What I've been doing

Long time, no blog post!  This spring has really gotten away from me.  I feel like the entire month of April really didn't happen.  Would you like to know what I've been doing recently?  Well, it has been a whole bunch of things but very little knitting. 

When I say very little knitting, I really mean very little knitting.  Amazingly, I've only had one project on the go for the last month or so.  It is the wedding shawl for my friend (Oh, what did you say?  Her wedding was last weekend?  Ooops).  I had a slight problem with the original yarn/pattern combination.  When I say problem, I mean ran out of yarn about a foot and a half too short.  So the stole (which was lovely if only I had had more yarn) was frogged and I started a Swallowtail shawl with the yarn instead.  I got through the bud pattern of the main portion of the triangular shawl and just had the nupps, bind off and blocking left to do.  This past weekend, the almost complete shawl came to the wedding but the pattern didn't.  Again, oops.  I'll be sending the shawl to her later. 

So if I haven't been knitting, what have I been doing?  Spinning, thinking about spinning, processing fiber, and drop spindling.  Some of you might think that spinning and drop spindling are the same thing (and they are) but I have projects going on the wheel and multiple drop spindles so that counts as two things.  On the wheel, I've been going through some Polwarth fiber I got at SOAR last fall.  Now, I really like the softness of this fiber and I would spin it again in a heartbeat.  (You are sensing a BUT here, right?) BUT I think I would want buy it raw and process it myself because this fiber has nepps and second cuts all over.  It's really frustrating to be spinning and then have little bumps in your knitting.  Sure, you can pull them out but I can't spin a foot of yarn without having to stop and do that.  I've gotten through 6 ounces of the 1.5 pounds so far but it is taking me much longer to do because I keep stopping and pulling out the nepps.  It would be really nice to have it all done by the end of the month but I know that isn't going to be happening! 

On the fiber processing front, I'm working on a small Cormo (I LOVE THIS FIBER!!!!!!!!!) fleece that I bought at Maryland.  The fleece was coated and it was skirted well so there is very little VM. 

(picture of Lily and cormo fleece)

Because cormo is a fine wool that will felt if you look at it funny, I decided to wash it in lock formation in lingerie bags with tulle separating the layers.  I also wanted to preserve the lock formation because I'm going to be combing this fiber.  So far I've only washed and combed a couple of ounces and am hoping to do more tonight and tomorrow. 

On the drop spindle front, somehow in the past couple of months, my spindle stash has grown by 3 spindles.  That brings the total to *mumble, mumble, kind of a lot, mumble, big number, mumble*  One of the spindles came from the Spinning Loft in MI.  Beth has some really lovely spinning tools available.  Back in 2009, during the Tour de Fleece, one of the prizes offered was a resin spindle with 4-leaf clovers in the resin.  I absolutely love 4-leaf clovers because they are so easy for me to find.  My mother and I both can walk across a patch of grass and find one.  That spindle called to me but the maker of it lived in England and the shipping made me think twice.  I regularly googled "4-leaf clover drop spindle" to see what things might come up.  Imagine my surprise when I saw one for sale at the Spinning Loft!  It was instantly added to my shopping cart and a couple of days later, I found some fiber in the stash and started spinning. 

(spindle and fiber)

The fiber is a silk blend with possibly wool, camel, or yak.  I didn't write what the combination was because obviously I would remember it.  Ha. 

The next 2 spindles came back home with me from Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival.    Both of the spindles are trindles, those funky looking spindles with 3 arms and beads at the ends of the arms.  If you haven't seen one before, they are for sale on etsy and there is a picture of one in Respect the Spindle. 

(picture of the trindles) 

I bought the trindle with the square beads on Saturday then wandered the festival to find the perfect roving to spin.  I ended up finding a 100% silk roving at Carolina Homespun in a beautiful dark purple.  The trindle is really light and spins so long that the resulting single is like a cobweb. 

After I went back to my friend's place, I kept thinking about the other trindles.  Lust might have been the right word, actually.  I went back on Sunday morning and bought the one with the round beads and fiber from the same shop.  The roving is a delightful 100% BFL and definitely falls in my blue/green palette.  Right now, this spindle is my "around town" spinning project. 

What else have I been doing?  Sewing up a (temporary) storm.  One weekend, it was all sewing, all of the time.  I sewed up a dress (without the zipper), half of a dress, a bodice, and a bolero (didn't finish the sleeves yet).  I hate to say it but then those projects came to a screeching halt.  Thankfully, mom helped out with putting the invisible zipper in the one dress so that is finished.  What is needed for everything else is a spurt of finishitis (aka feeling of "must finish everything in sight!").  I did finish up a couple of small projects from scrap fabric.  Have you seen those neck ties that you soak in water and tie around your neck?  It is a great way to keep cool in the summer so I made a bunch out of scraps.  I'm hoping to use them while riding. 

Speaking of riding, a new horse came to the barn.  His name is Loxley like Robin of Loxley.  This guy is a 17.2hh (!!) bay Warmblood. 



For those of you who don't know horses, a hand is 4 inches and 17.2 hh means he is 70" tall at the top of his shoulder (the withers).  I am 5'3" which converts to 63" so that means the top of this horse's withers are 7" taller than I am.  My horse, Java, is 15.2 hh and looks like a very small horse next to Loxley.  Jazz, one of the other horses at the barn, is 15 hh and looks like a tiny, petite, little pony next to him.  Of course, she is absolutely in love with him.  She goes for the taller guys!  Whenever you add a new horse to a herd, reshuffling happens with everyone's rank in the herd.  The first week, the head mare, Cali, (16.3 hh) hated Loxley's guts and wouldn't let him anywhere near her herd.  This week, however, she is in heat and likes any and all guys. 



The poor guy is just confused by the whole thing and Java is sulking in the corner because his woman is no longer paying attention to him.  I think all of the reshuffling might be over and my horse is back to his normal #2 position because he was acting very possessive of his woman.  Ah, the drama.  It's like high school all over again. 

Speaking of horses, I've started taking individual lessons again at the riding stable down the road.  My horse is getting older and I've ridden him for so long that I feel like I'm losing some skills.  It's funny how we all settle into ruts.  Riding the lesson horses is a really good because they are so different from each other.  Hopefully I'll be riding Loxley regularly so having experience riding other horses is a good thing.  My work schedule has settled into a routine so I'm able to take the lessons either on Tuesday or Thursday mornings and then go right to work.  So far it has been working really well. 

Also speaking of the barn, have I ever mentioned that the owner of the barn has a woodworking shop there?  He is a fantastic woodworker.  Well, I have a tendency to either go on big travel trips or redecorate.  I haven't gone anywhere big recently (by big I mean Europe or some other 2 week vacation out of town, not weekend trips) so my redecorating urge is a little insistent right now.  What does this have to do with woodworking?  I've been wanting a new dresser (and desk and bed) but cannot find the design I'm imagining anywhere in the stores.  I can, however, find plans to make what I'm picturing.  Do any of you have this happen with your knitting?  You can picture the sweater but can't find the pattern?  You can probably guess what is going to happen.  Yes, I'm going to try to build the dresser.  Thankfully, Leon knows what he is doing and teaches well.  He isn't convinced about making the bed but I bet I can wear him down.

Maryland recap

I had a fantastic time at Maryland Sheep and Wool this year.  I drove out and stayed with a friend in Baltimore which isn't too far away from West Friendship, MD.  I wasn't able to convince anyone to go with me to the festival (in fact, I got weird looks) but it turned out pretty nice because that meant I could take my time everywhere.   Oh, by the way, this blog post is going to be liberally sprinkled with sheep pictures. 



My goals for the festival were:

• a sweater's worth of worsted weight wool in black
• a spindle
• something from Jennie the Potter
• a fleece from the wool auction

I met all of my goals and actually ended up coming home with more than that (big surprise, right?). 

As you've probably heard already, it was HOT.  Temperatures were in the upper 80s and the sun was out in full force.  I had plenty of sunscreen, a hat and water so I was prepared for the long haul.  After waiting in line for a while, I got to the festival and parked at the far ends of the earth.  Later in the day, after many people left, I moved the car much closer! 



My fiber festival strategy is to first walk through every building, looking but not buying.  It helps you get a feel of where everything is and to which vendors you want to come back.  On the MDSW Ravelry board, I already knew a couple of vendors should be on my radar because they had products I wanted to see in person.  Additionally, wandering around everywhere gives you an opportunity to see where the shady spots are and really good food vendors! 



Really all of this wandering around was a way for me to wind over to the wool sale, not going to lie.  I had a fantastic time digging through all of the different bags of fleece.  One goal was to buy a fleece but I hadn't decided what kind yet.  In the past, I've tended to like dark fleeces in blacks, browns, and dark grays.  This time I thought I would get either a white or light gray fleece but hadn't decided which breed.  OK, that might be a slight lie.  I really wanted a fine wool and the cormo just called my name.  I spent lots of time choosing between a small white cormo and a light gray cormo blend.  In the end, I went with the 100% cormo.  Now I know why people have been raving over cormo.   I washed up a little last week and started combing it.  Love at first lock! 



After buying my fleece, I was wandering back towards the car because I didn't want to cart my fleece around all day.  As I was passing the official festival swag building, I noticed that the line wasn't long at all.  The festival doesn't have an entry fee and is almost entirely funded by the sales of the official festival gear (well, that and vendor fees).  At my first MDSW, I decided that I didn't need any more t-shirts and really liked the idea of getting a bag instead.  That year I got a tote bag and this year I got a shoulder bag in a nice blue. 

Another advantage of going to the car was that the Podcaster Meet and Greet was being held near the main entrance.  A whole bunch of my favorite podcasters were going to be hanging out meeting people and I wanted to get in line to say "hi." 



The Meet and Greet started a little late but everyone seemed to have fun chatting in line.  The goodie bag that Jackie of KIPing it Real was fantastic!  It was really nice to put faces to the voices.  Some people looked very different than how I had imagined. 

At the car, I took the opportunity to have a snack, apply even more sunscreen, and move my car to a closer parking spot.  It was so hot by that point that many people had gone home.  It was a really easy way to get a good parking spot.



When I went back to the festival, I decided to wander over to the auction.  I didn't bid on anything but it was a lot of fun to watch. 



By this point, it was very, very hot and I thought that going inside a building with cement floors and shade was a very good idea.  The skein and garment competition is not something to miss.  The amazing projects and skill levels demonstrated was simply amazing.  One of my favorite projects had to be this needle felted sheep. 













After wandering around the skein and garment competition building in awe for a while, I stopped by the boy scout food building and got lunch to go.  Yum, lamb burger and a GIANT ice tea.  Let me tell you, I loved that big glass of ice and tea.  It was just about time for a sheepdog demonstration so I took my lunch and wandered down to the arena.  It's always fun watching the dogs work. 



I think my favorite part of the demonstration was the farmer who has been demonstrating with his dogs for over 15 years.  He was the owner of the sheep, too, and they kept trying to run back to him.  He looked like a very old school type of farmer but I saw him pet one of the sheep on the head when they were all clustered around him. 

Because I was at the very end of the fairgrounds and the day was starting to get late, I made my way back through all of the vendors.  It had cleared out a lot since the morning because so many people had left for the day.  I ended up doing the bulk of my shopping then and then went back to Baltimore for the night. 

The next morning, I hadn't planned on going back to the festival but woke up at an obscene hour of the morning and had nothing to do for a long time.  There was a spindle that was really tempting and the sheep to shawl competition was going on so I went back for a couple of hours.  For those of you who don't know, the sheep to shawl competition is where a team of spinners and a weaver take a freshly shorn fleece (so fresh they shear the sheep right there), spin the yarn and weave a shawl in a couple of hours.  Here are a couple of the different teams. 











Every team has a different theme which makes things very fun.  As you can tell, the team in those first two pictures chose a Harley Davidson theme!  The teams do a mock-up of their shawl beforehand and have their warp already strung before the competition.  I wish I knew who won the competition. 

On Sunday, was able to watch more of the sheep show.  Listening to the judges is always so informative and I feel like I always learn something new.  One of the judges is especially good with explaining the breed standards and how the different sheep in the class come up to that standard. 





The last thing that I did before leaving the show was watching an impromptu shearing demonstration.  A shearer set-up shop between two of the barns and was shearing those sheep that had full fleeces for the show.  Once they are shown, their fleeces can be removed so they don't die of heatstroke in the summer.  The different owners were offering the fleeces for sale there on the spot. 



So you are probably wondering, what did you get already?!  I got:

• 1 Cormo fleece
• 2 trindles (funky looking spindles)
• 6 round clay buttons with sheep on them
• multiple snarky buttons
• 1 MDSW shoulder bag
• 1 4 oz bump of BFL top
• 1 2 oz bump of 100% silk 
• 1 mug from Jennie the Potter with cute sheep dancing all over them
• 2 skeins of Miss Bab's Yowza Whatta Skein in Obsidian (a semi-solid black) 
• 2 tubes of the best hand lotion EVER - Marcha Labs Wool Wax Creme

The silk and BFL are already on the spindles (of course!) and the mug has already gone to work to be my tea mug.  All in all, I had a very good festival! 

I've lost it

Normally when I say, "I've lost it," I'm referring to something like biting off more than I can chew. This time, however, "it" means my knitting mojo. I have a confession. I haven't knit anything major in a couple of weeks now.

All of my projects have been conspiring against me. Either I messed up something on the pattern or I've run out of yarn and that makes me not want to knit. I'm working on a shawl for my friend's wedding but it definitely was going to be too short. According to the pattern, I should have had enough yarn but I didn't. I think everything combined meant I didn't want to knit. So I frogged that shawl and started another pattern. Let's hope it makes me want to knit again.

I'm listening to a lot of knitting podcasts to get me out of this slump and it seems to be working a little bit. Thanks, Knitmore Girls!

Another thing that will make me want to knit again is Maryland Sheep and Wool this weekend. Yes, I'm going to Maryland! How is it the beginning of May already?! I'm getting ready with my list of things to find and am excited! Are any of you going to Maryland?

Seaming

Can someone remind me why I thought practicing seaming would be a good thing?  Arrrgh. 

Fickle knitter

I've said before that I have knitting ADD. I'll be in the middle of a project and then will suddenly switch to another. Usually I'll switch to something new just as I'm coming to the end of the project. Does anyone else do this? Just get bored of what you are working on and have to start something new? You're starting to get the idea that I'm going to be talking about a completely different project aren't you? And you would be correct!

I'm a buttonband away from being finished with my Handspun Tangled Yoke Cardigan. The project that distracted me from the HTYC was the Corrie Vest, a fair isle vest kit from KnitPicks. Well, I've gotten distracted from that. I'm at the shoulders of the vest and only have to steek it, knit the neckband and the armholes. So isn't that the perfect time to start another big project?

I've started on Twist, a lovely cabled cardigan knit in pieces. Normally I hate seaming pieces together but I wanted to start this cardigan immediately without having to think about converting it to the round. Also, this way I get to practice seaming and will get better at it. Remind me of that as I'm cursing at the seams!

The yarn is Berroco Vintage in a lovely gray. I've never used this yarn before but have definitely fallen in love with it. Comparable to Cascade 220, it has a nice feel to the knit fabric and has a really good price. I also like the way that the cables look. (Of course I'm telling you all about how it looks but not giving you a picture. Sorry!) It's really surprising how nice this 50% Acrylic, 40% Wool, 10% Nylon blend is. I can see myself using more in the future.

I started the back on March 20th and finished it in a couple of days. For some reason (I swear there was a reason but I don't remember it) I started the sleeves next instead of the fronts. I've finished with the increases and will be done with them pretty quickly.

An interesting technique I've learned with this sweater is a tubular cast on for a 2x2 rib. For a good photo tutorial, Ysolda has excellent instructions. When you read the directions, it amazes you that everything works. I used Judy's Magic Cast On instead of a provisional cast on for the technique. It really makes an interesting edge for the sweater. The only thing is that I haven't seamed it yet so I don't know how well that will go with the tubular cast on.

This sweater is going to be one of the pieces I enter into our state fair. It definitely won't be finished in time for me to wear it this spring. Though we had snow yesterday so you never know. I never thought of myself as a sweater knitter but that is all that I have done recently! I really need to get in gear and start (and finish!) a wedding shawl for my friend. She is getting married in May but I haven't even picked a pattern yet.

Another FO

I keep calling this sweater my Featherlight Cardigan even though the designer named it Featherweight.  I think it is because there is a horse trailer company called Featherlight.  Anyway, let me sing the praises of this sweater and the yarn (mmmmalabrigo). 



I started the sweater last May (really, Ravelry?  you aren't just making that date up?) but then put it down for a couple of months.  I don't have a good reason for not finishing it much sooner.  I love the yarn and the pattern is really easy to follow.  I just got distracted by other things.  Oh, well.  I picked it up again right before Thanksgiving (an easy project to work on in the bar) and finished the body.  Unfortunately, I put it down again and didn't pick it up for another month.  I finished the second half of the second sleeve and then put it down again.  Finally, last week, I sat down, made myself pick up stitches for the collar and worked on it.  Isn't it amazing how things get finished if you actually work on them?   



Yarn: 3 skeins of Malabrigo lace, Emerald
Pattern: Featherweight Cardigan by Hannah Fettig
Dates: May 2009 to March 14, 2010
Modifications:  First, I decided that I didn't want a cropped cardigan.  It's not really my style and my waist would probably be cold.  The pattern originally called for 9 inches but I knit for 13 inches, instead.  My next change was to make a 2 inch seed stitch bottom edge rather than a 1x1 rib for 2 inches and my collar is in seed stitch, too.  I had seen someone on ravelry did the collar and lower edge in seed stitch and I really liked the way it looked.


The pictures on blogger are driving me nuts.  Click on the picture to see my flickr page and see the actual color of the sweater. 

This yarn feels fantastic.  I can understand why so many people adore it because it is just so soft.  But I have a feeling that the yarn will pill and probably felt like crazy.  That is, however, a small price to pay for how soft, light and warm this cardigan is.  It really is as light as a sweater.  I'll just have to treat the sweater kindly.

Quick FO

Thanks for the well-wishes, guys!  I'm feeling a bit more human but still really tired.  I haven't felt brave enough to pick up the button band on the Tangled Yoke Cardigan yet because my counting ability is still shaky.  But I decided to finally work on some projects that have been hanging around for a while now.  I actually finished one! (some of the pictures are going to be rotated but right now i can't figure out how to switch them around.  sorry!)

This is a Knitting Pure and Simple pattern called Neck Down Pullover Tunic - Women #9726. Thrilling name, huh :)  I had seen another person's finished sweater a couple of months ago and liked the comfy look of it.  I used O-Wool Balance, a cotton/wool blend, which adds to the comfy-ness. 

This sweater should not have taken me so long to finish! In the first week, I had everything but half of a sleeve finished. From there it took me 1 month to sit down and finish the sleeve. Then it took me another month to sit down and finish the collar.  Oh, well.  At least it is finished in enough time to wear it during the appropriate weather.  In fact, I'm going to wear the sweater today even though it is supposed to be in the 60s today. 

Details: O-Wool Balance, 8.25 skeins
US 6 and US 4 needles
Started January 17, 2010- finished March 9, 2010 (this should NOT have taken me this long to do!)
I knit the sweater with a couple of inches of positive ease for the comfy-ness factor.  

Modifications:
I did change a couple of things with the pattern.  The bottom of the tunic has garter stitch at the edge.  The sleeves and the neck, however, are 2x2 ribbing.  So I decided to lengthen the sleeves a little bit and to finish them with garter stitch instead of the ribbing.

The other change that I made was the ribbing of the v-neck.  I feel like the only place the pattern had a fail was at its neck directions.  It was a pretty good pattern for beginners (or people who want a mental break) but the neck was really funny.  It had you pick up the stitches at the collar, knit the ribbing for 3/4 inch flat (not in the round) then lay the two ends of the ribbing over each other and sew it down.  Wha?  Instead, I picked up the stitches and knit a couple of rounds of garter stitch, doing a centered double decrease.  I think it looks much better than what the directions were having you do.

sick

How to know when you are sick: you can't do a mostly stockinette sock (in my defense, it was Skew from Knitty) but for some reason can do charted fair isle.  Can someone tell me how that makes sense?  I've been down with a lovely cough and fatigue since last Wednesday evening.  The Tangled Yoke Cardigan has been languishing since the closing ceremonies and now I don't have the mental capacity to do the button band.  But for some reason I'm able to work on the Corrie Fair Isle Vest from knitpicks.  Well, I am able to when I'm awake. 

red berries

I got this roving at SOAR 09.  It reminded me of a bunch of berries, so bright and cheerful.  It is also completely outside of my color norm!  Normally I'm drawn to blues, greens, and purples but this red caught my attention in the whole wall of color.

After spinning all of the yarn for my Tangled Yoke Cardigan, I wanted to spin something with lots of color.  This roving definitely fit the bill.  I also wanted to spin up a 3-ply fingering weight yarn.  I divided the 6 oz of roving into three 2 oz amounts.  Before the Olympics started, I spun up approximately 4-4.5 oz and had started on the third 2 oz bump.  Knitting my Tangled Yoke Cardigan took priority but I still tried to spin for a little while a couple of times a week.  I finished spinning the last of the 6 oz on Saturday and let all of the singles rest. 

On Sunday, after the closing ceremonies, I started plying.  Yesterday, I was leading a book group so I went into work for the evening shift.  That meant all morning I was reading the book and plying.  After work last night, I finished plying, set the yarn and hung it up to dry in front of the woodburning stove. 

Details: 488 yards, 100% wool (of course I didn't write the breed down)
3-ply yarn spun using a worsted technique. 
Started spinning mid-January, finished 3/1/10.

steek

 

Steeking with obligatory cat

I learned last night that a member of my knitting and spinning groups is losing her 12 year battle with breast cancer.  Yesterday, her doctor told Gretchen and her family that there is nothing left that they can do and she should go into hospice care immediately.  Gretchen was the person who encouraged me to take the learn to spin class and lent me one of her wheels to use.  She has always been a caring and supportive person.  She taught numerous classes at our LYS and always devoted time to help other people.  Gretchen is only in her early 50s.  It isn't right that someone so young has to go through this.

ETA:  Gretchen passed away on Friday morning at home with her family.  She will be sorely missed by all who knew her.  

Olympics, day 10

I've gotten to the point on my Handspun Tangled Yoke Cardigan where I'm ready to start the cabled yoke!

I cannot believe this sweater has gone this fast. It's gone fast even with me taking a couple of nights off after finishing the main part of the body. I didn't want to strain my wrists or hands too much so I decided not knitting for a couple of nights was the best plan.

The sleeves gave me a little bit of trouble as you can tell from my last post. I knit on them for a number of days but they never seemed to grow past my elbows. Finally on Saturday, I made my way out of the black hole of knitting and started making progress on them. Yesterday, I reached my desired length (slightly longer than the pattern calls for) and was able to join them to the body. Dad and I went to a Civil War lecture and I was able to knit my way through it. As a side note, I didn't know that there was a Civil War prison complex on Lake Erie. The speaker told us about the archeological digs he has been doing there for the last 20 years and shared stories of some of the different prisoners. It was very interesting and had the added bonus of me being able to knit through it.

Last night, I knit a little bit too far and had to tink back a couple of rows. I'm at the point where I start decreasing and doing the set-up row for the cable section. A friend and I are planning to go shopping in Columbus this evening so I'm probably not going to make too much progress tonight. I'm hoping to at least start the cabled section. It should go pretty fast just because I love doing cables so much.

Black hole

The sweater sleeves have entered the black hole of UGH. I've been knitting on them for the past couple of days but they haven't grown past my elbow. UGH is all that I have to say.

Olympics, day 4

Yay! Winter Olympics!  Are you watching and enjoying the games?  Going back to work after this long 3-day weekend is going to be hard because I will have to drag myself away from the tv (and the knitting). 

My olympic knitting has been going EXTREMELY well.  I mean, so well that it is freaky.  On Friday, I cast on for the sleeves of my Handspun Tangled Yoke Cardigan.  I completed almost an inch of them before I decided to start on the body of the cardigan.  That was Saturday early afternoon and, by today at 4:30 pm, I've reached the point where you join the sleeves to the body!  Wow.  That's amazing.  I think one thing that has helped it knit up so fast is that I decided to knit the cardigan in the round and steek it.  For those of you who don't know, steeking is an extremely scary thing where you knit your garment with the intent to cut it open.  It is just amazing how quickly this project is going.  Now, that will probably jinx everything but I can hold out hope! 

I'm off to work on the sleeves!

Are you ready? attempt #2

** For some reason this didn't post on Friday.  I'm trying another attempt so please excuse the time lapse! **

Tonight is the opening ceremony for the winter olympics!  Are you ready?  I always enjoy watching the winter olympics more than the summer ones (except for all of the horse events, I could watch those all day).  All of the winter sports are things I really can't do so watching people who do them really, really well is just fascinating.  And, while watching all of these athletes competing, I shall be knitting up a storm!

I should be all set to go this evening.  A couple of days ago, I did a swatch trying different needle sizes.  In case you are confused by the purl ridges in the picture, that is where I differentiated between the three different sizes.  In order to tell the sizes apart, I purled 6 stitches for a US size 6, 5 for a US 5 and 4 for a US 4.  I saw this technique somewhere a couple of years ago and have used it ever since.  I tried keeping track on pieces of paper but always lost the paper and then couldn't remember what swatch was done with what yarn.  Now the record is always kept with the swatch!  For this project, I'm going to be using a US 5 to get gague.   

I'm still debating about converting this sweater into the round and steeking it into a cardigan.  I'll do another search of ravelry today to see if people have any suggestions.  I could knit it as the directions are written but the thought of purling those long rows isn't really appealing.  Sure, I could knit them backward but that takes me a long time, too.  When I'm going for speed, knitting in the round is the way to go for me. 

I can't wait to start!  Are you participating in the Knitting Olympics or ravelympics? 

Cheese making

A friend from my knitting group and I got together last night to make mozzarella cheese. At the last spinning meeting, another lady brought her current issue of Hobby Farm Home magazine. One of the articles in there was for making 30 minute mozzarella using the microwave. Both of us had talked about making cheese before and that magazine article sealed it.

Making the cheese was amazingly simple! The most difficult thing about it was finding the rennet (I found it at our local natural food store) and the citric acid. Once Jane researched it, however, she realized that she had some citric acid already in her pantry. Did you know that citric acid also goes by the name Sour Salt? I did not!

1 gallon of milk on the stovetop

If my science classes in high school did things like making cheese or other cooking things, I think I would have been a lot more interested in science. Seeing the chemical change to the milk after we added the citric acid and then the rennet was simply astounding. It actually made cheese! (I'm still amazed by that as you can tell.) It only took a minute or two to start turning into curds and whey.

Curds separated from the whey

Apparently, we could also make ricotta from the whey. I think that is a project for the future. Neither of us were ready to make it right now. After you separated the curds and the whey (how Little Miss Muffet of us!), you microwave the curds for a couple of seconds. Then you knead the cheese like you would bread. This helps to smooth everything out and distribute the heat evenly.

Kneading the cheese

On the final microwave, you add your salt to taste and then form the cheese into whichever shape you want. This had to be done pretty quickly because the cheese gets harder to stretch when it cools. We both ended up making them into balls.

Cheese ball

Let me tell you, they didn't stay that way long. We immediately started cutting pieces off while it was still warm. I just can't believe it actually tasted like mozzarella. I know that shouldn't surprise me but it was so simple and had so few ingredients! I know what I'm going to be making a lot of in the future.

If you want some recipes that are similar to the one we did, try these links.

* 30 Minute Fresh Mozzarella Cheese Recipe
* Mozzarella Cheese Recipe from cheesemaking.com
* the recipe in Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver
* the recipe in Hobby Farm Home magazine (I really liked looking through this magazine)

**eta: corrections on book title

Getting ready for the Olympics

Sorry for the long hiatus.  I really have no good explanation other than my camera died and I've been uninspired in the blogging department.  Thanks to the camera death, I bring you pictures from my cell phone.   So sorry in advance for the quality! 

I can't believe it is time for the Winter Olympics again!  I mean, it feels like it was just last year that the Summer Olympics happened.  For knitters, the Winter Olympics means the Knitting Olympics.  The point of the Knitting Olympics is to start a project when the torch is lit and finish it by the time the closing ceremonies roll around.  Like the athletes, you use the opportunity to challenge yourself and your skills.  My challenge is knitting a sweater from my handspun yarn. 

It is wool from a local woman who raises CVM sheep.  We grouped together and sent a bunch to be processed into top at a wool mill up in MI.  The resulting top is FABULOUS.  It spins like a dream.  The color is a dark brown with hints of dark gray in it. 

Now, I've been spinning this yarn up for the last month and a half.  It has been a long month and a half.  If I lived in ye olden times, my family would never have been clothed properly.  They would be wearing sweaters with only one sleeve finished because I hadn't finished spinning the yarn.  True, I wouldn't have been spinning so finely nor would I have been making a 4-ply and I probably wouldn't be spinning it worsted.  Also the kids would probably be farmed out to prepping the wool and doing some of the knitting and spinning.  Can I just say that I'm happy not to be living in ye olden times?  Anyway, spinning all of this yarn has definitely been a test of stamina because all of this wool is the same color.  I've even been drop spindling this wool, too.  I'm really getting bored working with the same color but I can't let myself not finish the yarn for the sweater! 

As prep for this project, I did a lot of sampling.  I had a specific sweater in mind and knew what type of yarn I would need.  Well, that plan actually changed as I went along.  Originally, I wanted to make a relatively simple sweater with a cowl neck from Vogue Knitting a couple of years ago.  I found the old issue of the magazine in a fellow raveler's destash.  After I started sampling, however, I decided that I would rather do something with cables and the Tangled Yoke Cardigan really fit the bill.  I've been wanting to do that sweater for eons and making it out of my handspun would be very satisfiying.  Anyway, back to sampling and swatching.  At first, I thought I would be doing a 3-ply yarn.  But my default spinning seems to be fine, fine, fine.  I didn't like my swatch with the 3 ply so I decided to try 4-ply instead.  That swatch was much, much better. 

Three of those plies have been spun up on the wheel and one has been done on my drop spindle.  On the wheel, I've been spinning 1 ounce amounts up and then winding that off onto straws in order to ply easily. For the drop spindle, I would spin as much as possible until my cop (the spun yarn) either took up all of the room on the spindle or I couldn't spin easily anymore.  Then I would wind it off onto a weaving bobbin so I would know it was from the drop spindle rather than the wheel.

For plying, I have a shoe box with holes punched in the side.  I put the straws on some straight knitting needles and am plying away.  I've been using a plying guide (aka a wooden rectangle with 4 holes drilled in it) to help me keep everything straight while plying.  I know Judith MM says you don't need one but I did to keep my sanity!  I can do 3 plies with my hand without too much trouble but that extra ply just messes me up when I try to do it with 4. 

I'm finishing up the last little bit on my spindle and hope to finish plying the last of the yarn in the next day or two.  As of right now, I have 1,600 yards of a sport weight yarn!  I'm estimating, when I'm finished plying, I'll have another 300 yards to add to the total.  I can't wait to start knitting the sweater! 

Haiti earthquake

It's been a much longer time than I expected to have without blogging.  So in a quick sentence I hope everyone had a nice Christmas (or whatever holiday), New Years and middle of January!  I've been busy with spinning and getting ready to make a handspun sweater for the Knitting Olympics.  I swear that I really will post soon. 

OK, now down to the real point of this post.  As I'm sure you all know, Haiti suffered a horrendous earthquake.  The Yarn Harlot wrote a very informative post about donating to Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (Canada here, USA here, Other countries can find their site here) .  If you are able, please consider donating. 

I found an unusual way to donate today thanks to my credit card company, capital one.  You can donate your rewards points to the charity of your choice.  For capital one, 1000 rewards points = $5.  I did a search for DWB/MSF and donated all of my (never redeemed) points.  Just as an fyi for you guys. 

Little nothings

fAnne Hanson, of knitspot fame, has patterns that she calls Little Nothings.  They are patterns for perfect small projects which usually don't require much yarn.  I decided to do my own little nothing the other day. (Though of course I don't have her design skills and used someone else's pattern.) 

Yarn: 1 oz of handspun 50/50 yak and silk (yummmmmmm) from Trading Post Fibers
Pattern: Abby from Knittyspin
Dates: spinning = one day in July 09, plying = 12/17, knitting = 12/18 - 12/20
Modifications: Lots!  First off, I didn't use a silk single.  Next, I only cast on 90 stitches.  Finally, I only knit about 4-5 inches of cowl because I ran out of yarn (I knew I would). 

This yarn is simply luxurious.  I mean, yak and silk?  What could be better?  It is light, airy, shimmery and WARM.  I did a worsted style spinning 2-ply yarn which ended up being a light fingering weight.  The singles for this yarn was spun back in July for my challenge day during Tour de Fleece.  But I never got around plying the singles and they took up one of my bobbins. 

My friend, Victoria, does a lot of work with horses which means she is outdoors most of the winter.  I thought this yarn would make a perfect pair of wristers to help her hands stay warm.  When I plied up the yarn, however, I realized that I wouldn't have much and the wristers wouldn't be very long.  I decided that a cowl, even a short one, would probably be better.  I had previously made Abby with some laceweight alpaca so the pattern popped into my mind as a possibility.  It is an extremely easy pattern to memorize so I could knit it without thinking. 

I cast on 90 stitches so the cowl would be close to the neck and knit until my yarn ran short.  In fact, it ran too short and I ran out of yarn before the bind off.  So I did what any enterprising spinner/knitter would do, spun up some more, plied it and knit the bind off.  I love drop spindles.  The additional fiber I used wasn't actually yak/silk because I didn't have any more left.  It was merino/silk instead and was much more white than the soft cream of the yak/silk.  I don't think that really mattered because there was a slight curl to the ends of the cowl.  That meant the cast on and bind off edges were both hidden. 

I was able to finish everything up on Sunday morning and quickly ran over to another friend's house to drop off the gift to Victoria.  Yay for quick gifts!

Stained glass cookies

Apparently I've decided to do every other craft than holiday knitting or spinning this week.  On Sunday and Monday morning, I made stained glass cookies.

You use any sort of sugar cookie recipe, cut out a shape in the middle (we have lots of mini cookie cutters), fill in that with crushed clear candy, and cook the cookie like normal.  I used my family's sugar cookie recipe we've always used for cookie parties.  It was kind of hard to scale the recipe back for only a few dozen rather than 50!  I used crushed Jolly Rancher for the centers.

Aren't they fun?  And they are actually really easy to do.  I swear!