Spinner-ific

I finished spinning up about two ounces of the roving. The color way is "Elgar Cello Concerto". Spinning hand dyed fiber is a lot of fun. I really enjoy watching the colors mix and blend as they come into my hands. My spinning still isn't as even as I would like, but pre-drafting helped a lot.


I especially like how the colors twist around each other and look almost plied together.
Ahhh, how fulfilling a little colored wool can be!!

Handknit handspun

I have finished my One Skein Wonder made from hand spun. Yes, I know I need some different patterns, but if people would stop buying yarn to make them stuff with...
It is now a bit too chilly to wear the shrug, but it layers well under other things.
Here are the pictures, taken by my very obliging sweetie:


Hurray for finished objects!!
I cast off this little number as we were headed home from Sisters, OR and a day of bouldering.

Obviously the person in the top photo is not me...

Back to knitting/spinning. I pre-drafted half of the 4 ounces of fiber from Strings and Yarn and spun a bit of it up yesterday. It is so beautiful. I forgot to get pictures of the fiber pre-drafting and during spinning, but I will try to remember. My hope is to get it even enough in thickness I can ply it with some silk thread or something and make it come out light worsted or so. I already have some thin spots.... but I'm going to try and get better.
And now a gratuitous frog picture. We found this guy when we were climbing near Bend the weekend before last. Photo credits go to my sweetie again.

two-tone shrug reveal

I was going to take pictures of the shrug with the dress I had planned on wearing it with, but it didn't happen. So here are some pictures taken at the school. I look strange because it was about 80 something degrees and very bright outside, so I was straight out of air conditioning and squinting my eyeballs out. But the shrug looks nice. We shot the pictures in
the shade because it was too bright everywhere else.

FYI
It is the Two-tone Shrug from Fitted Knits by Stephanie Japel in KnitPicks Shine Worsted (cotton/modal), colors wave and crocus.

patterns for the future

I'm really taken with this pattern from MagKnits (http://magknits.com/July06/ballet.htm), but not excited about the KnitPicks Shine Sport it's made out of. I just can't get past the way the two tone shrug hangs. The shrug I haven't posted pictures of yet. heh.
But I really like the Ballet Camisole. Perhaps at some point I'll give Shine another chance.

At last! Socks and FO's

I'm not dead. I moved and don't have the internet right now. Which is funny since I just got an invitation to Ravelry. It came about 2 days after I lost internet access. Ha!

So much has happened. Socks were sent off on August 15th. My sock pal posted her love for them on the sockapalooza website and even started herown blog to show them off... but it is in Swedish mostly.

http://liteommycket.blogspot.com/2007/08/min-blogg.html

http://sockapaloozafour.blogspot.com/2007/08/thank-you-dear-sockpal.html

I was so releived that she liked them AND that they fit! Especially since they fit my like support hose!

And my socks were received soon after:

Along with some wool soak, fancy buttons, ginger candies, some hand dyed sock yarn and some tea. Oh, and a fabulous post card. I can't remember the names of the sock pattern or either of the yarns, because all of that info is at my internet-less home. But they are lovely and I can't wait to wear them when it gets cooler. And so freaking pretty! I love blue. Nothing is so gratifying as getting goodies in the mail.

The weekend after I mailed the socks I finished the dream swatch from knit and tonic (100% superwash merino from Capistrano Fiber Arts Studio 150 yards, don't know the colorway). It is very pretty and surprisingly toasty for a little thing.

Before I even sent the socks off I finished the two-tone shrug from fitted knits. I don't have any pictures of it yet though. I used Shine Worsted from KnitPicks, 100% cotton in "wave" and "crocus". It was really fun and quick to knit (not quick enough that I wore it to the show I wanted it for), but I don't think cotton was right for it. Not for me anyways. I don't like the way that cotton drapes and it doesn't hold up to wearing very well. So I haven't worn it much. But the shrug has recieved some favorable male attention (i.e. a young man at a bar telling a friend he had a crush on the girl with "pink sleeves" while I was in the bathroom). I think it's because the wide ribbing accentuates the waist. Hopefully I will get pictures of it this week and maybe they will get posted next month! :-)

And to round everything out a gratuitous pet picture illustrating how happy my kitties are in our new space!

Now I need to get started on xmas knitting. Sigh. But first I want to finish the one skein wonder I've started for myself from my handspun, which I've also finished spinning and plying. I even set the twist in the bathtub, which was very gratifying!

I also ordered some hand dyed roving from stringsandyarn etsy. I haven't started spinning it yet because it is so pretty! I feel like I need to pre-draft it, but don't know exactly how to do that!

I will post pictures of all the rest soon!!