Happy Halloween to all of those who celebrate.
The month of October has been one of the longest months in recent memory (for me, anyway) and I'm so thankful that it's almost over. As soon as I can compose myself long enough, I'll be back to compose a real post.
The funk that I thought had finally abated last week has returned with a vengeance. Little things just keep adding up and my stress level is reaching a breaking point. This afternoon I was thisclose to losing it. Luckily, I pulled myself together and made it through the remainder of the day without a nervous breakdown. the Princess's fifth birthday is Thursday, and I'm trying to get everything set for her party. I'm fairly antisocial by nature, and am not much of an entertainer, so planning parties always stresses me out. On top of that, we're trying to prepare for her first day of school next week, dealing her cranky, teething little brother, and the regular sundry of household issues that are falling squarely on my shoulders.*
My intention in posting was not to write about how miserable I am right now. Really. I actually wanted to post last week that I did in fact meet my self-imposed challenge to finish my Huron Mountain socks. I think I started this pair of socks back in February. The first sock was finished quickly, because watching the pattern emerge was so much fun. After the first sock, the novelty wore off, and then the poor single sock lingered in the recesses of a knitting bag for many months. Finally, last Sunday, I picked up the project again, and had a matching pair by Tuesday afternoon. It's amazing how far a little focus will get me.
Pattern: Huron Mountain from Knitting on the Road by Nancy Bush
Yarn: Uschi Strumpfwolle Universal (75% wool, 25% nylon--very similar to Opal or Regia)
Needles: 2.25mm Susan Bates DPN
Notes: I didn't change the pattern at all, aside from using a different yarn.. I love these socks, and remember being drawn to them the first time I got my hands on KOTR. Nancy Bush designed this sock pattern to commemorate the sighting of loons while on vacation in Michigan, but this pattern has always reminded me of Maine, where I was born and raised.
I've been working on several different knitting projects since finishing these socks, but nothing is near completion. I have a sweater in progress for each of my kids, one for myself, and only one pair of socks. I would love to cast on for a new pair, something simple, but I'm trying so hard to reduce the number of works in progress I have.
There has been a little bit of spinning, but admittedly not too much. There were a few weeks that passed where I hardly sat down at my wheel at all, but over the last week, I've gotten back into a spinning rhythm. A couple of months ago, I got the jumbo flyer for my Traveller, because the tiny Ashford bobbins just don't hold enough yarn when I'm plying. The jumbo bobbins hold plenty of yarn, but I just couldn't get the plied yarn to look right. The tension was always off, and I felt like I was learning to spin all over again. I think I've finally made peace with the stupid thing, and am now plying yarn that is reasonably even.
This is the latest skein to be finished (though the singles have been spun and waiting to be plied for weeks and weeks). There is 460 yards of fingering weight yarn in this 4.1 ounce skein. It's a merino/silk blend, but the tag on the roving did not have a color name or the name of the dyer listed. I can't remember where I bought this from, so it remains a mystery skein, though I am happy to at least know the fiber content. If you are interested, you can also see more of my handspun on Flickr (the most recent skeins are at the beginning of the set).
One last thing, before I go. About a month ago, I had a contest, asking you all to guess the gift that my husband bought for our anniversary. Well, our anniversary came and went on August 9th, and I am ashamed to admit that I completely forgot about the whole contest until today. I didn't want to give hints, and there were lots of good guesses, but only three of you got it right. After months of subtle (and not so subtle) hints that I really wanted a new camera, he broke down and bought me a new digital SLR. He says I deserve it (which I probably do), but I think the purchase is based more on guilt for having to be away for so long, and missing yet another anniversary. While the camera doesn't replace his being here, it is making it easier for me to take nice photos of the kids to send to him so he can see what we're up to. So, anyway, the person who gets a skein of Wollmeise of their very own is Danielle! Thanks to all of you who played along, I really enjoyed reading all of the guesses.
*For those of you just tuning in and wondering what the hell my problem is and why I'm so whiny ;), here's the scoop. My husband is deployed for 15 months, and I'm living in a foreign country trying to raise our two small children (ages 5 and almost 2) on my own. We're about 10 months into the deployment, and it's really taking it's toll right now. I know there are lots of people out there in far worse situations than I'm in, so I try not to blog much about this stuff, but it has a huge impact on my daily life, as you can imagine, so the whining creeps in every now and then. And now you know. End of sob story :)
Thank you all for the birthday wishes. It was a day like any other day, because small children don't realize that they should be extra-nice to you on your birthday. No, they still fight with each other and fail to listen to me. Fun times. We did have a cake, though, at the Princess's insistence. She's been saying to me for months, "When it gets to be your birthday, you're going to have a Strawberry Shortcake cake". The only problem is, I don't like cake, but since she had her heart set on a cake for my birthday, we made one together.
I also got a few nice gifts. Travis had ordered an out-of-print spinning book for me, which was a total surprise and meant more to me then the fancy Swarovski bracelet he got for me last year (not that I don't appreciate jewelry, but the book just seems so much more thoughtful), and my very good friend got me a pretty Polish pottery flower pot and a coffee mug to add to my collection.
I also want to thank those of you who sent me encouragement to focus on my projects to whittle that large list down. CJ had the best advice:
On numerous pieces of paper write down your unfinished projects. Put them all in a jar, shake it up and pick one. That way fate will pick what you work on. Makes it more of an adventure.
What I actually ended up doing was focusing on the knitting projects that were the closest to being finished, and worked on those. I actually managed to finish two long-standing knits, and I'm so happy to have them off of the needles. So happy, in fact, that it's time for a contest! Whoever can guess which two knits I finished (take a peek at the In Progress album in my sidebar for the complete list of everything that is on my needles) will receive some sock yarn hand-dyed (to your color specifications) and spun by yours truly. If the winner happens to be a spinner, I will dye 4 ounces of superwash roving and a 4 ounce skein of sock yarn in the color(s) of the winner's choice (unless the spinner really wants handspun sock yarn). You have until 11:59 p.m. EST on Monday, May 14th to leave me your answers. I will announce the winner on Tuesday, and share my finished knits with you.
Have a great weekend, and Happy Mother's Day to my fellow mamas out there!
I should have known this was coming. As I get more interested in crafts other than knitting, I'm feeling my creativity pulled in so many different directions that I can't focus on anything. I start new projects with great enthusiasm, but then I lose steam partway through, and then the unfinished project just lingers. On top of all of the knit projects from the previous post (and that was only a partial sampling--there are still a few socks in progress, and also a shawl), there are two skirts awaiting hemming, a baby quilt that I started nearly two years ago that I'm finally close to finishing, and the crochet bag. Oh, and the spinning. How could I forget the spinning? I think buying extra bobbins may have been a bad idea, because now I even have unfinished spinning projects. Not that I'm complaining, I just wish I could stay focused long enough to finish something.
Wait, I do have something finished to show. This is hot off the bobbins:
Sock yarn spun from my hand-dyed superwash merino roving in "Flower Pot". There are approximately 350 yards of fingering weight (16 wpi) yarn. I just love those colors.
One last shot, of the yarn in the flower pot that inspired the colors:
I also did finish the last of the twelve squares needed for the LTL (as I will refer to it from now on) bag over the past weekend, but haven't gotten much further.
They look nice all stacked together like that, but now I need to sew them together and start working on the bottom and sides of the bag. I think the reason I've been avoiding this project is right here:
Look at all of those ends. Ugh. Just the thought of having to weave all of them in (not to mention the ends created from joining all of the squares together) gives me a headache. My original plan was to crochet the strip used for the sides and bottom by striping the leftover yarn from the squares, but now I'm not so sure that's a good idea.
To keep my mind off all that is unfinished, I did some dyeing today. The weather was dreary and rainy, so it was a good day to break out the dyes. Everything I dyed is still dripping wet, so pictures will follow either tomorrow or Friday. Tomorrow is my birthday, and even though I'm not much for celebrating my own birthday, maybe you all can do me a favor and send some creative focusing energy my way. That way I can start whittling down the large list of projects I have going! That would be a great gift :)
Spring is my favorite time of year. After the long, bleak winter months, the world seems to come alive again. Birds are chirping, the leaves are budding, flowers are in bloom. Being surrounded by color and fresh air lifts my spirits and provides me with endless inspiration.
Each morning while the Princess is in school, I pop Zippy in the backpack*, put the leash on the dog, and we head out into the woods for a good hike. We walk a couple of miles each day, and I usually use this time to clear my head. The physical activity gets the blood flowing, and allows me to sort out my problems, come up with ideas for crafting or decorating projects, or just plain contemplate the meaning of life.
Last week I took my camera along on the hike, to document the beauty I get to experience every day, and also to use as a starting point for dyeing inspiration.
The pictures were shot on a cloudy day, but when I went out yesterday, the sky was cloudless and a brilliant blue. As I walked, I was taken with the beauty of the colors of the forest. Above it all was the clear blue sky, and the yellow-green of the spring leaves as the sunlight filtered through the trees, and of course the brown tree trunks and organic matter on the forest floor. I kept thinking of how lovely these colors were. When I got home, I mixed up some dyes and painted some BFL roving.
For once, I got exactly the colors I wanted. It's a departure from colors I'm usually drawn to, or at least not in this combination, but I hope that it spins up nicely. I think I'll call it "My Daily Hike", since those are the colors that I see each day as we walk along through the forest.
Since we're on the subject of dyeing, I wanted to thank all of you that weighed in with your opinions about selling my hand-dyed sock yarns and rovings. I'm working on putting it all together. My plan is to sell from the blog, rather than through etsy, mainly because I'm cheap and I don't want to pay their fees on top of the Paypal fees. This may not work out well, but I'll try it first. What do I have to lose?
Just in case you needed it, here are some more colors for inspiration. These cotton yarns arrived in the mail recently, so now I'm gearing up for more granny squares!
*If any of you have small children and do a lot of hiking and/or traveling, this backpack is worth it's weight in gold. We have gotten so much use out of ours, and it's really a comfortable pack to carry, even with a twenty-pound kid sitting in it! We've found that Zippy prefers it to a stroller, and it's great for those trails or cities that just aren't stroller-friendly!
Here are two of the many reasons that I stopped using double pointed needles to knit socks:
No matter what I've tried, I can't get rid of those pesky ladders. And it really irritates me when this happens:
Ugh.
mother::knitter::yarn dyer::spinner::runner::cyclist::business owner::
Recent Comments