge. I plan at this point to be making a lace shawl--nothing hugely complicated, but a lace shawl nonetheless--from the metric ton of Fluffo I seem to have accumulated. Since I have never successfully completed a whole shawl, this WILL be a challenge for me. This also is on top of everything else I must do, which includes my normal art updates, working on a new portfolio, finishing up current commissions, helping my dad, reworking the novel, cuddling with my honey, and of course, the everyday little things that seem to take up more time than I expect.

...BRING IT ON, PEARL-MCPHEE!

I am ready. Just--well, caffeine doesn't count as a performance-enhancing drug, does it?

The Dartmouth Scarf

2006-01-16T13:26:00.000-05:00

I give you the Dartmouth Scarf.

This was my Christmas gift to my little sister, who is doing her Master's degree at Dartmouth. She wanted one of the school scarves, but they sell for something like $80 at the co-op, and they're crappy acrylic. I decided to make her a REAL school scarf. This baby is all soft wool, boasts 21 stripes, and took me a couple of months to complete. It is, so far, the biggest labor of love I have yet undertaken.

Not that it was a difficult project, not by a long shot. It's just tedious and time-consuming to knit nothing but stockinette in the round for 5 1/2 feet. XD Plus, I couldn't knit it at the movies, for instance, because I needed to keep the row count even between stripes.

All in all, though, it was totally worth it. I am in love with this scarf. It is double-thick (it's basically a really wide tube), it's super warm, it can be worn any one of a dozen ways. I will be sorry to mail it off to teh Seester, but she already loves it (I gave her the 1/2 finished object at christmas) and I know she'll take care of it.

Besides, maybe she'll give out my card. ;)

New Year, New Business! New Site! Clicky!

2006-01-04T10:18:00.000-05:00

Ok, so.

I've been working a temp assignment for the past few months, and it ended the day after Christmas. I'd been extremely sick (see last post for the gory details), and the prospect of going out to find yet another crap job for another few months made me feel even worse. I decided to let myself get better and then I'd think about what I would do next.

The result is that, two days later, I sat down with my (awesome) husband and told him I'd figured out just what I would do. It would take a lot of work, a lot of time, and a lot of discipline.

I've been doing small commission art for friends for a while now; there are several pieces I've put up here for print sales, but I've never really pursued a career using my character designs. That's all changing. As of today, January 4, 2006, I have reopened my secondary site divinebird.com and turned it into a real access point for commission art, print sales, and more.

Every Wednesday, a new image will go up with a vignette about the character portrayed. Today, I started with Neelie, a dye merchant who will act as the 'hostess' of my site. Later today, a second image will be added, and Neelie will be the one telling stories about the characters.

I have several commissions in progress now, and I am open to accept more. All new images going up on divinebird.com will be offered as prints here and on merchandise through cafepress.com, with items through DeviantArt also being added later once I get used to their designs. I know a lot of people watch me through my various sites (many thanks!!) and I hope that, even if you aren't interested in buying one of my pieces, you might think of someone else who would.

I suppose it clicked for me to try this after hearing yet another person ask me why I wasn't a full-time artist. I have a long way to go before I meet my own standards, and I am sure you will see changes as time goes on. I expect that of myself as an artist. By the same token, if I wait to become a 'serious' artist until I meet my own standards...well, let's just say that I don't think I'll ever do it. ;) I think a lot of you understand that!

I know I can do it.

Should I laugh or cry?

2005-12-24T11:58:00.000-05:00

Well, here we are, December 24th. This is the day I think of as the real beginning of Christmas celebrations, since we usually go to my husband's father's house and then to my uncle's house in the evening. Then, on Christmas day, we go to my parents' first thing in the morning, my Granddad's for a few hours, and then my mother in law's.

*insert sound of record screeching here*

Yeah. Not this year.

I have been sick since Wednesday. I mean, sick, sick, throwing up, fever going up and down, dizzy, pain, sinuses, dehydration, can't eat anything since Tuesday, lost my voice yesterday SICK. Today is the first day I've felt human since this whole thing started.

First I had CGod call my grandparents to let them know we probably wouldn't see them on Sunday, since Granddad is on dialysis (sp?) and I'm not really into the idea of getting HIM sick. Ok, I can deal. We'll see them later in the week, all is well.

So then last night I'm thinking, I'm still feverish, I don't want to get my other grandma sick, either, and I'm really not going to be up for two parties at two houses, especially since I'm unable to talk and my head hurts when my husband even talks a little louder than normal--so maybe we'll forgo the Christmas Eve stuff. Not my favorite decision, but I really wanted to be up for going to at very least my parents' and my mom-in-law's.

Then today hits, and I'm still not 100%...so my husband calls my parents to see if the gifts have come yet (we ordered a ton of stuff online and had it shipped to their house instead of here) and my mom says, "If Jen is less than 100%, don't come over, since we can't afford to get sick, too."

While I understand their reasoning--my sister is on break from Dartmouth, my parents both can't take time off from work, and my brother is both working AND going to school--I was still hurt by the words. Everyone drills into my head how important 'family' is at Christmas (ever since I mentioned possibly breaking off and doing my own thing once I got married; imagine how well THAT went over) and yet, that very family was pretty much "don't come near us with your germs" when I just really want someone to make me a cup of tea and say "aww". I just want to hang out with them and have my Christmas morning like I have for just about every one of my 30 years. It sucks and I am really sad about it. Don't get me wrong--I am not coming down on my family here. I am mostly angry that I'm sick over the one holiday I actually WANT to see them on.

Well, after hearing that, I had my husband call HIS mom to make sure we shouldn't go there, either, which is a good thing--his uncle is visiting and HE'S got heart problems, which means someone as sick as *I* have been would be a very bad addition to the party. So I'm all about to feel crappy again, when CGod says, "my mom wants to know if she can bring Christmas to us."

Basically, she's bringing over our gifts today and some food tomorrow, because she feels really bad that we can't have ANY of our Christmas plans. On top of that, one of my best friends in the world is coming by to show me the proud result of my teaching her to knit (yay) and then tomorrow, we may just end up going to visit Jeff & Kristin, who have promised delicious chicken soup and lots of fun people to make us feel better.

All in all, the holiday is not a waste, but it is turning out very differently than I had planned. It's hard like this, when I'm up to going out but am afraid of getting certain people sick. At family gatherings, there's so much hugging, so much closeness, and I really need to be able to curl up in the back of the action and just chill. It also sucks that I can't talk, which means at a family function I'll have to either wear a tag that says "don't ask me how I am, I can't tell you" or try to explain in a whisper that I can't talk while all the noise of the party is going on around me.

And now I need to go neaten up more. My inlaws are coming and my house is a disaster, and I am moving verrrrry slowly today.

*hugs all*

Finished: One "Hat of D00M"

2005-12-05T03:23:00.000-05:00

So-called because it was knit on little needles and with finer yarn than I should have used and it just took for EVER AND EVER OMG...

Check out the pics, taken in a dark kitchen with no flash, and only my computer monitor for light!!

This one is the best for color. It's just before I threaded the last sts at the crown.

Another shot with all the needles:

And the finished product!

The pattern is from Knits from the Heart, a book by Kristin Spurkland. The yarn is called Cashmere Luxury Aran, which is essentially a Debbie Bliss Cashmerino knockoff. With less cashmere, I do believe. Bought last year at ACMoore. It's quite soft, and the fabric really is pretty and has a nice drape.

I call it the hat of D00M also because it was begun on a bamboo circular needle, and you know, next time I'm doing the whole darn thing on dpns. That circ KILLED my fingers.

Some catch-up stuff

2005-12-03T03:05:00.000-05:00

Isn't she CUTE??? This is my kitty in a paper bag. XD

In other news: tomorrow I bake--the apple crisp I made for Thanksgiving went over so well that I'm going to be making some for the game group. Before THAT, however, I am spending the morning at my dad's.

A few months ago, one of the owners of my LYS (the wonderful Criations) lent me her Turkish drop spindle so I could learn the basics of how to spin.

She reminded my husband last week that I still had it. Erg. I meant to return it, like, a couple weeks later--instead, it's been months. My apologies, Erica.

Since I like making things with my hands, and I have full access to my father's wood shop (he's a cabinetmaker, after all) I figured I'd make some of my own. I'll be posting them up here when I do. I think I have the construction down, so we'll just have to actually MAKE the things.

And that's about it. Doing a lot of knitting for the holidays, about to start writing on Created again, and trying to work some art in there someplace.

Holy crap, I finished NaNoWriMo.

2005-12-01T01:45:00.000-05:00

In the middle of doing NaNoWriMo (I WON! SEE MY ICON! XD) and knitting holiday gifts, just because gifts, commissions, and charity things, I decided suddenly upon getting my copy of AlterKnits in the mail that I just HAD TO MAKE the fingerless glove/mitten/lace up thingies.

For myself.

Right now.

I just HAPPENED to have two skeins of Manos del Uruguay handy--the pattern really only needs one, but hey. I have two. I just HAPPENED to be looking for something to make out of them that I could wear this winter, along with the scarf and hat/band/earwarmer thingy I'm making out of the Debbie Bliss Soho I got from my secret pal a couple of months ago.

So here we are, some very warm, very pretty (*I* think) fingerless arm warmer thingies.

Because warm thingies are nice.

So you can see the ribbon and the gusset:

OH and this is neat, too--a scarf I made from the yarn my pal spun and sent to me. I love how it ended up striping at one end. XD I get so many compliments on it when I wear it; it goes with everything I own. For this, I just did feather and fan and knitted the whole darn skein 'til it was gone.

And then some UFOs:

This one is made from handspun alpaca, by my favorite LYS owner's alpacas. :) The colorway is called Citrus, and it really is beautiful. The colors are more subtle in real life. She is going to be dyeing some of the same yarn in the same colors, only with the greens prevalent for the body of my sweater. Yellow isn't my best color, but green is fantastic on me. :)

This next is my own design. I wanted to knit Pac-man eating the dots and chasing ghosts; the best and easiest way for me was to knit him side-to-side. I learned fair isle, intarsia, and charting for this. :) Part 2 is in the works, and will be 3-needle bound off when done. :)

And a close-up:

I know, pic-heavy. :) I have been sitting on some of this for a while now. :)

WHOO! Yarn! In the Mail!!

2005-11-24T22:21:00.000-05:00

Wow, two updates in this blog in one week? You guys are SO lucky. :P

Yesterday in the mail, I received this mysterious box:

And I was like, huh, who sent me a package?

And then I opened it...and it was...

THIS.

Want a closer look? How 'bout THIS FREAKING NEAT cloud-colored thick N thin uberbulky yarn:

And THIS "college" by Filatura di Crosa (HEART!!!)

AND THIS...the thing that made me actually squeal like a ninny, KOIGU OMG OMG:

And among the cool things? A diy pin, a cute card (with bunnies! in costumes!), a wine charm kit, a felted heart keychain (XD), a martini magnet, a little candle, and a chinese flower knot template!! So many cool and wonderful things.

I think I already have a pattern in mind for the College, and the Koigu has gone onto my Yarn Pedestal of Admiration and Petting, and the bulkytwistysoftsoftsoft yarn is starting to tell me it wants to be something specific, but I just don't know what. Yet.

I will speak more about these later. For now, I must admire and bask in the delight of new, beautiful, and awesome yarn and fun little gifties. :)

THANK YOU!!!!

Well, I AM a Writer, Too

2005-11-22T00:16:00.000-05:00

I keep forgetting that I haven't, oh, updated this blog with one of the four passions listed in my very blog title: Writing. I've talked about gaming, talked a LOT about knitting, and the geekery has pretty much been evident, I think...but writing?

Of course, this could also be because I'm participating in National Novel Writing Month, aka NaNoWriMo, and I'm completely frazzled. For those of you who don't know what the insanity is all about, here's the short version: You have to write 50,000 words in ONE NOVEL between November 1 and November 30. You can't write the same word 50,000 times, and you can't count anything you've done before November 1 or after November 30 toward your word count. You also can't edit, can't rework, can't stop yourself from writing whatever comes out. It's all about quantity over quality, for as they say, "December is for editing."

As of this moment, my word count is at 33,002. I have eight days in which to write the remaining 16,998 words. I can do it, actually.

I tried this a couple of years ago but had to stop due to an arm injury. Last year I didn't remember in time, and I realized I had missed it right about at Thanksgiving. This year, I'm going to do it.

I'm bending one of the rules slightly, since my story IS actually a work in progress, however, I don't count anything I have done before, and in fact my story has taken a very different turn at times because I'm starting from scratch with it. I know the characters, I know what I want the scenes to contain, and I know what I want the end to be. I consider everything I've done before to be a really detailed outline for this month.

I've also learned some things about myself and how I write. For instance, I found that saying "omg 2k words per day?? TOO MUCH!!!" is nothing but a way to convince myself it's impossible. Now I think 2k is a cop-out, since I have had days where I've done 4k without breaking a sweat.

Another thing is that I write more when I'm supposed to be doing something else. XD If I write between calls, I find that I'm eager to get the next few sentences down THE SECOND my customer hangs up. :) This keeps me moving all day, since I have time while the customer is on the phone to mull over what I'll say next--and before I know it, 4k is done.

At this rate, I SHOULD be done by now, but honestly, I haven't written every single day. I do far less on the weekends than I do during work days.

I ALSO found that I like round numbers. Seeing a word count of 2875 makes me think, 'why can't I get to 3000? Not even 200 words away--hell, 200 words is usually the limit on a bio on a forum, and I always get cut off on those!' And before I know it, I'm actually to 3542, and I think, 'less than 500 to get to the next thousand...I have half an hour, I can do it!'

Granted, what I'm writing is mostly crap. But there is a lot to be found in there, and under the stilted dialogue, the melodrama, and the angsty characters, there's a lot that is salvageable and honestly good. It feels SO GOOD to see this story develop into a real tangible thing, something I can print out and read, something I can say, 'ok, time to change this' instead of saying 'I'll write it someday'.

And that's the REAL point behind NaNoWriMo. Someday is NOW. There is no reason why you can't write a novel in a month. 50k? Pfft. Go for 100k. Write your 50k and then don't stop. Keep going. Edit it later, get it all out now. Don't think about it. Let your characters talk to you. Let them get secrets off their chests. Let the plot turn silly or serious.

So, yes. Writing.

THIS HAS TO STOP. NO, NOW. I MEAN IT.

2005-10-13T07:53:00.000-05:00

OK, I can deal with people liking ponchos--it's fine, really. To each their own. But...this whole "Martha Stewart Poncho" thing has GOT TO STOP.

Let's think about this, ok? A woman breaks the law and, in one of the few times I think justice is being served (albeit lightly, but hey, she didn't murder anyone or anything), she goes to jail. Fine. She serves her (short) time, while her media empire bravely chugs along without her (sniff sniff sniffle) and then, when she leaves jail, she is seen wearing a...a PONCHO. That another inmate made for her.

The knitting/crocheting/textile crafting world goes CRAZY. I mean it. Every major yarn brand creates a version of THE PONCHO. They call it clever things like the "Going Home" poncho (now for dogs, too!), the "Home Again" poncho. I'm waiting to see a "Free at LAST" poncho. Don't laugh--it'll happen. Mark my words. Even Lily Chin, a lady whom I admire and usually respect, has created a version.

NO, people! NO! Why do you do this? Martha wasn't wrongfully incarcerated, or held hostage, or heck, she wasn't even innocent. She did a crime, did her time, and manipulated every single one of you poncho-knittin'/crochetin'/whateverin' people into believing that you were bereft without her and couldn't find your way in the dark, dark months that she was gone and OMG SHE'S BACK AND SHE LOOKS FABULOUS!!!

Or maybe you WERE bereft, and really, that's just sad. Feel bereft when your grandma dies, or when your dog runs away, or when your brother moves across the country. Want to celebrate/glamorize the return or coming home of someone? Knit or crochet something in red, white, and blue when the servicemen come home alive.

Do I hate Martha Stewart? No. I've been known to pick up her magazine from time to time. I have thought, 'hey, that's a good idea' on occasion. But honestly, people. I hate the poncho. I hate the spin and I hate the glamour around it. Let the poncho die.

Godsdammit. I was GOING to write about my life recently, the fact that my new job and its hours have turned my life upside down and the fact that today is my FOURTH WEDDING ANNIVERSARY with the always awesome (if dish-washing-deficient) CGod. ;) But NOOO, I have to see Martha Stewart's show auctioning off A WHOLE SLEW of ponchos in some of the ugliest yarn I've ever had the misfortune to lay eyes upon.

Thanks, Lion Brand. Whoo.

:P

Knitting: SECRET PAL FIRST PACKAGE OMG!!

2005-09-26T19:19:00.000-05:00

The picture doesn't do it justice. I wish I had a better image than the digital camera; if this skein makes it through the night without being wound into a ball so I can use it RIGHT NOW OMG OMG I shall take better pics in the morning.

It was in my first present from my Secret Pal. XD When my husband and I came home tonight, I said, "Hey, what's that on our mailbox?" We got closer, I read the label, and then it was like Christmas and my birthday came at once. XD

The absolutely dreamy multicolor yarn is SPUN BY MY SECRET PAL OMG and is, from her note, "core spun...the core is Jaeger merino and on top is hand dyed mohair locks."

Let's just think about that for a moment. Hand dyed. Hand spun. Mohair locks. Jaeger merino. I am dying of happiness. What am I going to make?? What will do this justice?? The yarn is SO soft, so pettable. I am in love. It also, funny enough, matches the twinset I wore to work today. Like exactly. I tried to take a pic, but it just doesn't want to work. Again, I'll try tomorrow. You have to see it.

This is the other yarn in my package, some yummy Debbie Bliss Soho, in a colorway that is precisely my favorite set of autumn colors. I want to play with it like a kitty. XD I want to make mittens out of it; I bet I could get one out of each ball.

It had better get bitter freaking cold this year. I want to get use out of my new wardrobe of scarves, mittens, hats and socks. XD

And for a pic of the complete package:

The other two items are a REALLY cute set of origami girls that I can't wait to play with, and at the very bottom of the pic is a wired burgundy ribbon with gold bees. Secret pal, you really hit my loves, I'll have you know. I didn't even MENTION how much I love bee motifs, and yet I get bee ribbon from you. :)

I'm off to revel in my yarn and to think up something really special for the handspun, because whatever it is, I'm going to end up wearing it ALL THE TIME.

Love.

Gamer Stuff

2005-09-13T08:55:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the dry spell. I have been busy getting a job, working on a TON of art, trying to reconcile four (count 'em, FOUR) separate stories, and assisting my dad in his Cabinetmaking.

I actually had a rant ready, but as I wrote it, I realized I disagreed with myself halfway through. XD Nothing like thinking something through and changing your mind once you place all the elements out on paper. I have been re-thinking it since, and I'll be putting up a new rant very soon. The world of gaming is shifting, and I'm not so thrilled with some of the directions.

To tide you over, here are some mini-rants about my dearest, beloved Final Fantasy VII:

1. WHAT ON EARTH are they doing to Reeve in DoC?? If they kill him off, I will be a very, very unhappy bird. It's one thing to kill a character within the original game, but now? Eight years after? When I've had a LOT of time to become attached to the characters who remained alive? Nuu. Do not, repeat, DO NOT kill Reeve. Please, someone, tell me it isn't so. Of course, this is based on a trailer, so maybe I'm reading too much into it. I just hope I am.

2. Why is there another delay on FF7:AC? Honestly? There comes a point where delays cease to make people want the item more and instead make fans irritated. I can even see delays early on, but two weeks before the supposed release date? Grrr.

3. Reeve TUESTI? What the heck kind of name is THAT?

4. Note to EGM: I have a subscription to your magazine for a reason. I like receiving the issues sealed, pretty, and in good condition. Why in the name of every god did you slap a non-removable, 3" round, YELLOW ADVERTISEMENT STICKER over half the beautiful image on the cover?? I save my issues, thank you very much, and I look forward to getting copies that aren't damaged. It took me a while to realize the pic on the cover was Cloud holding KADAJ and not TIFA, since everyone wears black and the ENTIRE UPPER BODY of the person in Cloud's arms was covered by said yellow sticker. Feh. I am very disappointed. Why spend all that money to have such a beautiful image printed on the cover if you're going to cover it up anyway? It's bad enough that I get those stupid 'fake' covers that are just ads glued to the spine of the mag.

So see? I can still rant. XD Next time I discuss games, I promise I'll have some more intelligent things to say about games, the politics surrounding them, and why Mr. Schwarzenegger has severely disappointed me.

SUPAR SEKRIT PAL STUFF!!!

2005-09-08T18:28:00.000-05:00

This is for the Secret Pal 6 project; non-knitters need not read. :X

1. Are you a yarn snob (do you prefer higher quality and/or natural fibers)? Do you avoid Red Heart and Lion Brand? Or is it all the same to you?

I am such a yarn snob. I do use Lion Brand, but only if I can't get an all-natural fiber instead.

2. Do you spin? Crochet?

No, and no. I want to learn to spin, but a wheel is waaaay too expensive right now. I am thinking about getting started with a drop spindle, however. :) I don't know crochet. It's not something that I want to pursue. Yet.

3. Do you have any allergies? (smoke, pets, fibers, perfume, etc.)

Mangoes. *cries* I love them, but I can't have anything with them IN it. That goes for candles, body washes/lotions/etc, shampoos, and foods. I also am highly sensitive to cigarette smoke; I can tell if something comes from a smoking house. Ugh.

4. How long have you been knitting?

Almost exactly one year as of this writing. I started last year with a friend, and I have been addicted ever since.

5. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?

Not really; my husband and I share one, so his stuff is mixed in with mine.

6. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.)

I love citrus (pure, not mixed tropical, because they often add mango), the smell of cocoa butter, herbal scents like sandalwood and real lavender.

7. Do you have a sweet tooth?

Oh heck yes. White chocolate rules my world. So does milk chocolate. And dark chocolate. And chocolate-covered cherries. And chocolate-covered espresso beans. And...well, you get the picture. ;)

8. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do?

I draw a lot in pencil; I also sew--mostly costumes/renfaire garb. Oh, and cross stitch, blackwork, embroidery...needle arts!

9. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)

A quick overview of my music selection includes: Linkin Park, video game remixes, anime themes, game themes, celtic folk, Billy Bragg, trance, techno, Melissa Etheridge, symphonic arrangements of video game music, bebop jazz, and a whole bunch of other stuff that I throw in because I like them. XD My computer IS my stereo, so MP3s are actually preferred. :)

10. What's your favorite color? Or--do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer? Any colors you just can't stand?

My favorite changes between purple and blue, though I tend to wear blue and just like looking at purple. I like to buy and knit with autumn colors, though; right now I have browns, berries, and oranges on the brain.

11. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?

Married, no kids (ever), one pretty white cat. Her pic is on this blog somewhere about a million times. XD

12. What are your life dreams? (really stretching it here, I know)

I want to own a shop someday, one that sells yarn, video games, used books, and costumes. I think there are about 3 places in the world where that would work. XD Realistically, I'd like to make a living off my art and craft instead of working for THE MAN. I have a good start, but I'm not there yet. Beyond all that, I just want to be happy for a long time with my husband.

13. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with?

Noro Kureyon--anything with that gorgeous cobalt blue in it. Knitpicks' Wool of the Andes. Manos del Uruguay. Alpaca Boucle. Brown Sheep Co. Lamb's Pride. OMG, I love that stuff. I prefer a handspun-style yarn to a machine-spun yarn.

14. What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?

Acrylic except in small amounts. NO FUN FUR. Gods, I used to like the stuff, but now it's just EVERYWHERE. Like Kudzu.

15. What is/are your current knitting obsession/s?

Gloves. Gloves and cables. OH, and finding a hoodie pattern that will not look stupid on my rather large form.

16. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?

Socks. <3

17. What are you knitting right now?

On the Needles at this writing: Booga Bag, Cigar Gloves from Knitty.com, chemo cap in cashmerino.
About to start: 2 more pairs of Cigar Gloves, possibly DNA scarf.

18. What do you think about ponchos?

Honestly, I keep wanting to make one, but I think it would look silly on me. I've had the yarn ready and I always put it off. So, ponchos are cute, but not really for me.

19. Do you prefer straight or circular needles?

Straights. I also prefer DPNs to circs. I will use DPNs for as long as I can on a project.

20. Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?

Bamboo or birch. Never used plastic, can't stand aluminum.

21. Are you a sock knitter?

Yes! :) Haven't made many yet, but I love the ones I have. :)

22. How did you learn to knit?

Originally, I was taught by someone who didn't think to tell me that at the end of a row, you turn your work--so I put it down for a few years in frustration. Last year, a friend of mine started, and I thought, if SHE can do it, so can I. We've since converted other friends to the way of the needle. ;)

23. How old is your oldest UFO?

Not very--if I don't think I'll ever finish something, I frog it. The projects on the needles are pretty much my UFOs, and they're only a month or so old apiece, if that.

24. What is your favorite animated character or a favorite animal/bird?

My real obsession is with Sephiroth from the video game Final Fantasy 7. *swoon* Favorite animals are horses and bunnies.

25. What is your favorite holiday?

Thanksgiving. Non-religious, happens in autumn, and we eat a lot. Perfect! :)

26. Is there anything that you collect?

Statues of video game and anime characters--either really pretty men or really sexy women. :) I am a nerd.

27. What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?

None, sadly. I read Interweave Knits, Knitter's, and Vogue Knitting. I absolutely love IK.

28. Any books out there you are dying to get your hands on?

KNITTING OVER THE EDGE. I have the first book, and I about died when I saw the second.

29. Any patterns you have been coveting, but haven't bought for one reason or another??

The Eris and Rogue sweatshirt patterns, and there's one on White Lies Designs that I dearly want.

So mad I could Spit.

2005-08-20T01:52:00.000-05:00

It's not news, really, but the latest wave of anti-videogame crusading has been particularly disturbing to me. I usually sit back and snort in derision when some new complaint comes up, as there is rarely a permanent effect on the industry, and if there is, it's usually for the better. (ESRB, for one.) Not this time.

To explain: I am a gamer. I play video games, role-playing games, live-action games, board games, word games, and card games. I love games in all their forms. I am also 30 years old, a taxpayer, a voter, and someone who thinks long and hard about what I want from my government. Though the ideal of what I want is often elusive, there are many things I do NOT want.

One of them is some department or committee that decides what content can and cannot be put into video games. It scares me. It really does. I don't want someone to decide that a game is too bloody, too violent, too sexually explicit for my eyes. Do I PLAY games like that? No. But I like having the right to play them.

There are many reasons to love video games, and games are different things to different people. To my husband, games are his main hobby. Some nights he wants a well-written story, others, he wants a stress-beating mindless fighter. One of my friends has been known to play Manhunt when she's stressed, just to blow off steam. As she said, "I'd rather kill something that doesn't exist than take my anger out on someone in the real world."

I get so angry when I hear games--in any form--being blamed for the actions of some irresponsible individual. A few years ago, a local attempted murder case involved a young man who, the newspaper article snidely noted, "was an avid player of Dungeons and Dragons." Honestly. The incident had nothing to do with the game, or the character he played, or anything at all. Was he messed up? Oh yes. Was the game to blame? Not in the slightest. As I recall, there were drugs involved, and quite a sum of money. But D&D gets the blame.

Well, I'm sick of it. I'm sick of hearing parents come into the bookstore and tell me they would rather spend money on books than 'those awful games'. I'm sick of watching rampaging crusaders twist the attention away from personal problems that criminals suffer from and create media circuses around them to point fingers at the games.

There is a rating system in place for a reason. Just as a movie theater employee can get in trouble for allowing underage children in to see R-rated or NC-17-rated movies, so can a game store employee get in trouble for selling a game rated M to a minor.

However, as someone who has BEEN that game store employee, there's something you should know.

Parents don't care.

I have been yelled at by parents who come in after I refuse to sell their child a copy of whatever M-rated title they wanted. I have seen those same parents listen to their children's whines that the title isn't bad, honest. I have seen the parents BUY the titles, huff about customer service, and storm out of the store. I have also later seen and heard those parents complain to someone else that the games their child is playing are inappropriate.

The above is not an isolated incident. It has happened more times than I care to remember. Go ahead. Ask any game store employee about M ratings and parents. I dare you. Each and every one of them will tell you what I told them. The parents who listen to us, the ones who actually absorb what we're telling them, are few and rare and we bless their passage. Those are the parents who will watch what their children are playing. They will monitor the content they wish their child to see. They will believe the store employee who knows the law over their children's insistence that, say, "GTA: San Andreas" is really not a grownup game, and the letter on the package doesn't mean anything.

Unfortunately, those parents are in the minority. Most aren't involved with what their kids play, just as they don't monitor what they see on TV or in movies. Violence in the society is just fine, but the moment the child snaps and shoots a fellow student, it's the game's fault that it happened? Sorry. I don't agree.

The fact that I have never gone out and killed someone, never even HIT anyone in anger, must stagger the minds of people like Jack Thompson, a Florida attorney who builds his career on fighting video games. The very idea that I--and millions of other gamers--can be creative, responsive, articulate, social, and a productive member of society must boggle him. That I have other hobbies, including knitting, drawing, singing, and--GASP--reading, must not compute with him. He, and the number of politicians and 'pillars of the community' who are joining him must have the hardest time wrapping their minds around the fact that the vast, overwhelming majority of gamers are actually normal, functional adults. We have jobs, lives, marriages, bank accounts, mortgages, pets, children. We have dinner parties and we go grocery shopping. We are NORMAL.

We pay taxes. We serve in the armed forces. We volunteer. We vote.

Why bother, though? I mean, they're just games, right? And it's not like ALL games will be banned. What's the problem?

The problem is this: I fear that the legislation of video games will lead to bigger, more insidious things. I am afraid that if Jack Thompson gets his way, someone in a government-controlled group will decide what content goes into games before they're even made. I am afraid that the choice will be removed from me and placed within the hands of someone who wants to filter what I see and play.

I will not stand for it. I urge you all to do the same. There are many civilized, peaceful ways to make your voices heard. Write to your representative, your governor, your mayor. Talk to other adults, non-gamers especially. Discuss right and wrong with your children, and make sure you educate yourself about what they are playing. Make a difference on some level: personal, local, national, global.

I suggest you head over to gamepolitics.com for news on the crusade (among other things) and to talk about this issue with other people who feel the same way you do. Or you can leave a comment here with your email, blog, or webpage and I will form a list.

I have made up some bumper stickers and t-shirts that reflect my feelings. Head over to my cafepress shop and you'll see them under the "angry gamer" heading.

*steps off soapbox* This took me an hour to write. It's time for bed.

ETA: Links changed to hyperlinks, image added, blockquotes selected. Now go out and make a difference.

Charity Knitting, Yarn Porn. It's all good.

2005-08-18T22:02:00.000-05:00

First, the charity question.

I have a family that always says, 'don't get us gifts; just having you here is enough' and 'don't spend money on us, we know you need it'. However, I love giving gifts, and the last few years of just cards just haven't been as fun for me. I was able to make scarves last year for a lot of people, but I don't want to just make scarf after scarf all the time, and with the vast number of people for whom I would be making these gifts, I can't knit fast enough to do more complicated things.

HOWEVER.

I have always wanted to knit for charity; I thought it would be cool to do some projects for a few of the charities I support. While looking at my gift list, I realized I wouldn't have time to do enough projects to cover both.

So I'm combining the two. I am going to knit items--one for each gift I normally would have given--and donating them to various charities in the names of each person on my list. For instance, a blanket for an animal shelter would be 'donated' in my aunt and uncle's names, because they love their dog like she was their child. I know it's a charity they would really support. The 'donator' would get a picture of the finished item as well as a writeup about the charity, what they do, and how to contact them for further info.

Knowing my family, this idea will really take off; many of them already donate to their pet causes personally and through their churches. I have the added advantage of knowing they highly value handmade items, and the charities will benefit from a few more things donated to help out.

My question, now that I have bored you all with my explanation of WHY I'm asking, is this: What are your favorite charities/groups/causes and how can I contact them? I have a source for Project Linus (blankets) and a lead on several animal shelter groups, both local and national. I also wanted to look into Knitters without Borders/Tricoteuses sans frontieres. Any info about other groups would be greatly appreciated.

If I get started now, I will be able to cover all the gifts in time for Christmas and Hanukkah.
I don't really care if there are specific religious or social groups involved; people need to be helped no matter what their beliefs might be.

...Ok, and before I get too serious and philosophical, here is some yarn pr0n that has me on the verge of hysterical laughter. This all came today. I feel giddy.

First, Miao Yin models the group. (That's her in the pic above.) It doesn't look like so much, but the pile is at an angle. Three of her could fit on the whole thing. XD

These are two balls of Plymouth Sockotta. I liked my socks so much that I want to make more, in different colors.

In the below two images, the red and the green (ok, I lied, the green came a couple days ago, but still) are recycled silk and wool. The multicolored skeins are recycled silk. Though they may look smaller than the ones I got at my LYS, they actually each have more on them. I love, love, LOVE recycled silk. I really do. I have no idea what I'm going to make out of them. Maybe I'll just fondle them and think of something delicious. One skein seems to be spun differently than the others; that one may end up as something separate. It's softer, like the spinner was more experienced or something.

This gorgeous Cascade came as well; I just happen to be knitting up a ball of the exact shade of pink in a thick n thin yarn. I haven't gotten far; I may just frog what I have and think of something to do with these lovely things.

And that concludes my post for the day. I will post more this weekend; I'm almost done with the first of a pair of Cigar gloves from knitty. XD I realized that, if I can make these gloves, I will be able to make TOE SOCKS. *faints*

x-posted to my personal lj and to the LJ Knitting Community.

Yarn Snob

2005-08-15T10:30:00.000-05:00

Yarn snob...hmm.

Ok, so I have this issue with going into Michael's (or JoAnn's, Walmart, etc.) and just grabbing Red Heart or some such. I can't knit with just ANYthing, the way some of my friends can. One of my beloved IRL friends made a cute hat out of Red Heart in a grey--it looked really nice, but I couldn't bear touching it.

Does it stem from my hatred of cheap acrylic sweaters from Filene's? Is it because I remember wearing said sweaters and how they smelled if, god forbid, I perspired, or how badly they pilled after a single wearing? Is it because I always felt like I was wearing a plastic bag?

Of course, silk smells funny when it gets wet (at least some does), and cashmere pills like CRAZY, and I wear PolarFleece sweatshirts and wraps, and that stuff is MADE from plastic bottles. So it really isn't that.

I think my obsession with natural fibers comes from a desire to be connected to the yarn. I certainly don't mind blends most of the time, so long as the natural fiber outweighs the synthetic. Also, I won't balk at using a pretty, quality synthetic as an accent--Fun Fur is the first thing that comes to mind. I don't think I could make an entire garment out of it, but cuffs? Scarf? Sure. After seeing some of the god-awful-hideous projects featured on You Knit What?, I am almost traumatized by the things Lion Brand can come up with.

So right now I'm making a cabled scarf with the recycled silk/wool yarn I mentioned in my last post. No specific pattern, just making cables when I feel like it. I like twisty cables. :)

WIP-less!

2005-08-14T18:44:00.000-05:00

FIRST: if you read my post about the socks, I erroneously stated that I used Plymouth Sockotta colorway #619. That should have been 617. My mistake. Teach ME to list specs without the info in front of me.

Ok, so Socks are done, and I've got a Christmas gift on the needles, but I need something new. I have about 400 patterns to play with, plus what I can find online, and I have a ton of yarn in my stash that is calling out to me to DO something with it, already...

You know the song 57 Channels and Nothing On? Yeah. That's my WIP situation right now.

I started three different scarves tonight, only to decide that I don't want to make a scarf. I have two skeins of some gorgeous recycled silk/wool in a nice dark evergreen; I was thinking about making a bag or something, but nothing is jumping out at me. I also have five full balls of a pretty pale blue Safari; maybe a little wrap? Or a mesh bag? Not a tank top; I don't have a shirt to wear WITH it, and I do NOT wear tanks without something else to cover my arms. And chest.

I'm a big girl--no, really--and I don't have enough of anything to make a sweater, and the OneSkeinWonder will just look idiotic on me. I do have gifts to work on, but honestly, I just need a project that will be interesting enough to work on in addition to being just NOT complicated enough to keep from having to concentrate too much on it.

Oh, and on top of all this? Every pattern I get attracted to requires something I don't have--a certain size needle, a specific yarn that is the reason I was attracted in the first place...you get the idea. I'm trying to use up the stash, not add to it!

Well, not any more than I already am...

So anyway. Grumble.

Suggestions are welcome. Sometimes I just need a nudge.

SOCKIS

2005-08-13T23:18:00.000-05:00

These are Vladimir and the Count. Vlad is on the right.

I finished them at game tonight; it was so tempting to just not play my character but Zin was actually useful this time around. It took me most of the evening to do the last few stripes on the Count and then decrease the toe. I know I screwed up on the Kitchener stitch at the very end; it made perfect sense the first time when I was working on Vlad, but I was distracted by a drunken gambling elf and the possible impending deaths of two of my friends. XD

I'm really proud of how they came out. This yarn is funny--the stripes NEVER made a pattern after all. I would like to point out that, with the exception of skipping two sets of stripes between socks (so I could start with yellow on the Count), I knitted these in order of how the yarn came from the ball. For the curious, I used Plymouth Sockotta #619. I'm looking forward to trying other colorways with this yarn. I think I'm going to knit a pair of little girl socks for a friend with the remaining yarn. XD

A little about me: I'm a gamer (see above), a knitter (ditto), a writer, and a geek. Not as geeky as I'd like to be--my computer skills aren't as polished as they could be, but I make a pretty web page, I think. The writer aspect is always busy, and I'm trying to juggle several projects at once.

I read a lot, though not as much as I used to; I draw a lot, and I'd love to use that skill to support myself someday; I sing, though not in performance anymore; and I sew, embroider, and design costumes when none of the other hobbies appeal to me. In between, I play a lot of video games and participate in (and sometimes run) tabletop roleplaying games. System of choice is GURPS, followed by BESM, followed by SHARP, the last of which is my husband's creation.

Currently I'm playing one of my quirkiest characters, a human named Zinaida who has a thing for elves. No, really--she REALLY likes elves. Think of an otaku american who learns fangirl Japanese and wears Japanese street clothing and listens to J-pop, just because she wishes she was Japanese. Now replace "Japanese" with "Elven" and you have Zinaida. I love her so much. :)

Ok then. Now you have seen TEH SOCKIS, and you may marvel at my nerdiness.

Sick.

2005-08-09T15:37:00.000-05:00

Sick. Meh. All excited to do the new blog, and I'm sick.

Peh.

*waves*