o v e r b r e w e d

No, I didn’t forget I had a blog. I’ve just been distracted for the past, oh, 8 months or so. Well, partially. I’ve also been really boring.

I had a major knitting block for a big chunk of that. I think the crunch to get Christmas knits done, and then the resulting non-gifting of said knits thanks to a bear conveyor belt in Chicago eating the one thing I did mail and scaring me off mailing anything ever again is to blame. Luckily, the block is gone and i’ve been knitting up a storm. Nothing terribly interesting though…i’ve done a hat, finished a scarf, and am working on a sweater design, a pair of socks, and an adorable pair of fingerless mitts right now. All of that is up on Ravelry, if you’re a member.
What I have been doing a lot of is dyeing. And because I never get tired of showing off even my crappiest dye jobs, here you go. Fair warning…lots of pictures ahead!

That’s about 1200-1400 yards (I can’t remember anymore, good job me!) of merino lace. This is probably my all time favorite dye job.

Ah, desperation dyeing. I dug through my entire stash, looking for SOMETHING to dye, and came across a skein of white Cascade 220. I love the variations of blues and browns I got.

1320 yards of fingering weight merino. This will eventually be a shawl.

I love this one too…it’s so springy, but not sickly pastels. It’s 400 yards of fingering weight merino, and I can’t decide what to do with it. Right now I spend a lot of time petting and cuddling it.

I absolutely hated this when I pulled it out of the dye pot, but now it’s growing on me. I was bound and determined NOT to dye something in autumn-y colors, but my hands betrayed me and dumped in a load of red, orange, and green. This will eventually be a Clapotis. 900 yards worsted weight wool.

I decided to play with pastels, but I didn’t want easter egg pastels. This is nice and muted…reminds me of a Victorian garden, almost. I have no idea what to do with it. 450 yards worsted weight wool.

This is around 115 yards worsted weight wool. I so wish I had wound off more of the skein, but I was experimenting and didn’t want to waste more yarn just in case I screwed it up. It was a fun, though. I started off by dyeing the whole skein with dandelions and let it cool. Then I dip dyed half with turmeric, let it cool, then dumped it on my dye table and painted on some blue and brown. The picture really doesn’t do the variations in tones justice at all. I think it will make a nice hat, or possibly some mittens.

So, that’s about it. I have two more skeins i’m going to be dyeing up this weekend. First though, i’m going to head out and check on the progress of the wild plums, because i’m itching to do some canning.

At least when it comes to knitting, that is.  I currently have 3 pairs of socks, 3 sweaters, 1 regular scarf, and 1 lace scarf on the needles.  Several of these are near completion.  One sweater only needs  15 more rows of garter stitch sleeve.  Yet, what have I been sitting here doing all morning?  Yup.  Looking for a new project.  I tried to defend this compulsion to myself by saying “but I just need something simple and mindless to work on at SnB!”,  but uh.  That doesn’t really hold up, even when I am rationalising to myself.  A garter stitch sleeve!  A sweater back that is  nothing but stockinette for another 13 inches!  Stockinette in the round for 4 inches, then 2 inches of 2×2 ribbing.  Self, it really doesn’t get more mindless than that.  Head, please introduce yourself to the desk, repeat until this fact sinks in.  Sigh.

I think part of the problem is the fact that I want new yarn, but Chris whines every time I buy new yarn without using something I have stashed first.  So then I go dig through my stash, find a single ball of insert whatever yumminess you like, then head to Ravelry to see what I can do with it.  And then, of course, I get sucked into the black hole of pattern browsing, forum reading, and queue building. Which, btw, I think I have cast on ONE single thing from my queue.  It’s an endless cycle, I swear.

And I haven’t even bought yarn for Christmas presents yet.  Yes, I am aware that I am going to be knitting 24/7 in order to get presents sent out on time.  No, this fact has not yet motivated me to get off my butt and get the yarn ordered.  I have more issues than just commitment, I know.

On the not sucky, awesome but scary, and uh, how did I get myself into this side of things, I’ve been asked to teach a drop spindle workshop at our library.  Uhm.  This is my own fault really.  I was talking to the director about knitting and that somehow turned into spinning.  I mentioned that I spin.  I did not mention that I am a mediocre spinner that doesn’t have the first clue how to teach someone else.  I think I thought (kinda hoped) she might forget about it.  However, she did not.  In fact, there was a Learn to Knit workshop at the library last weekend, which my knitting group attended in order to recruit more people, and she pretty much called me out and told everyone I was a spinner and that I would be teaching a workshop.  To make matters worse, I had to pick that day of all days to be knitting a hat out of my handspun, which, to someone just starting out, looks pretty impressive.  So.  Looks like I am stuck, and holycrapwhatdoIdonow.  Seriously.  I am not a teacher.  I don’t spin properly, I just do it and am generally happy with the result.  I mean, it would be awesome to get more people interested in the craft, i’m all for that.  But does the world really need a bunch of newbie spinners taught by someone that can’t even draft properly?  I still park and draft for Pete’s sake.  And what do I teach them to spin with?  CD spindles?  How much fiber for each person?  What kind of fiber?  Too much pressure, brain is going to explode now.

Enough whining!  Ok, on the completely awesome side of things, I will soon be an official indie dyer.  I’ve done a lot of math (blech!) and a lot of plotting, and Chris is convinced.  I’m going to start small…small investment, minimal amount of stock, just to make sure I like doing it full-time, and obviously seeing if my stuff will even sell.  I’m still ironing out details, but by the first of the year, possibly sooner, I will finally be selling some yarn.  Mostly sock and sport, since that seems to be what everyone wants, but i’m also planning some worsted to sell at the local Christmas festivals.  I’m ridiculously excited.

Oh dear.  I think i’ve blathered on enough.  I have more I could ramble about…FOs and dyeing, but i’ll save all that for another post on a sunnier day, so I can add some pictures.

Oh dear.  I seem to have neglected the blog for quite a while this time.  Whoops?  First I got sucked back into Ravelry full time, then LiveJournal…first for the last Harry Potter, and now for the new tv season.  Not that I post there either, I just read.  I’m not very good with this whole connecting to the outside world thing, obviously.

Not much going around in these parts, just the usual.  Lots of knitting and tv watching, a little spinning and dyeing.   Definitely too much to update in one post, so we’ll just let the last few months slide and start from scratch, shall we?  I’ve got several projects on the needles right now; the Natalie Coat from BGK, Juliet from ZephyrStyle, and a lace scarf.  I’ve been trying to dole out my time evenly between the three, but I don’t think that’s working too well.   At least I won’t have a real need for the Natalie coat for a few more months still, thanks to the practically non-existent Texas winter.  Progress pictures of each as soon as I get off my butt and take them.

So, yes.  I am still alive and kicking, just can’t seem to divide my attention any further than it already is.  I’ll make an effort to keep things updated around here though, otherwise a certain Canadian might decide to do me bodily harm.   But for now I have to run, as I am about to get 7 inches chopped off my hair.

First up? Cars. Last, oh…January or so (I have no real concept of time) Adrian, best friend of Chris, decided he wanted to enter the oh-so-classy world of demolition derby. Chris, being the good friend he is, got roped into helping him get his car ready. After an entire week(!) of working on this beauty, the “Stinkin’ Lincoln” was ready for its debut. It lasted 5 minutes and I had a frozen butt for 2 days.

The day after the derby, Adrian informed me that he and Chris were both going to be entering the next one. I told him no, they ignored me. As usual. So for the past few months everything has been cars, cars, cars. Cars on the weekend, cars during the work day, cars until after dark every. freaking. night. And now, this Saturday, I will be forced into having my eardrums blasted, my lungs assaulted, and quite possibly dying of heat stroke, all so the boys can have wrecks on purpose. I can’t even take knitting with me, because apparently i’m expected to man the video camera. Sob. All I can say is, Chris had better win some money and had better buy me a spinning wheel with some of it. I think I deserve it.
Next subject. I now know exactly what i’m going to look like once I stop dyeing my hair and it goes completely grey. It’s not pretty and I suspect I may turn into one of those obnoxious old ladies that dyes their hair completely unnatrual shades of red or black just so I never have to see it again. I know this because I had to dump baby powder on my head, because once again the water company is frakkin’ up the water lines and we have had no water pressure in 3 days which means my hair has not been washed in 5 and oh god I feel dirty. So now I smell like a clean baby butt and have enough static in my hair to power a small generator. At least it’s marginally clean-er, and it’s a damn good thing I straightened my hair before all this happened. I think I would have scared the cats if they had to see me with dirty Hermione bad hair day hair.

Now, on to the fiber! I won 3.5oz of silk hankies on ebay about 2 weeks ago, and finally got around to dyeing it this weekend. It sticks to everything, and took for-freakin-ever to soak up all the dye, but oh boy. This is fun and easy to spin, and so. shiny! I’m planning a 3-ply once i’m done with the singles…as fine as it’s spinning up I should still end up with a substantial amount of finished yarn.

Also, I dyed some sock yarn. I’m loving these colors (especially the mossy green!), even if the purple/teal was supposed to be cornflower blue. Stupid Wilton’s. Time to move on to grown-up dyes, I suppose.

Annnnd finally, a new hat. There are actually 2 hats, but my camera crapped out on me before I could take a picture of my Zeebee. No pattern on this one…just stockinette with some garter stitch and a pom-pom for the hell of it. I’ve lovingly named it Jelly Bean Explosion, because it looks like some kid ate too much easter candy and puked on the couch. It’s a fun hat though, and Chris said it suited me which i’m not entirely sure is a compliment. Whatever, I shall wear it with pride once our 2 days of cold weather hits again. The yarn is Lion Wool, hand-dyed by me with Easter egg dye. It was an experiment that I don’t think will be repeated anytime soon, at least not in those colors.

Umm. That’s it. I have to run out to Hobby Lobby and pick up some felt-able wool so I can make drink cozies that match the cars. The joys of being me, I tell you.

I was too busy following the fiasco at LiveJournal to post about it yesterday, but yeah.  Finished.  No pictures yet, none of the ones I took turned out.  Overall, i’m kind of meh oh the FO.  I love the pattern…it’s easy, cute, and quick, but the fit is not the best.  It bunches up a bit at the neck, and rides up a lot, so I should have definitely gone ahead and made it a couple of inches longer.  This one is most likely going to end up just an around the house sweater, but that’s ok, since i’m always home anyway.  I think the next time I do this pattern, i’ll be making some major modifications.  Different yarn, longer body, fewer raglan increases, short rows for the bust, and possibly turn it into a long-sleeved cardigan instead.  Whether I turn it into a cardigan or not, I won’t be doing the pocket again.  It sits at a weird spot, and no matter how many times I repinned it, I could not get the damn thing seamed on perfectly straight.  More details on the knitting once I get pictures.
Anyway, now i’m off to get started on my Zeebee.  Hooray for making warm wooly hats in the middle of summer when I absolutely do not need them!

Wicked is almost finished.  All I have to do is finish the bottom band, the sleeve bands, and seam up the pocket.  So why am I ignoring this in favor of swatching for Zeebee?  I have issues, I know.  BUT.  I was sitting here looking at all the recent posts about it, and I realised that I had the perfect yarn languishing in my stash.  I ended up using the two orange skeins of DB Donegal Chunky Tweed a while back for a felted lunch bag, but I still had one skein of green leftover that I haven’t been able to come up with anything for.  So before I had even completely woken up and finished my gigantor cup of tea, I had that skein on the swift to wind it into a ball.  Sigh.

I need help.

My shoulders are killing me. I guess that’s what I get for casting on for Wicked and refusing to stop until I finished the increases. Sheesh. I know I should probably give myself a break today, but I really want to finish this ASAP. I don’t know why…maybe it’s just the thought of finally having a sweater done and not leaving it to marinate in the WIP basket for half a year. I finished up the increases at around 11 last night night, pulled it off the needles and tried it on, and thanks to my mammoth chest, the freaking sleeves are about 4 inches too big. Lovely. I could rip back, do some math and fiddling and fix it, but no. No, No, No. I’ll worry about fiddling when I get to actually finishing the sleeves. I can already tell though, that i’m going to need to make the body a couple of inches longer…I hate short sweaters, and don’t want to spend all my time yanking on the hem trying to get it to sit right. Good thing I bought extra yarn!

Pattern: Wicked by Zephyr Style
Yarn: Cascade 220 in Cordovan (The most perfect heathery brown ever.)
Size: Ha. See above; re: fiddling.

Also! FOs!

Pattern: Two-Toned Ribbed Shrug from Fitted Knits
Yarn: Lion Brand Wool-Ease in Chocolate Brown and Gold (Woo! Stashbuster) 1 skein of each, no idea how I managed but I think the yardage is mislabeled…need to weigh the remaining skeins to see.
Size: 17″ with modifications…shorter sleeves, less ribbing.
Meh. It’s cute-ish. And functional. But. The yarn is, quite obviously, crap. I’ll make it again, but with better yarn and no mods. And probably all one color, so it will be a smidge more versatile.

Pattern: Cotton Baby Hat from Last Minute Knitted Gifts
Yarn: Bernat Cotton Tots in Berry, not even half a skein. (And another stashbuster, yay!)
Size: Toddler
Oh my gravy. This is one of the cutest, easiest baby hats ever. I love the nubbly, homemade appearance the cotton yarn gives the hat. I will definitely be making this again, once I find a source of mini-humans in need of cotton hats. And i’ll use the recommended yarn next time, because the colors are to die for and the hat is even cuter in solids.

When I ordered my Wicked yarn from Webs, a skein of Malabrigo in Brown Berries just accidentally fell into my cart. Oh. Oh. I see what the fuss is about. I’m currently alternating between wanting to find a project for the single skein and wanting to just unwind it and roll around in it. I don’t care that it’s a smidge pricey…for this level of soft i’m willing to fork out the dough for a sweater I will never, ever want to take off. Chris even wants a sweater made out of it, and he’s not a sweater person. I know what i’m doing for Christmas!

On the spinning front: UGH. How, how, how do you people make such smooth, squishy, wonderful yarns? I spun up 90-ish yards of the Texas Peach merino the other day to see how the colors spun up, plied it, and ended up with around 45 yards of nicely colored fingering-DK weight crap. I know it takes time. I know it takes practice. BUT. But. While i’m getting better at spinning finer yarns, the nubs, slubs, and fuzz continue to haunt me. I’m being ridiculously careful with my pre-drafting, and nothing seems to help. Honestly, the slubs don’t bother me quite as much as the fuzz, although I wish they would go away too. I can’t figure out if it’s something i’m doing when i’m drafting, or what. It’s driving me bonkers and I do not like it, no Sir. This is yet another one of those times when I really really hate living in the ass-end of nowhere, and can’t find anyone to show me what i’m doing wrong. Sigh. I wish (ha. wish in one hand…) I could find somewhere to rent a wheel, and see if the spindle itself is part of my problem, but well…ass-end of nowhere. I’m beginning to think mastering the squishy smooth yarn is not in my future. Hmph. (And sorry about the crap picture…camera batteries went pffft on me.)

Ravelry has eaten my brain, seriously.  I keep meaning to post here, but then I start playing over there, and well…you know how it goes.  Anywho.

Newly dyed roving!  This is destined for socks, either when I get over my fear of uneven spinning or when I talk Chris into buying a spinning wheel and out of his newfound desire to build  one for me, Junkyard Wars style.  Men.  Anyway, 4oz each, merino from Paradise Fibers, and omg soft.  The blue/purple one has no name, the peachy one is aptly named Texas Peach…i’m just so damn creative, y’all.  I used a combo of Wilton’s and easter egg dye, which kind of sucks because I really want to recreate both of these once I have the dye kitchen set up.  Also, my braiding skills?  Yeah.  I know.

New handspun!  I didn’t actually plan on spinning this, as it’s just a measly 1/2oz or so…I just wanted to see what would happen if I literally painted undiluted Wilton’s directly onto the roving.  It works, and gives super-super saturated colors, but it fuzzes the fiber up too much.  I was so happy with the resulting color though, so I spun it anyway.  Approximately 12WPI, 31 yards, colorway Indian Summer (because I will most definitely be trying to recreate it in a more wool friendly fashion).  I’m thinking I can manage to get a skinny, loosely knit headband out of it.  We shall see.

My Rainy Day socks are coming along nicely.  I would have already had this one finished, but Chris was watching Ready To Rumble last night and I had no desire to lose any more braincells, so played on Ravelry instead.  Shocking, I know.  I also got my copy of Charmed Knits in the mail.  Right now i’m kind of eh on it.  I love (most) of the new patterns, but it’s kind of disappointing that there are so many patterns in it that are freely available online.  I do think, however, that the House Elf hat and the Pumpkin hat are quite possibly the cutest things ever.  Where’s a mini-human in need of a hat when you need one?

Alright, I suppose thats it.  I should probably, you know, do some domestic-ish duties at some point…i’ve been neglecting the laundry and it’s starting to take on a life of it’s own.  If you don’t hear from me in a few days, i’ve probably been eaten by the hoards of dirty socks littering my bedroom floor.

Just a quickie post, as i’ve spent the whole day playing with the most awesome site/community evar.  Seriously, Ravelry is great…something the knitting community has needed for awhile now.  Blogging is great and all, but it really doesn’t allow the same type of interaction as this does.  Its so organize-y and chock full of nifty features and ways to connect with other knitters; so much fun!  Go check it out!

Three yarn shops in 2 days, what was I thinking?  My wallet is still smoking.  (Also, be warned…I went a little picture happy.)

The results of my latest trip to the Woolie Ewe in Plano, plus an ebay win and Paradise Fibers order.   Last Minute Knitted Gifts, Kureyon, Lorna’s Laces in Flamingo, DB Cashmerino Baby for the Rainy Day Socks from Magknits, Artyarns Ultramerino, and Cascade 220 (Gryffindor colors for Warm Woolies, the other two are for a stripey hat/mitten set.)

Saturday I hit up The Knitting Nook and Simpatico Yarns (where I learned i’ve been saying Clapotis wrong.  I blame my southern roots.).  I picked up a swift(!!) and some Slytherin colors from the first, a ball winder(!!!), Claudia’s Hand Painted in Boot Camp, and Rowan Tapestry from the second.  Obviously, the swift and ball winder are already being put to use.  I predict an overload of tasty yarn cake pictures in the near future.  I also picked up Fitted Knits at Barnes & Noble…this book is gorgeous!  I already have several potential projects picked out.

I also managed to pick up a couple of new normal books, and get some knitting done.  I couldn’t figure out what I wanted to do with the Kureyon, but in the end I caved and started on the Multidirectional Diagonal Scarf  simply because it shows off the colors so perfectly.  Plus it doesn’t hurt that it’s a super fast knit.  The Rainy Day socks are also currently OTN, but no picture yet.  I was iffy on using the Cashmerino on them because it seems a little indulgent considering how fast I go through socks, but oh, so soft and warm and worth it.

And finally, because he’s been missing from the blog for awhile, some gratuitous Kimba spam.