A bracelet

Just in time for the company holiday party. I wanted something sparkly and cuff like and here we go:

Hockey promotional post

So... sicklipstick and I are trying to organize a meet up of area hockey fans to expand our local hockey fandom world. For this meet up, you need to be single. Please see details here

I know right? Haven't posted in ages and this is what I throw in.

Welcome back, beading muse

I spent this past weekend at Bead Obsessions in a 2 day class with Sherry Serafini. It's been a long time since I've been absolutely taken with the need to bead. Maybe you were able to tell with the lack of bead work being shown here. This weekend brought it all back. The artistry, the beauty, it brought it all back.

The end result is a small evening hand bag.



I don't think I'll be bringing this with me next week. Bead embroidery requires a mix of beads, which I won't have with me. Instead, I had purchased a kit this weekend that I hope to finish next week.

Cottage Gardens

Last year at Rhinebeck, I bought 4 ounces of fiber. I was looking for fiber that had been dyed using a few different colors. I was inspired both by looking at the before and after pictures of stuff that javajem had spun up and also by My So Called Scarf and how the colors blended in so well together. With those thoughts in mind, I went shopping and came home with this:

This was spun on Suzie and soon became a bobbin full of singles:


With the bobbin looking like that, I decided that I would try to create long color blocks rather than trying to mix and match because of how this was dyed and packaged. In order to create something like what javajem had been spinning, I would need roving that was more splotchy with colors.

Finally, after being Navajo plied and set, it became 230 yards of soft soft fiber:

A pound of fiber

Last of the Persimmon Tree Farm fiber
Originally uploaded by jyiu7

In 2008 at Maryland Sheep and Wool, I bought a pound of fiber with the intention of spinning it up and knitting a shrug out of it for my friend's wedding...in August of 2008.

Well, it's June 2009 and I have finally spun through it all! The last bit of it has been washed and set and is now hanging to dry.

Keep on spinning

I must finish this - Creatively Dyed merino/bamboo:

I'm into the home stretch. Once it's spun, I will do a 2 play. Hope to finish this by July 1st. I want to finish it so that I can start in on one of these:


juliespins 50%alpaca/30%merino/20%silk in "Embers"
or

juliespins 50%alpaca/30%merino/20%silk in "Great Grape"

You can find juliespins here

And summer begins

Some progress pictures after the last game of the 2008-2009 NHL season:

This picture of the February Lady Sweater is from 1st intermission of the game. I knit a few more rows. I've still got another 2 balls of Malabrigo and since the game is over and I'm still knitting, I think I'm going to attempt a mid thigh length sweater, having been inspired by this one.


Also...not quite finished for class today but:

National Donit Day

Since today is national donut day
1. free donut at Krispie kreme.
2. Free donut with purchase of a drink at participating dunkin donuts

Yes, I sew too

I used to sew, before I played with beads, or before I took up knitting. In middle school and high school, I sometimes made my own clothes because I couldn't find anything I liked in the stores. I've done pillows. The curtains currently in my bedroom I made. But I haven't done much of it in a long time. And all of a sudden, the urge to sew is back. So yesterday, I made this:

This is the u-handbag Hex Open Frame tutorial/Knitting bag. The bag turned out bigger than I anticipated and I'll be using it this week to test drive this one. I did have a few thoughts about the bag and the construction as I worked my way through it:
- Basting is a wonderful wonder thing! It's how I held the bag bottom in place because I wasn't able to find feet.
- The bottom...well, I top stitched both sides along the bottom of the bag and that sort of holds the bottom in place but I'm not very happy with it. If I had feet for the bag, this would not have been a problem
- The bag lining is a little too big. Next time, I would probably take about a centimeter off the bottom of the lining and then continue with the rest of the instructions. As it is, it's kinda bunchy at the bottom.
- If I didn't have feet and needed to secure the bottom, I would do that first before I sewed the open hole in the lining used to flip the bag right side out.
- Pliers came in handy to hold the frame together as I attempted to shove the screw into the hex frame.
- I would make a wider bottom.

Before it all

Before the beading and the knitting and the fiber, I sewed. My mom started sewing because it was cheaper to make our own curtains than it was to buy them. It was cheaper sometimes to make your own clothes than to go out and buy them. I watched her, and thought it was fun and I learned. In high school, after I learned to drive, I spent a lot of time at the local JoAnn's. It's a little different now but it's still a familiar place.

I kinda want to do some sewing and make some bags.

The saga of the Ivel continues

Finally, after about 2.5 months, I received the updated version for Ivel. There have been some major changes.

- There are now more than the original 3 sizes
- I had cast on for either the medium or large before with 50 stitches. Now the small starts at a cast on of 64 stitches for the sleeve. Yup, definitely have to rip that out.
- The sleeve was knit flat, joined to the body, and seamed before you did the cuff. Now the sleeve is knit in the round. Well, I added 2 selvedge stitches to each sleeve so that I can knit both at the same time flat. I want the seams. The cashmere needs the support. Also, with the seams, it's easier for me to get measurements to use for the lining.

So yeah. There are also somethings about the pattern that annoy me. I guess I'm a language purist. If I'm reading English, I expect it to be written in English without a heavy use of abbreviations. You want me to repeat something 5 times, please write out "5 times" instead of "5X". Or, please write out "On the next round begin" instead of "On the next rnd beg". Every time I read that, I do a double take and go "WTF does that mean? Oh, next round begin..." I'm sure most of us native English speakers who deal with American knitting instructions can translate this, but think of those whose English skills are not so good. Also, is it really that much more effort to write out the word in the paragraph than to use an abbreviation. Yes, I do rant against using internet abbreviations when writing in a proper setting as well. Does that bother anyone else?

I know this sweater will turn out amazing. It just seems the ordeal with the instructions have made things a tad bit annoying. Plus, I'm also working with the endless supply of cashmere. I just keep telling myself, "It will turn out beautiful."

If you want to increase some stitches evenly...

I declared my undying love to a fellow raveler for showing me this link. It divided 38 stitches evenly into 207 stitches for me. I love this link. It's amazing.

Time for a little ridiculous

Pattern: Desperate Housefrau
Yarn: Lion Brand Homespun in purple.

Enjoy and happy Maryland Sheep and Wool weekend!

Wool Skirt

This may be the knitted item I wear to MD S&W. I know, totally not practical. But I may actually finish it by then. But as I'm knitting this using BULKY wool, I kind of wonder at what I was thinking. Or perhaps what Teva Durham, the designer, was thinking in making a short skirt out of bulky wool. I mean, it doesn't look good if you lengthen it. So far, most of the comments has the skirt coming out smaller than one would've expected so it's going to be a mini. Wool..in the summer? Sure I could wear it in the winter with some knee boots but my legs are still cold. I think I may line this so my legs aren't directly touching the wool.

Back to the playoffs!

We finished up the college tournaments and now onto the NHL.

BU wins the championship this year. Yay. It was a good weekend of games and the championship was won almost in a fitting way. BU came back with 1 minute left of the 3rd period and scored 2 goals to tie. Then they won it in OT. That seems to be about the way it goes. Another good weekend with friends, even if it was a little (or a lot) crazy.

I finished some socks:

I test knitted these socks for someone on ravelry. The yarn used was a merino/tencel blend from Mind's Eye Yarns that I picked up a couple of years ago in Cambridge, MA.

What else...I pulled out some Malabrigo to start swatching for the February Lady Sweater. I have a necklace I want to finish up. I have a wreath I need to get working on.