I survived November and NaBloPoMo and I can knock one item off my 101 goals.
99. Do NaBloPoMo 1x
1 down, 100 to go. 
Next month? NaSpiYaMo – My own unofficial personal spinning challenge. Spin or fiber prep every day in December.
Month: November 2009
Poinsettia
I have cancelled most of the fiber clubs I’ve participated in, but I’ve re-upped with the Black Bunny Fibers fiber club. It’s not every month and you don’t have to pay a bunch of money up front. There’s also another reason:
My camera can’t convey the depth and variances of the color, but it’s amazing. The colorway is Poinsettia and the fiber is 4 ounces of Cormo roving.
I’m going to wait a bit to spin this. It’s so gorgeous as is.
thankful again
Today was a good day. Spent the day with family, cooking, laughing, eating. Good times that I cherish.
Hope you day was good as well.
spinning and learning
I’m so happy to have these days off. Today was a good day.
Spinning
I finished up the first ply of the 2 ounces black Merino that I’m spinning and started the second. This is true combed top so I am spinning from the side to do more of a supported long draw. Spinning goes much faster that way and more air is trapped in the single, ultimately making the yarn squishier and warmer.
Learning
My work hours are such that it is impossible to take classes or attend a knitting group on a week night. So, the alternative is online learning. And there are a lot of things I want to learn and online learning allows me to learn what I want, when I want. Today I took advantage of that.
Lynda.com – Online software training & tutorials – I have Adobe Creative Suite CS3 and only really know how to use two programs included in the Suite – Premiere Pro CS3 & Photoshop CS3. Today, I did some training on Illustrator CS3 – the ‘One-on-One: The Essentials‘ training. Adobe software can be a little intimidating, but I’ve learned that perseverance and time will get you to the skills you need to learn so you can do the fun, exciting, creative stuff you want to learn.
Beaducation.com – Online jewelry making tutorials – They have several free classes, which I watched today. Much better than reading instructions that, like a knitting pattern, can be confusing. I finally saw someone do the basic jewelry techniques that I’ve been reading about – and for free! I can only imagine that the paid classes are even more in depth and I look forward to trying them out. The class I found most intriguing is the Byzantine Chain. Oh, the possibilities!
Never stop learning! 
thankful
Wherever you are, I hope your day was a good one.
just what I need…
… another expensive hobby. Knitting… spinning … and now… jewelry!?
Recently I’ve been wanting to buy some hand cards, but I couldn’t decide which ones so I hadn’t bought any. So I used that indecision money and bought tools and supplies to make wire jewelry today. Because of fiber addiction purchases, I’ve been putting that on the back burner but also lamenting that I didn’t have the tools to do what I wanted. And I’m talking just the basic tools. It’s very reminiscent of when I started knitting and every time I wanted to try a new pattern, I had to buy new needles.
I also bought some sterling silver wire in three different gauges. I have two rings that I wanted to try and some earrings that I want to make and if they turn out well, they will be a Christmas present for someone.
This interest in making jewelry has taken me by surprise. About 10 years ago, I tried beading and was very quickly bored. Beading by itself is not enough to hold my attention. But wire looks very interesting, with or without beads. And of course, I have no desire to start with a beginning project. I’m drawn to the Love Knot Ring (shown on THIS page) Fun times ahead!
happiness is…
As I was trying to figure out what to write about, I suddenly thought to google ‘blog prompt’ and I found Creativity Portal.
They have this whole section of ‘prompts’ to spark your imagination and creativity. (See the list HERE)
I found the the Imagination Prompt of particular interest. My prompt? ‘Happiness is…’ and that’s very easy.
Specifically – Happiness is knitting my handspun shawl. And generally – Happiness is knitting. But you knew that, right?
all or nothing plus a new goal
Perfectionism is a sneaky thing. You work on it constantly and yet, it keeps rearing it’s ugly head. All or nothing is a trait of perfectionism. Sometimes I can work through it, but often, I don’t realize it’s taken control. Just because I missed a day doesn’t mean I have failed, right?
Thank you, Sophie for the encouragement!
Ok … my main goal for December – get back to spinning. My own personal and unofficial NaSpiYaMo – ‘National’ Spin Yarn Month. Spin at least 10 minutes a day during the Month of December. I’ve worked so hard to learn and improve my spinning and I feel all that slipping away and I don’t like that. Anyone wanna join me?
I’ve taken 2 ounces of the eight ounces of black merino I bought and that’s what I’m going to work on first. I spun for a little bit yesterday. It was weird – I wasn’t totally in love with spinning as I had been the past few months but I didn’t dislike it either.
Another issue is that I messed up my bobbins. Majacraft has plastic bobbins – inexpensive but functional – and a couple of them were a little tight and I got a little over zealous with some sand paper and now they rattle. 
The manual says to use vaseline on the flyer shaft if the bobbins do rattle but it did not help much. I ordered two more this past weekend and hopefully these will be nice quiet bobbins. One day I’ll invest in some wooden bobbins.
I hope you have a pleasant day.
it’s 12: 01 am
and thus endeth NaBloPoMo for me, but that’s probably a good thing. Thanks to all who commented during this month. It was nice to know I wasn’t talking to myself and I appreciated the support.
I spent my Sunday knitting, crocheting and even a little spinning while watching Hulu. I received the black merino top and will start spinning some of that soon then I can get back to my handspun shawl.
Happy fiber fun!
do i have enough yarn?
As I work on my Ulmus, one of my biggest concerns is if I have enough yarn. Luckily, someone has done the calculations to help me (and you) figure out if I have enough yarn (if you are knitting a rectangular or triangular shawl). With it, I’ve determined that I’ve knit about 35 percent of the shawl but have used only 25 percent of my yarn. I have enough yarn… I think. (I hate math – I will re-evaluate as I knit more rows.)
So check out this blog post from ‘I’m knitting as fast as I can‘. Maybe it will help you too.
t.g.i.f.
I am so glad that it is Friday. It’s been a rough week.
Since my handspun shawl is kinda stalled until I can spin more fiber , I pull out the Ulmus and started working on it. I try to have about three projects on the needles for this very reason. The Ulmus still an enjoyable knit even though I haven’t worked on it for a while. My favorite part is the color sections, seeing where the colors will land.
I will say that my stash has been calling to me again. I never realized how noisy fiber can be. Which fiber to be exact, you ask? (I know you didn’t ask, but humor me, please. 
)
Alpaca with a Twist’s Big Baby – two skeins of luscious alpaca yarn – bulky. It’s telling me that it wants to be a scarf. A Christmas present scarf. But… that would be silly, right? Starting a scarf, destined to be a present, one month before Christmas…
…wouldn’t it?
some eclectic blog favorites
Pay no attention to the outdated links my the sidebar. (I need to delete them) Instead, here a small list of favorite blogs that I visit often.
-
the blue blog – The perfect title for a blog. the very first knitting blog I ever remember reading. features knitting, quilting, sewing and general life stuff. (also the author of Charmed Knits)
The Weaving Studio – formerly ‘Cabin Cove’ – a blog by a very talented guy – lots of spinning, weaving, photography, cats, and a wee bit of knitting.
tiennie knits – truly an inspiring knitting blog. her photography of her knitting is great too!
Hoxton Handmade – knitting and the ‘Electric Sheep’ podcast
bowerbird knits – features knitting and some awesome spinning.
Simply Recipes – a newly discovered favorite. I fully intend to try the ‘Cashew Chicken’.
the Akamai Knitter – another talented multi-crafter – spinning, knitting, jewelry & cross stitch are what I seen so far. Handsome cats make appearances as well.
a thing for string – another awesome spinner. Also has knitting and crochet.
cauchy09′s flickr photostream – a crafty photo blog at minimum. another talented multi-crafter – lots of quilting, embroidery, knitting, spinning and an occaisional chicken hat.
And that’s just the tip of the iceberg of all the blogs I read. Maybe you’ll find a new one here that you’ll enjoy.
Thanks for stopping by!
i’m on a roll…
I finished the pink dishcloths. Here’s a close-up picture I took today during lunch.
I started some blue ones too…
I have enough Sugar’n Cream to make four sets of two. If I keep going, they could be done before the weekend is over.
Here’s hoping that LIFE doesn’t get in the way. 
one down…
I finished one crocheted dishcloth today! (sorry, no pictures yet). Crochet is FAST! It really only took about 1.5 hours to finish one. Instead of using the cotton that I showed you yesterday, I ended up pulling out some pink/white striping Sugar ‘n Cream yarn. I know someone who likes pink so I thought I’d get these out of the way. It’s been a rough day, but this little project has given me a nice sense of accomplishment, which I needed. I’ll start on the 2nd one tomorrow and then I’ll have a set (and one Christmas present completed! ).
Hope your Tuesday was a good one.
shawlus interruptus
Ok. I realized, as I have been knitting my handspun shawl that with the yarn I have, it’s not going to be a big as I want it to be. So I’m going to have to buy and spin some more fiber. Plus, Christmas knitting it calling to me and I want to get some things done in that regard. Knit more ornaments, plus, I just bought a simple crochet dishcloth pattern yesterday.
It’s called JustRight and BigTime Dishcloths by Neatly Tangled Designs. I bought some cotton, thinking I would knit them, but now I think I wanna get out my crochet hooks and try this pattern. The pattern looks very basic, although I’ll have to learn how to do a half double crochet again.
Oh! I just realized that never showed you the cotton I bought!
I know, I know – more blue & purples.
Oh, and even though I can’t remotely start a new project, when I bought the crochet pattern, I also bought the Attabi set – both the Cowl and the wrap. The woven stitch is very easy and basic. I think a beginner would have no problem with this pattern and would end up with a very impressive looking garment.
ttfn!
a mosaic of color
Sometimes I search the internet for fibery inspiration. I love color!
1. 32 Flavors handspun rainbow merino yarns, 2. handspun rainbow merino, 3. Rainbow Sherbet Supercoiled Scrap Art Yarn handspun, 4. yip.111 i spun a rainbow, 5. pastel rainbow, 6. 08_rainbowyarn4, 7. My sock yarn dyed detail, 8. Surprise Party end, 9. coley’s favorite outfit, 10. rainbow BFL macro, 11. grafton rainbow colors, 12. one night stand batts :: john, 13. batts rainbow, 14. Rainbow Batt of Corridale Fibre, 15. Rainbow 1, 16. Remember the Night Rainbow…
yummy
I love when the yarn label tells exactly what the yarn is.
It’s Fibranatura’s ‘Yummy‘.
I couldn’t have described it better!
It followed me home from the yarn store.
Honest.
bigger than a shawlette
Have you see the latest pattern from Laura Chau (cosmicpluto knits)? Oh. My. Goodness! It’s gorgeous! It’s called ‘Attabi Wrap ‘. It’s knit with US size 8 (5.0 mm) needles with DK weight yarn. It’s knit in garter stitch and an intriguing woven stitch. Why, oh why, can I not knit on three projects at the same time?!? There is a cowl that is knit in the same pattern as the wrap and if you buy both patterns, there’s a reduction in price from the individual patterns. It might be cool to knit the cowl first to see if you actually like the pattern before staring the larger wrap.
I love all the shawlette’s that people are creating but I’m finding that they are too small for my liking. It’s nice to have a project that uses only one skein of sock yarn, but it just doesn’t seem big enough for me. And since I don’t like a lot of lace, it’s hard to find patterns I like that fit these specifications but it looks like this might fit the bill.
Another pattern that I like is the Ulmus Rectangle by Kirsten Kapur (Through The Loops). I love working on the smaller version but as soon as I saw the larger wrap, yarn ideas have been running through my head.
But alas, I shall continue to be monogamous to my handspun shawl…
…while visions of many, many other projects dance in my head. *sigh*
knitting everyday
Do you knit everyday? I do. It’s very rare that I’ve missed a day since the beginning of the year. I never expected a ‘hobby’ to become so much more than that – Therapy – Solace – just something to do while waiting in line for 30 minutes a the bureau of motor vehicles or to quiet the mind when there’s just too much goin’ on in there. Therefore, it’s been kinda scary the last couple of days when I was almost too tired to knit. … I said ‘almost’. Even if I only have time to knit a couple of stitches, I make sure to make time for my knitting. It’s that important.
I shall end this post with pictures the two small skeins of sock yarn I got at the yarn store yesterday to expand the color palette of this years ornaments.
.
I love this one – It’s ShibuiKnits Sock in the colorway, Peony.
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and I wanted a purple so I got this – Plymouth Yarn Happy Feet in a pretty periwinkle.
My handspun shawl is still growing. I still love knitting it. I got a longer needle and it make knitting much each easier w/out my knitting being so scrunched up.
One more thing – go visit The Kniterella View – She has instructions to make a yarn ball wreath. Who needs the Starbucks version when you can make and customize your own! (And if you Google ‘starbucks wreath’, you see other people who have made one as well.)
ta ta for now!
remembering…
.
stripe-y goodness
I am so happy how my handspun shawl is progressing. I’m pretty much done with the blocks of color and have started the black section. Here’s a peek at the knit-y stripe-y goodness.
“knit on, with confidence and hope…”
One thing that I love about knitting is that it interjects some sanity when the insanity gets too much.
In the midst the knitting and knitting ideas & inspiration, I’ve decided on knitting monogamy – only work on my handspun shawl until it’s finished. I need to move it to a longer needle because the 24″ circular is no longer long enough to hold all the stitches. So, hopefully, on Wednesday, I can take a trip to my yarn store to pick up some needles and couple of skeins for the ornaments. Maybe I’ll stay and knit for a bit as well. When I go into the yarn store, the world and it’s troubles seem to stay outside.
Sorry, no pictures today but tomorrow, I will have some pictures of my handspun shawl to share with you. Wanna hint?
Think S T R I P E S!
Stay tuned.
p.s. Credit where credit is due: The quote in the subject is by Elizabeth Zimmermann.
my yarn stash is calling
Oh My Goodness! Just like I couldn’t stay away from my spinning wheel this summer, now it’s the knitting. Yarn I didn’t know what to do with is now screaming at me, telling me what it wants to be. I’m not complaining, mind you, because I know what it’s like to have a creative block, but it’s frustrating that I can’t start every project idea that seems to come to me almost every day.
The most recent one is a possible blanket. Remember that 100% organic cotton yarn I bought back in April?
My original idea did not work and I couldn’t, for the life of me, figure out what to make with it.
Recently, I remembered some yarn I bought at a fiber fest this past Spring.
It’s ‘Island Cotton’ in the colorway ‘Sunset’ from The Weaver’s Loft. (yeah, I know…again with the rainbow… )
Both yarns are very similar in texture and weight. I thought maybe if I knit squares and have a mostly natural colored blanket with a few splashes of color, it would be pretty. On US size 10 needles, that would knit up pretty quickly, I’d think. I’ve been wanting to make something for an aunt who is allergic to wool. This might fit the bill. (Even if a blanket doesn’t work out, I think the two yarns would work well together.)
If push comes to shove, I could use the other skein I got from The Weaver’s Loft in a similar fashion and make something for me. (It’s also Island Cotton and the colorway is ‘Twilight’)
So much knitting, so little time. BUT… it gives me something to work toward, right?
time to make the ornaments
I like making ornaments. I feel like I’ve come full circle about ’cause my mom used to have me make ornaments every year, but I stopped doing that a long time ago. But last year, I bought ‘Deck The Balls‘ pattern from my LYS and made several. I had fun making them! (My LYS even had kits this year).
I decided to make some ornaments again this year and I chose a free pattern this time – Alpaca Sox Mini-Socks. It was featured in a Classic Elite Yarns newsletter. I still have the yarn from the ornaments I made last year and will buy a couple more skeins. I’m using the pattern more as a guideline since I am doing a short row heel instead of a heel flap and a different decrease for the toe.
what are the colors of your rainbow?
Happy Friday!!!
You didn’t think I’d go this whole month without a meme or two or three, did you? Actually, I found this one a while ago and meant to do it but never got the chance. What better time than now?
I saw this on Knitwith Homespun’s blog and given my love of rainbows, it seemed like fun.
Your rainbow is shaded violet.
.
.
What this says about you: You are a creative person. You appreciate beauty and craftsmanship. You are patient and will keep trying to understand something until you’ve mastered it.
That definitely sounds like me. What colors are in YOUR rainbow?