Hexipuff 58 & 59

Angelo starts his hexipuff addiction early

Hexipuffs from the couch

Some WIPs before the baby storm

I love Noro yarn!  These mitts will be awesome!

Poor kitteh, will you ever get finished?

What I really want to spin this month unless baby has other plans in store for me!

Hexipuff 54 & 55 or Go Orange!

Hexipuff 52 & 53 or Going green

current shawl progress

puffing away

Hexipuff #47-51 or Batts to Hats

Batts to hats was so much fun!  The weather was great under our tent and the best part of the day was to just be able to hang out with such awesome people.  The competition kicked off at 1:15pm and the spinners were off.  It took my partner about an hour to spin around two ounces into a thick single for me to crochet.  She stopped halfway through and wound the singles into a ball and then the baton was passed.  I had a pattern in mind when I started but then pressure set in and I lost count.  I feared that my original beanie idea had to go and it turned into a slouchy baby beret instead.

At about three o'clock, I finished my last round of single crochets and was declared the winner!  I was super psyched mostly because I was doing a lot of yarny trash talk before hand and didn't want to seem like I was all talk :-D.  The other three teams did an awesome job too.  They made the pointy elf hat from one of the last minute knitted gifts book.  Everyone's fiber looked great spun up and the color choices were beautiful.

I got to choose my prize and of course, like the addict that I am, I had to scoop up the rainbow pack of mini skeins to take the edge off my hexipuff addiction.  The mini skeins and the fiber that we used to spin and make the hat were from Holiday Yarns.

I also was able to finish up a yellow mini skein (from Holiday Yarns too) and have raised my hexipuff total to 51 puffs.  I am halfway to my goal of 100!

Now, what shall I do with the left over hand spun?  I'm thinking some short but hip wrist warmers or perhaps ear warmers?

Something to talk about..

 My due date is quickly approaching and I feel like my nesting is crossing over into my crafting now.  As I predicted, all those projects I started on a whim seem like they're hanging over my head like, hey, you know you wanna finish me before the baby is born, right?  Anywho, I'm almost done with spinning up my Sunflowers fiber from Clover Leaf Farms.  I have probably an ounce left to spin and then I will 2 ply that puppy... I hope.  Michael really likes how it's spinning up and wants a hat out of it.  I think he likes it because it looks so much like my hair color; he wants to join the redhead club and  I suppose wearing this hat will help him fit in.  Maybe he won't have to worry about possibly being out numbered.  We'll see if baby number two will be a redhead soon enough!

 I got this skein of Holiday Yarn Flock sock yarn at my local yarn store's destash sale.  It was such a brilliant idea.  What you did was bring in anything from your stash that you weren't crazy about anymore and price it to sell.  Whatever sold is kept as store credit to use on future purchases.  Lucky for me, I did pretty well and decided to purchase the skein below with some of my credit.  I'm not sure what to do with these pretty skeins but I'm in love with the base that Jennifer uses.

Currently, I'm working on a shawl for a KAL with my lys, the fiber above, and some fingerless mitts.  The shawl must've been ripped out at least thirty times because my baby brain has been a major road block in my crafting lately.  Last night at knit night, I finally got on track with the help of my wonderful friends and teeny stitch markers.  I'm about ten rows in using the yarn that I dyed at the retreat from March.  As soon as I post this entry, I will finish up the Sunflowers fiber and then wait a few days to ply it.  Lastly, the fingerless mitts were a slow start too but that's only because I had to learn how to do a provisional cast-on and how to pick up stitches oh, and how to use DPNs.  I know I use double pointed needles for my hexipuffs but you only really need two to make the puff magic happen.  I had all five needles out and ready for the mitts and I was impressed that making all those hexipuffs really helped me to be comfortable with the mitts project.  Two projects that are on the back burner are the puffs and an amigurumi project I started a few weeks ago.  I realized, as I was crocheting all the body parts, eww, I have to sew these together and immediately put the project back in its bag and far away from my living room.  I just don't care to assemble anything right now besides I have to make a few more pieces before I can even begin to finish it up.

This weekend, my last fiber hurrah will be taking place at the Yarn Cupboard (duh!).  Me and my partner, Angela, are on a team to make a hat from a batt of fiber.  One person spins fiber and the other knits/crochets up a hat.  The team that finishes or makes the most progress wins a prize.  The weather is supposed to be all right for tomorrow and I'm so excited to craft outside in this perfect temperature.  I'll post details sometime this week, unless baby has other plans.

Happy Memorial Day weekend everyone!  I hope you have some time to craft a little in the beautiful weather.

More Zombies

Ah, it's been a while since I crocheted up a zombie and since one of my students wanted one, I couldn't resist the request.  This is the Cyber Zombie from the Creepy Cute Crochet book.  I used Lion Brand Cotton-ease in taupe and almond.

Currently, I'm spinning up my sunflowers fiber from Clover Leaf Farms.  I'm trying very hard to spin the merino fine as suggested by the Fleece and Fiber Source Book.  So far, so good.  I'm even letting the spindle go for a while without parking it in between my legs.  Hopefully, by the end of this four ounces I can draft and spin at the same time with confidence!

I've been on an amigurumi kick and started making a kitty from the Amineko Amigurumi book that my sister got me for Christmas this past year.  I'm kinda getting annoyed with the pattern and the thought of sewing all the body parts together kicked in just the other night that I decided to just put the project on hold.  Even though I still need to make legs and a tail...

Two other projects that I've gotten together in bags with the yarn, pattern and needles are  some hand warmers and a shawl.  They are ready to be started.  This Thursday for knit night at the Yarn Cupboard, I plan on starting my first ever knitted shawl that I'm convinced won't make me look like an old fogey.  I'll be using the greenish blue sock yarn that I dyed at the retreat back in March and I'm using a skein of Noro that I got for Christmas to make the hand warmers.  I'll be learning a couple things with these projects: provisional cast-on and knitting something besides hexipuffs with double pointed needles!

Hexipuff 43-46 1/2

Current hexipuff addiction: less than 1/2 a puff a day - bordering on recreational user

Yarn Cupboard Winter Fiber Arts Retreat

The sign that greets you upon entering

A great weekend was had by all at the Yarn Cupboard sponsored Winter Fiber Arts Retreat.  The weather was awesome, the classes were informative, the people were fiber crazy, and the setting was just perfect to get down to some major fiber crafting. 

Exploring around the retreat house...

The location of the retreat was at Christ the King Retreat House in the Scottholm area of Syracuse.  Even though the former mansion was drenched in Christian statues and other religious pieces, it just added to the tranquility of the weekend.  It was so relaxing to just hang out and spin away.  I love religious statues and what not so it was nice to explore around when I needed to stretch or if I was waiting for friends.

Walking around outside in the 70 degree weather

It was so fun to spin outside in such beautiful weather.  Usually, Syracuse is not this lucky with temperatures in the high 70's, especially during St. Patrick's day weekend.  I was expecting a ton of snow and everyone cooped up inside around a fire or something...or at the very least a rainstorm.

The side entrance of the retreat house

The retreat house was very nice inside.  It had quaint little rooms and I was lucky to have a rear view with lots of trees and foliage around.  There was a chapel inside and lots of nooks and crannies to explore around in.  There was a nice dining area, with windows all along side the wall so that you could see the trees and plant life.  Sunday morning, during breakfast, everyone saw a couple of deer trotting through the yard. I feel like being a local, I should have known about this place.  I felt a little silly not knowing this awesome location existed.

I love religious statues

Most of my time was spent making hexipuffs (shocker!) and working on my Snap Dragon fiber from Clover Leaf Farms.  Saturday, I was checking out the wares made available at the market and coming up with a game plan of what to purchase the next morning.  I didn't want to go buying willy nilly, since my funds were limited. Oh, and I also took a dyeing class with my friend, Gretchen with Jennifer Van Calcar from Holiday Yarns.

Two wheels hanging out in the nice weather

This retreat was definitely well planned and thought out.  There were itineraries for each day and a speaker from Manos del Uraguay was there Friday night.  I missed that one but I was able to be around for the fashion show, local knitter, Betty Smith, who impressed us with her cable knitting skills, and door prizes.  I won some craft gloves for when the hands start getting cramped up. 

My view of the retreat house as I sat spinning away

The market place had about eight vendors selling everything fibery from yarn to buttons to even cupcakes (maybe the cupcakes weren't fibery but you get what I mean)!  I was bummed that Spinner's Hill couldn't be there Sunday morning or I would've bought a few ounces of fiber but that's okay, I was able to try out a new vendor instead.

More of my view

Yarn dyed by me and my friend Gretchen

My skeins hang vertical

Gretchen's are horizontal

Was in a really green mood that day

I took a dye class Saturday afternoon with  my friend, Gretchen.  I was slated to take the class in the morning but it was a pretty full so when the option of switching to the afternoon class came up, I went with it.  Besides, Gretch had tried to sign up for the morning but couldn't get in because it was full.  I was glad I did, because the second round had half the number of people and we were lucky enough to get more one-on-one.  I jotted a few notes about dyeing styles and interesting facts about how color acts in a chemical form.  I am convinced that I learn something new everyday.  The atmosphere of the class was relaxing and fun.  We all had some good banter going on.  I love that!  During the dye process, I wasn't  looking into dyeing yarn as my new favorite hobby, mostly because I don't have the space/time/funds, so I just treated it like a fun art project.  I tried not to think too much about what I was doing, but I did use the color wheel a bit, whether it was correctly or not.  I did, however, gain a new appreciation for hand dyers.  Dang, what a challenging job!

Buttons from Melissa Jean Designs

Dyed skein #1 all hanked up and dried

Dyed skein #2 all hanked up and dried

Couldn't resist...

Told you I was in a green mood.

I can't tell you what my dyed skeins will be turning into, what I will put the buttons on, nor can I quite pick out the perfect project for the Manos and fiber.  But at the moment, fondling them is what's currently making me happy for now.  I can say one thing for certain, it was an awesome weekend and I will definitely want to participate next year!

Thanks, Mom and Dad!  Best Christmas gift ever!

 

Hexipuffs 38-42

Current hexipuff habit: a puff and a half a day

Hexipuffs 34- 37 1/2

Lost a half to a kitteh.  Gained a half with the last skein I used.

Current habit: 1/2 a puff a day

Hexipuffs 27 - 33 1/2 and a retreat!

I bring you this blog post to kind of interrupt the hexipuff craziness that has been going on in my life.  Tomorrow morning I will be going to a Winter Fiber Arts Retreat and Market care of the Yarn Cupboard and staying the night into Sunday afternoon.  I am very excited and have packed and repacked about twenty times today.  I will be taking a dyeing class with Jennifer Van Calcar of Holiday Yarns plus oogling her wares at the market along with Melissa Jean Designs, Jill Draper Makes Stuff, Spinner's Hill, Three Irish Girls, and Manos.

What did I pack?  

• my Snap Dragon fiber from Cloverleaf Farms that I have yet to start but I did pre-draft
• mini skeins for my hexipuff addiction
• one of my amigurumi books, Hello My Name is Amineko - The Story of a Crafty Crochet Cat by Nekoyama, cuz I want a kitty in my life again (that doesn't meow or poop outside the box)
• Interweave Knit and Spin 2011 issue
• a notebook and pen
• camera - I hear this location is pretty awesome looking
• clothes and toiletries...booring! (I almost forgot!)
• orange soda (I need to ensure that this future child has red hair like me and the Haze)

Full report sometime next week.  Here's to a fibery, friendly weekend!

Hexipuff 20-26 1/2

Current Hexipuff habit: puff a day