I'm Making Progress

Some squares I made for Grandmother Purl.


Actually, I had these mostly done. I just crocheted another round on each one so they'd meet the 8x8 size requirement. Who am I kidding? I'm never gonna make any more of these granny squares...not enough for an afghan for myself anyway.
I got a new camera this weekend, so I took the opportunity to take a progress pic of the Summer In Kansas shawl.

I'm 89% done. Really. I don't think I'm going to need all 4 balls of this yarn. I'm just now starting #2.

Today we went to the new Janet Huckabee Nature Center to take some pics with the new camera. I got some spiffy shots of flowers and things. You can see those on my flickr account if you're interested in extreme close-ups of spikey flowers. haha So anyway, in the hands-on kids room area I found this cool little frame with a weaving sample and some natural dye plants/examples. I wonder if they'd host a natural dye workshop there if I found someone to teach it?

If you click on that picture it'll take you to the big version and actually read all the labels. It's 1:30AM here now. I'm gonna go sleep.

Know When To Walk Away & Know When To Run

These WIP's will be finished:
**Klaralund - Needs sewn up
**Summer In Kansas Shawl - I'm at the end of the first of four skeins
of yarn. One row takes about 30 minutes. This shawl will go on
forever!
**Ruffles Scarf - I thought it was done, but I found another ball of
that yarn so maybe not.
**Big Smooshy Colorado Scarf - This is so fast and easy 1x1 rib on
13's. There is no excuse not to do it.
**V-Neck Glampyre sweater - Imight need to start over. It has been in
a bin and looks pretty sad.
**Green Koigu Socks - I have to find these. I think they're in a purse
somewhere.
**Geek Socks - Second Sock needs to be started.
**Cheap Fab Throw - Still sitting around half done. I haven't touched
this thing in like a year. My sister has been asking about it since it
was supposed to be for her birthday almost two years ago. oops.
**Dr. Who Scarf for my friend Chris - I would like to finish this
thing before he has to go on his book tour. Since he just got the
contract settled, I figure I had better hurry up before he becomes a
famous author and I have to go through assistants to reach him. I can
hear it now, "Sir, there is a crazy lady with a horrible southern
accent and a huge pile of knitted something out in the lobby. Would
you like to get a restraining order?"
**Julia's Poncho Thing - I was half done and lost it in the closet in
a bag. I found it again, and it's almost done. I hope she still wants
it.

Everything else shall be frogged. That includes:
**Two pair of jaywalker socks - one toe up and one top down. I think
my feet are too fat for this pattern. It just isn't working out
comfortably.
**The big green cardigan - I have a better idea for this yarn.
**A seed stitch baby blanket I don't even remember starting - What was
I thinking?? I hate doing seed stitch.
**Irish Hiking Scarf - The fabric just doesn't drape all nice and
scarfey like. pttth! I can't think of anyone who would ever wear it so
it's history.
**A Zig Zag Rib Scarf - Same issues as the Irish Hiking Scarf. Too
stiff. I kinda doubt anyone will want it.
**A green garter stitch shawl - I started it a Loooong time ago. I put
in time out after the cats got hold of it. I don't really want it
anymore and I think I have enough of that yarn (K1C2 Meringue) for a
spring sweater.

I'm probably leaving some stuff out. Oh well. If I find it, I'll frog it.
(Sorry in advance for what I'm sure will be the freaky formatting in
this post. I'm sending it in via email. I'll fix it later.)

Grandmother Purl

Head on over to http://grandmotherpurl.blogspot.com/ and sign up to knit or crochet some 8x8 inch squares for an afghan for Crazy Aunt Purl's Grandma and hopefuly more afghans for the other old people there in the nursing home. I can tell you, old people in nursing homes love them some handmade blankets! Especially in the fall/winter. (For anyone left wondering, my Mother In-Law LOVED that woven shawl. She can't stop talking about it.) If any of you local blogless people would like to make some squares I can put them in the package and mail them with mine. Just go read the guidelines, get those things made, and bring them to SNB.

The One Where She Has To Knit It AGAIN

I didn't manage to finish the Klaralund sweater this weekend. I did manage to have to reknit the last three inches of the front THREE MORE TIMES. gah! I'd measure the stockinette part, measure the finished back, make sure they agreed then start the garter stitch part. Every damn time when I finished and held the front together with the back the front would be a couple inches longer. WTF??? Finally I broke down and just counted the damn rows. They match now. The parts are at home blocking on the yarn room floor, but probably won't be dry enough to sew up tonight because today is super damp and rainy. Oh well, I'm sick of touching it anyway.
Maybe I kept messing up because I was distracted by the new season of Amazing Race. That show literally makes me nervous and I get totally
caught up in it while it's on. I'm really glad the scary hillbilly couple from Kentucky didn't get Philiminated first. I don't think they'll win, but I want them to stay in the race as long as possible because they amuse me. I don't know if it's the accent or the bad teeth or the way she keeps nagging the crap out of him till I think he's gonna backhand her any minute, but they make me laugh. I'm betting on the ex-junkie models or the one legged triathalon girl & her leg repairman.

I'm Sick & Stuff

I have a lovely case of Strep Throat for one thing. I started feeling icky on Tuesday, and woke up Wednesday with my throat on fire. It feels better after a couple days of hot tea and some antibiotics. I felt so crappy last night I couldn't even knit. I just sat on the couch in a medicine stupor watching Project Runway and then Blade. (The series on SPIKE tv. It was the season finale and I love me some vampires.)
I think I wore myself out right around 8PM central time. See, I really really really wanted to be able to get one of the advertised 10 available 6-month subscriptions to Scout's Indie Swag Club. It was like the end of the best ebay auction ever! I sat here counting down the minutes till 8PM and hitting refresh like every ten seconds there at the end to be sure I could click fast enough to make it. Good thing too, cause the memberships sold out and then some in the first 2 minutes!
Here is the deal: Every month for the next 6 months I get some fabulous yarn from Scout plus patterns/super duper stuff from these great designers! See why I was so excited? The next round will start in early 2007, so keep an eye on Scout's store and start training your mouse clicky finger for fastness if you want in on that.
Today I had to stay home from work again (doctor's orders) so I dug through the old WIP box in the yarn room and found the almost completed Klaralund sweater. Remember that? I was thisclose to being finished with it when I noticed my front and back didn't quite match up. I ripped back on the back and started to reknit the garter stitch part, then lost interest when it got all hot outside. (Why finish it now that it is a million degrees and I wont be able to wear it?) I found all the parts and felt like a total doofus for not finishing it up after all this time so that is the next order of business over here.

Triloom Madness

The wheel has been sold! Well, I have a buyer and we have plans to meet up to do the deal anyway. I'm pretty happy about that. I'm also happy about this:

Yes, the triloom shawl is FINALLY off the loom and finished. This is the first project I've done on the triloom, and since it was the first wack at a new thing I used really shitty yarn. I figured I'd probably mess it up and I didn't want to waste "good" yarn on it. Turns out there is only one mistake in the whole thing, and I could have easily fixed it, but it is right at the end so I chose to just leave it there. I'm pretty happy with how the spaces closed up and the yarn fluffed back out after washing even though it is blah acrylic. Imagine how good wool yarn will be!

You can kind of see the telltale Red Heart Plastic Sparkle there on that shot. haha It also shows the top finished crochet edge. It's so smooth! I'm amazed. If you'd seen how stretched out looking that edge was on the loom, you'd be amazed too.
Here it is held out across my back. Steve cut my head off. haha

The loom is 7ft. The shawl ended up being about 6ft, which is a little big for me, but will be perfect for the Mother In-Law to use as a wrap or a lap robe when she's sitting around the nursing home in her wheelchair playing bingo or whatever. Steve is going to run it over there later tonight. I hope she likes it.

Wheel For Sale

I need to make some space in the yarn room, and I have somehow ended
up with three spinning wheels in there so I guess it is time to let one go.

In need of a good home is one Single Treadle, Black PVC Babe Fiber
Starter wheel with three regular bobbins and regular size flyer plus
the big plying/bulky flyer and three large bobbins. See the Babe
website for photos.
Everything is in great condition with only minimal wear. The price is
$150, which is a super good deal. I can deliver it if you are within 4
hours driving time of Western AR or if you're willing to meet me
somewhere within 4 hours or so driving distance - Oklahoma City, OK -
Dallas, TX - Memphis, TN - Springfield, MO. Connect the towns, and
anywhere in or really close to that circle I'll deliver to. I'd rather
not have to look for a box to mail this thing in. haha

Pictures Of My Feeble Progress

Those are the Kool-Aid dyed singles I spun the other day. I had a bunch of dyed wool left over from that, so on Thursday I took it with me to Stitch N Bitch. Mary brought her drum carder down there for me to play with. She has a regular sized Louet. I just ordered a Strauch Petite, and now I so can't wait for it to get here. Ok, here are the carding experiment results from Thursday:

The first batt was made with strips of different color kool-aid dyed roving. There on top of it is the quickly spun yarn sample of the same batt. Some of the colors are blended, but some are still bright. The second batt was made just like the first one, but blended more and fed through again randomly. There on top of it is the quickly spun yarn sample of that one.
Next, I have some more crockpot dye stuff to show you:

Front and back as it was drying in the bathroom. This one is the rest of the pink/red, some black, and some yellow/orange. I also did a strip of just different values of red that will probably end up being plied with this.

Right now I'm just working on knitting that dishcloth, the shawl, and socks and finishing the crappy acrylic yarn project that has been on the triloom since I first got it due to me running out of the yarn. I found more, and I've been working on it a little bit since I made enough space to just leave it set up in the yarn room. There are 20 more wraps to go and that sucker will be done.

Once it's finished and off of there I can start the nice sparkley shawl that I have about half the yarn spun for already. That is, unless I get the new carder and become obsessed with carding stuff, which is a good bet.