A Very Monster Christmas

Baldwin the Bathroom Monster

Lurleen the Laundry Monster

Irving the Icebox Monster

Charlie the Ceiling Monster

Monster love!

The monsters were a hit with the kiddos.  Ahh, relief.  I had a moment of panic that they wouldn't be loved but how could you deny little faces like these?  I still have a few gifts to make give and will post pictures of those in the coming days!  Hope everyone had a great holiday!  What yarny gifts did you get for Christmas?

Finished fibers of September, October, and November 2012

Rocky's Little Brother

 This Corriedale fiber from Salt City Fiber Works was spun up for the month of November and I was able to get 150 yards in a fingering weight at a single ply.  I spun most of the fiber while trying out a Kromski Sonata and then finished up the last half an ounce on my spindle.  I am very pleased with how it turned out and spinning on the Sonata was awesome!  I kept squealing and stopping to see how it looked on the bobbin and ohh-ing and ahh-ing while at spin night.  As soon as I get a little extra cash, the Sonata will be coming home with me!  Much love and thanks to Angela for helping me put it together and getting started!

 The next few skeins came from Pear Tree Farms and I'm sure that in the bag there was definitely more than four ounces kicking around in there and I came up with the above and below skeins.  Above was mostly orange with a few strands of yellow clocking in at 20 yards in a fingering weight.

October Fiber

 This skein's information is as follows:  88 yards - worsted weight - 2 ply.  I didn't realize I was representin' the 'Cuse with this color combination but I am pleased with it all the same.

September Fiber

88 yards - blue/yellow - dk - 2 ply

32 yards - orange/yellow - dk - 2 ply

And speaking of fiber, I have 4 more ounces to spin up before the end of the year and then I will have completed my goal of spinning 4 ounces a month!  Woot, woot!  This is what I'm thinking will be my December fiber:

 

I'm still chugging away on my Christmas crafting.  I finished the last of my monsters and have three more gifts to go!  All gifts will be revealed once they've been opened by their owners!   I hope all of you are making progress and enjoying the holiday season too!

Bummer!

Last night, I was sitting down to post on this little ol' blog about all the fiber I have finished since August and as I uploaded my first picture a screen popped up saying that I had no more space!  Grr!  So, for the time being you will all have to do without photos.  I'm debating whether or not it's worth the upgrade compared to how often I do post...

In other news, Christmas is quickly approaching and those of you who are taking inventory of my accomplishments:

• I have finished all the star ornaments I wanted to make for family, friends, and co-workers
•  I have finished three knitted monster from Rebecca Danger's Knitted Monsters book and have one more to go!  Whoohoo! 

That leaves me with about three more projects to go that I can allow a little more work time on, considering I probably won't see my close peeps until New Year's Eve anyhow.  I keep changing my mind about what I want to make all of them but I'm planning on using some hand spun (not mine) to make a couple of the gifts.

I was also thinking in the car today about what my yarn crafting goals should be for 2013.  I have stuck to my spinning goal pretty well.  I have one month left or 4 ounces to go!  I still have to pick the fiber I want to spin and I'll probably get going on that once Christmas break starts...  But back to my 2013 goals.  I have lots of ideas swimming around like using just the pattern books I own on my shelf rather than all the freebies I find on Ravelry, making one item for everyone in my little family which could be really doable - they all want need hats.  I was listening to my fave podcast yesterday and thought the idea of brown bagging it may be a fun idea.  You put all the materials you need for the projects you want to do in a brown bag so you can't peek and then pick a bag at random.  I have all these projects I want to make but it takes me forever to decide what to start first.  If I pick yarn and pattern and stick it in a bag and just pick randomly from the bags, the decision has already been made for me and I can move forward and make better use of my time.

Are you thinking of setting any goals for yourself in the coming new year?  If so, let me know, you may inspire me to follow in your footsteps!

The last few days...

Christmas crafting continues...

Whoohoo to my LYS in Vogue... AGAIN!

Thinking about making this when I get free time...ha!

1 beer + 3 project bags = my Friday night

November fiber all done!

Just need to get the legs made!

Waste not...

worsted 88 yards

dk 32 yards

fingering 20 yards

1 bag of fiber = 3 skeins of varying weights, colors and amounts

In no particular order

 Wanna see what my fiber looks like spun on a wheel?  Well, there ya go!  No, I don't have a wheel...yet but, I was able to practice with a Kromski Sonata and I loooved it!  As soon as I have the funds, it will be mine, oh yes.  I'm planning on finishing this fiber up on my spindle and keeping it as singles for my November fiber.  Since I'm in the midst of Christmas crafting, I thought finishing up this fiber would be more doable and less stressful to keep me on my goal of four ounces a month this year.

 Here is some finished fiber clocking in at 88 yards in a worsted weight.  Still not done plying all the fiber involved in this group but once it's done it will be my September and October fibers for the month. 

 And speaking of fiber, this was my birthday gift from the hubs!  Oh, I cannot wait to spin this!  I love her yarn and this will be my first roving that I have from her.

Lurking in the dark is one of my finished Christmas gifts for the kiddies this year.  Not my kiddies but the other kiddies in my life.  Baldwin the Bathroom monster just needs a mouth and he'll be ready for his close-up!

Test Crochet

 I think one of the best things to ask a knitter or crocheter is to test a pattern.  My lovely friend, Denise, asked me to test one of her patterns from her accessory collection that she just recently released.

 The pattern is called, Slouching Towards Tassels Cap.  I used worsted weight yarn that my fibery friend, Gretchen, dyed for me last Christmas. 

 This pattern is very engaging for an advanced beginner crocheter.  I like the ribbing of the front and back post double crochets and the look of the stitch pattern once the crown starts.

 

So, why not head on over to Denise's blog and take a look at the rest of the patterns in her accessories collection?  I think there is definitely something for everyone and I just love her style!

That time of year...

Christmas crafting is upon us, people and I have decided to take an easy way out this year.  Instead of laboring over long, time consuming projects, I have decided to whip up these cute, little star ornaments for the friends, family and co-workers in my life.   With the arrival of baby number two, it's hard to find the time this year.  The pattern is here and I am using Luna from the S. Charles collection that I bought from the Yarn Cupboard.  The yarn is mostly kid mohair and silk with just enough sparkle to make it festive. 

In other crafting news, I'm plying my September and October fibers, finished a test crochet for a dear friend, and just need to seam up my first knitted monster!  You know posts and pictures will be on their way!

Little York Fiber Booty

once...

twice...

three times

No, I didn't become a barber

This didn't come out of my drain..

I didn't pin Michael down and buzz his head...

Our kitteh didn't puke this up!

 Yeah.  Half of my budget went to Burt's Peaceful Valley Enterprises.  I couldn't resist the sparkly mini batts or the locks for a buck an ounce!  The owner is based in Preble, New York so she's not too far away from me and she's near where my husband works if I need to have a sparkle fix.

 One of my goals at the fest was to steer myself towards different fibers.  I tend to have the same stuff in my fiber stash (bfl, wool blends, merino) so I opted to get 4 ounces of this beautiful green Rambouillet fiber.  I fail to remember the vendor and I'm kicking myself right now that I didn't take note but she was a wonderful lady who was also selling felted hats and garments.

 So, no BFL, right?  WROONG!  The pretty color combinations and little voices coming off the tables at Spun Right Round's booth kept saying, "Buy me, buy me!"  Because I have been oogling her etsy shop forever and really wanted to get something from her store in Cortland but didn't, I told myself, "Self, get thee to Spun Right Round's booth immediately!"  I love Renée's fibers and her funky style!

That was all of my budget and these goodies above came from Maggie's Farm (not at Little York but always at other CNY fests) care of my friend, Gretchen, who has the fiber hook up.  This was a mix of all sorts of fiber including some angora from goats and bunnies!

In all, the Little York Fiber Fest's first showing was pretty decent.  Yeah, I would've liked a little more to eat than snacky foods but hey, it's their first gig!  I thought the location was awesome and the vendors were great.  I really enjoyed my time there and will definitely go back next year!

August Fibers

Yes, you read that right fiberS.  I originally was going to ply them together but really loved them on their own.  May I present my finished August fibers of 2012:

"Across the Universe"

 This was a mystery fiber that was a delight to work with.  I spun this while demonstrating at the New York State Fair Wool Center.  The lovely ladies that I spun with came to the conclusion that it was some sort of silk and bamboo mix.  If they are right, then I could spin that combination all day long!  Drafting was very easy and smooth.  The color changes kept my attention as well.  I was able to get about 96 yards of sport weight yarn.  Eat your heart out, Noro!  I left the yarn as singles so forgive the crinkly look in the photo.  Which leads me to confession time: I don't soak my yarn when I am done spinning it.  Is that bad?  My awesome friend, Angela, gave me some packets to help guide me in that direction.  Will report back when I have a sink that is clean enough to soak pretty fiber.

Octopus' Garden

This next fiber was also a mystery to me, and I'm guessing it's probably merino.  I got 56 yards in a bulky weight from about 3 ounces.  I apologize for all the vague weights and classifications but it's the best I can do for the moment.  I did a two ply on this using my favorite method of a center pull ball and spinning the ends together so that I use all the yarn and get as much yardage as possible.  

Currently I am working on finishing this fiber which will probably be September and October fibers of the year.  Stay tuned!

Little York Fiber Festival

 What a lovely day for a fiber fest!  It was nice and chilly- not too bad that it hindered my shopping experience but just right to be sporting some crochet and knit wear!  Here I am wearing my Cardiff Cowl in Lion Brand Baby Alpaca.  Perfect touch of warmth around my neck and of course my hands were kept toasty in my Camp Out Fingerless Mitts.

 Out in the parking lot, we saw this awesome bumper sticker and I had to take a shot of it!  I wish I took some more pictures but I was thoroughly involved with the fiber festivities. 

 These guys were hanging out by Trinity Farms booth.  She had a ton of Shetland and Icelandic wool for sale.  I almost purchased some but was definitely distracted by sparkly, shiny, bright colors today.

 These were pretty awesome batts that my friends Gretchen and Angela bought but I resisted the urge plus, I only had just so much cash on me!

I was really attracted to all the locks in Burt's Peaceful Valley Enterprises booth.  I spent most of my budget with her!  Pictures of what I bought are coming soon but I have to say that Little York did an awesome job with their first fiber festival.