March for ME!

Ok, this is so confusing.  But you remember that wretched Ashlar Cardigan I just couldn't seem to figure out?  Well, it's been laid to rest and I made this scarf instead:

It's the Neck of the Woods pattern by Vickie Howell from her book Awareknits.  I used Loops and Threads Haze in bulky roving in the colorway of faded denim.  I used a sweet skull button that was included in one of my swap packages a few months ago.  

I still have some of this yarn left and was thinking of knitting me up a cozy winter hat with it.  Or some cute little mittens...   Either way, I'm still keeping up on the 12 for me goal, whoohoo!

Knitting progress for July:  learned yo and k2tog!

Last one for a while...

A market bag for a kick ass friend :-)!

Spinster in the making

On Wednesday night, I went to a spinner's meet-up at The Yarncupboard in Jamesville, New York.  I brought my little Ashford spindle and bag of Falkland fiber with me.  I was also eager to try a wheel because they carry Kromski and Ashford wheels.  I've been doing a lot of research on wheels because I'm really wanting one and I have no clue what I should get.  I've been looking at pricing and all sorts of websites from etsy to ebay just to get an idea on what a used price should be compared to new, etc. etc.  When I got there I was put in front of an Ashford Kiwi.  How fun!  I didn't realize that two hours had passed and I was left with the above skein.  Yeah, I made that (with some help).  So, as of right now, the Kiwi seems to be the practical choice.  The lovely ladies there said that as long as you know what you're doing; it doesn't matter which wheel you get!  Whew!  I didn't want to grow out of anything too quickly because I'm convinced I'll be doing this frequently and for a while!  There was an amazing spinner there, Beth, who told me that she has a Kiwi and loves it.  The next meet-up is in August when I may purchase some fiber from The Yarncupboard's selection and try a different Ashford wheel - for the heck of it.

July for ME!

 The Klamath Shawl with Lion Brand Amazing yarn.  Just two skeins for this puppy!

 The shawl on the chair.

The shawl with a kitteh next to it.  Um, it's 100 degrees kitteh, you so crazy!

Most Recent Swap

What I got!  Swap goodies from Heather :-)  Thank you!

I've been a part of a new Ravelry group called Veni Vidi Vixi in the 21st Century where we read literature, have discussions and swap fiber.  My lovely Ravelry buddy,  Denise asked me to help moderate and I was more than happy to help out!  What an awesome group!  We are about 60 members strong with a good portion swapping and discussing the books we've read.  I joined in when they were reading their first novel but was just in time for Life of Pi by Yann Martel (awesome book!) and now we are starting our summer book, Servants of the Map by Andrea Barrett which is a collection of short stories.  The last swap I participated in with this group had us doing a round robin swap of non animal fiber.  I received some Hemp yarn which I'm super psyched about.  I'm searching for the perfect project at the moment.  Does anyone have any ideas for me?

Parking it.

So it's vacation and I have a little extra time.  Thanks Hazel for taking 2 1/2 hour naps!  Whoohoo!  In some of that "free" time I have been spinning on my Ashford spindle a little each day since my last post.  I'm so obsessive that I go to sleep thinking about how I can spin better in the morning.  Ah!  I'm such a nerd!  Anywho, here's a pic of my latest progress:

What I have learned in the past few days is the importance of drafting and I've been watching a boat load of drafting videos on YouTube just to make sure I'm doing it correctly.  I also realized that I'm not faster than the spindle yet so I've been doing a lot of parking and drafting.  I'm relieved that it doesn't feel as awkward as the first time and I'm trying to figure out what to do with my nubby mess of Falkland Wool Fiber craziness from the first of the month.  It looks like trying to untwist will make me go insane and I can't use it for padding anything because it's all sorts of bulgy.    Ideas?

All sorts of proud of myself right now!

Kiss my Ashlar...

So I was moving right along on my Ashlar Cardigan and finally making some major progress as pictured here:

Doesn't it look super cute?  I thought so and when I decided to stop a moment and try it on for the first time, I realized the importance of guage.  You see, I don't really do guage swatches.  It's like I'm all desensitized to the whole scolding of "you gotta make a guage swatch" blah blah blah.  Kinda like, you shouldn't watch so much television it will rot your brain.  Sorry, I gots to have my "Roseanne" on Netflix.  Anywho, it was a tad too big and the sleeve holes had the potential of showing some side boob.  Not that I'd wear this without a shirt underneath but you get the idea.  Currently, it's back in it's original form of a million little balls of yarn.  I figure I have battled with the darn sweater long enough.  Fine sweater!  You win!  That leaves me one short for my 12 for me goal but I'm not going to even think about it now.  Especially after this mess:

Yep, those are my first attempts at spinning some fiber.  Oh Falkland Wool I'm so sorry about what I did to you :-(.  I'm going to just take a break from this crimped up mess and try to make pre-drafting my thing.