Happy Fiber Arts Friday!

I've spent the last 30 minutes surfing around Pinterest...must pull myself away and get this post written.  If you haven't experienced the giant time suck for yourself you should certainly go check it out! It's my favorite dead-brain activity these days.  Lots of pretty pictures and very few words, LOL

Last pic of completely knit Big Zig Bag before felting

Beautiful handspun gifted to me by my BFF Paula...I love the sparkley!

We're both pretty excited about taking a trip tomorrow down to Chelsea, MI for the Spinners Flock Sale.  And hoping we find a good place for lunch. This place looks pretty promising...can't really go wrong at a place called Gourmet Chocolate Cafe now, can you?

It's getting to be the time of year for sheep shearing...Shady Side Farm is on February 25th, Windswept Farm is on February 26th and Hillside Jacobs is on the 10th of March. If you'd like to see some sheep and maybe get some nice fresh fleece check 'em out!

Thank you all so much for stopping by. Be sure to leave a comment so I know you visited. You should go check out all the creative peeps that participate in Fiber Arts Friday over at Wisdom Begins in Wonder. Tell Andrea I said hey!

Have a great weekend!

How do you like my teefs?

Fiber Arts Friday 2-10-12

In the home stretch on the Big Zig Bag that I started eons ago.  It's huge! The bottom is 19" by 13"

Once the knitting is done I'll be felting it.

This project was great practice for two stranded knitting since there was so much of it.

Here is a shot that shows the floats on the inside...

I'm enjoying the double i-cord handle that I'm currently knitting...wasn't sure how that was going to work out as the beginning was a bit wonky but it's taking a good shape now and when felted should be good and sturdy.

I convinced LittleDog to model for size comparison. Can you believe there is green grass in our backyard in February? It was still super cold today despite the sunshine.

He would easily fit in the pre-felted bag. It'll probably take a few days to do the handles as the directions say "repeat double i-cord for 277 rows" and that's a lot of rows! and I have to make two handles and a closure strap for the top. Good thing I like this part. Also, the double i-cord can be worked on straight needles...no cable to fiddle with.

And one more shot, with a flash so you can see the color better...and Tamara can get another look at LittleDog...

I started this project in May 2009...I'm on a roll with the WIPs these days...only have one more big and old project left to finish after this one.

Don't forget Andrea has a great list on her blog of other folks that participate in Fiber Arts Friday. Be sure to pop over there and check them out. Thank you for coming. Have a fibery weekend!

It's Friday! again...

Isn't it amazing how quickly the weeks pass when you're super busy? Unfortunately my busy-ness is at work which isn't nearly as fun as being busy at home in my craft room. I certainly need to be busy with fiber arts. I have way more sock yarn that I could knit in a year and now I have this other problem that seems to be manifesting itself in the same room...

I added a couple of very pretty braids to my fiber stash the past couple weeks. Here they are in order of purchase...

100% Merino, Fish Out of Water from KnitsinClass.etsy.com

80% Merino, 20% Tussah Silk, Red Rocks from ClawTreeFibers.etsy.com

100% superwash Corriedale, Mayim Bialik from (Rule Out): Fiber Addiction, NOS

Some progress has been made on that Ugly Sock...I'm ready to do the heel turn, something I couldn't accomplish last night while chatting at the coffee shop.

Mostly, I've been hangin out with knitters trying to forget how busy I am at work. Not very exciting, I know.

Looking forward to a good weekend though...thanks so much for all the kind words about last Saturday's memorial service. The service was nice but the weather (6" of fresh snow) and the drive (1hr, 15) were not. Saw some old friends we haven't seen in awhile and that was a good thing.

Since I've been so busy at work LittleDog is feeling a bit neglected. He really doesn't like having the chair all to himself...

anybody that is "owned by a pug" knows why the chair is wearing a sheet, LOL, 

between the "fish-butt" and the shedding you "can't have anything nice".

Have a great week everybody! Thanks for stopping in and remember to leave a comment so I know you've been here. You'll find more creative peeps over in the FAF blog circus on Andrea's blog. Go check 'em out!

A Mixed Bag...

Thank you so much for visiting. Please leave a comment and let me know you were here. Don't forget to visit my friends over on the Fiber Arts Friday blog circus at Wisdom Begins in Wonder.

The Alpaca Daisy hat is finished...

I can't believe I forgot to mention LittleDog had a birthday last week...he is 6 yrs old now. I've taken many pics of him since he came to live with us a couple of years ago. Here's a few...

I hope you all get to do something fun and fibery this weekend.

Tomorrow we will celebrate the life of our friend Ronnie...

R.I.P. Brother

We Retreated

Twisting & Tangling at Lily's last weekend was so nice. I got a lot of knitting done, did a little spinning on demand, ate some good food and got to hang out with my knitting peeps.  In addition to that, we had typical Michigan winter weather. Cold, windy and snowing!  Perfect.

Here are a few pics from the weekend.

 Lily's Cottage

 Lake Michigan

 a few pretty lights

 A perfect Christmas tree 

(if you have a really tall room to put it in)

my contribution to the yarn bombing

of the sign for the cottage

just before sunset on Saturday evening

Nice and wintery scenery don't you think? It was toasty inside though...

and I got to spin some yarn for a special project that Scott was working on...

I'd say that's a pretty good fox color

All too soon it was time to head home...

Wish you all could have been there.

I'm about 2/3 of the way done with the daisy stitch hat that I'm knitting with the remaining TSBAS alpaca yarn (I need to think of a name for this hat).  Once I got the hang of those k3tog thingies it's been rockin along pretty well.

I'm also working on AnUglySock...

it actually looks better in this picture than it does in person.

Thank you all for your kind comments on last week's post...Kathryn, the daisy stitch is k3tog (don't take the yarn off the needle), yo, k3tog into the same stitches...I think I'm getting pretty good at it now.

LittleDog believes that when the weather is cold like this it's best enjoyed from a nice warm spot indoors.

Have a great week! Be sure to visit all the crafty peeps that participate in Fiber Arts Friday over on Andrea's blog.

Hello Friday!

Happy Friday the 13th! My very favorite day. I'm a 13er...born on the 13th, son born on 13th, husband born on 13th, married on the 13th...you get the idea.

This day is special because I'm heading out to Douglas (which is on Lake Michigan for those who don't live in these parts) to a little 50s decorated cottage with a fantastic lake view (made even more fantastic by the new snow) to knit/spin/crochet/drink/talk with some of my Yarnie friends. I promise to take pictures to show you next week.

This week I have just one project that I'm working on...called Hinagiku Hat. It's a slouchy hat with 3 inches of 1x1 twisted rib then a whole lot of daisy stitch. Progress so far...

you might recognize the yarn. Although the color is terrible in these pics. It's the last skein of the Berrocco Ultra Alpaca that I purchased for The Saint's Big Ass Sweater. It's much dreamier knit on size 7 needles, LOL

What are you working on these days?

If you'd like to see some more projects you can check out the peeps that post to the Fiber Arts Friday round-up over on Andrea's blog.

This week LittleDog says...

don't forget to bundle up before you go outside this weekend. It's chilly out there!

My New Slippers

are so awesome! My daughter, Valerie, knit them for me. She gathered up all the leftover Ironstone Harmony yarn she could find. The result is a fun, colorful pair of Lorilee Beltman's Loafers. I decided to felt them with my bucket/plunger method and got them to the point that they wouldn't get any smaller (which was too big for my feet) so I threw them in the washing machine with 4 pair of The Saint's work jeans and let 'er rip. When the jeans were done I pulled out the loafers and they were just about the perfect size. I love them! I'm saving them from the dog-hair-covered floor so they'll be brand new for the retreat I'll be going on the weekend of the 13th. Have to have something to show off to my fellow GR Yarnies.  Here's some pics, before and after felting.

 and with my old pair for size comparison...

 into the bucket they go...

I finished the Red Brambles hat here are a few shots pre-blocking. Since I knit this in Cascade 220 I should be able to get a really nice block out of this. Gotta find a big balloon somewhere.

and I'm working on a little pair of socks for a friend

Isn't it cute? I love the pair I made for myself and thought a mini pair from the leftover yarn would be fun. Lucky me, a friend just had a new baby girl.

I hope you've all had a great first week of the year. I'm glad to get back into the regular routine and have plans to do a lot of spinning this weekend. I'll actually have to dust off my wheel it's been so long. My back is pretty much back to normal (out of shape like the rest of me but not painful anymore). Thank you for stopping by. I really appreciate your nice comments and encouragement.

Happy Fiber Arts Friday...go see the other creative folks on Andrea's blog and find some time to enjoy some fiber for yourself soon.

LittleDog is hiding under the desk...in vain...the camera can find him anywhere.