FAF 4-27-12

Welcome to another edition of my Fiber Arts Friday posts.  Hopefully you will find something pretty or inspirational (in a fibery way) while you're here.

If nothing else...staying to the end will usually get you a look at a cute LittleDog.

Thank you for coming and please be sure to leave a comment. Then feel free to hop over to Wisdom Begins In Wonder where my friend Andrea hosts the Fiber Arts Friday blog circus. You'll see what folks from all around the fiber arts world have been working on.

Today I have a little progress on the Wingspan Shawl for the knit along that I'm half-ass-ed-ly participating in...

Now that I've got it on a longer cable and can see it laying flat I'm beginning to like it more. I've been spending most of my on-the-go knitting time working on this since it takes only a small amount of brain power...knit to the marker and turn around, then knit back...how easy is that?

Speed is picking up on the Riff sock for Yarn Hollow. I had been stalled for a couple of weeks several days trying to figure out the directions for starting the heel flap. Since I don't normally knit toe-up socks I was in knitting wilderness. I studied and studied the directions then Sunday morning while I was eating my breakfast it dawned on me what I was supposed to do about the decreases...

There is heel flap action going on and I'm crossing my fingers that the fancy stitches are in the right configuration when they meet up with the front of the sock in a few rows.  If they're not you'll hear some screaming from my neighborhood.

In case you are curious about the nifty new project bag in that first pic this arrived yesterday from Knit Picks. I chose the small size tote and I believe I'm in love...

Now that you've managed to get through all that knitting stuff, here is your LittleDog reward for today...

This is his  I'm a handsome guy  pose. He's wishing you a super-fun-fibery weekend.

While I'm thinking of it...isn't this the cutest thing you ever saw?

See you next Friday! In the meantime you can find me on Ravelry, FB or Twitter.

A little Wingspan progress and a new-er "do"

Welcome, thanks for coming. If you read my blog last week and were distressed at my calling those socks Ugly...fear not, I did not give them that name...that was Paula. I actually love them because they are such a loud combination of colors...and, I have a shirt that perfectly matches the salmon color stripe. Thanks for all your nice comments on them.

This week I've been fighting the urge to start a new pair of socks. I promised myself I wouldn't start another pair until I get Rita's second sample sock done. I've been stalled on it for a couple of weeks because I laid it down and couldn't figure out how to start the heel flap. It's a toe up sock...have I mentioned that I'm not a big fan of the toe-up sock technique? meh, I could do without it myself but for the sake of showing off Rita's super-fabulous yarn I'll persevere.

I finally resorted to a trip down to A Grand Skein on Tuesday night.  Before Susan got there I spent about 30 minutes reading and re-reading the directions for the heel flap.  I believe I finally got a grasp on what I was supposed to do next, looked in my bag and realized that my 5th dpn was at home on the table beside my LittleDog's favorite chair. gah! At least I know where I left off now and can do the heel flap when I have a few minutes of quiet time.

I did get a few more rows done on the Wingspan shawl that Vivian is hosting the KAL for on Ravelry. There are some really pretty ones being posted there.

Last night I went over to a friend's house and she gave my sad haircut a tune-up. Yowza!

It's shorty-short, just the way I like it. Thanks so much to Kat, I got a gazillion compliments at work today. You rock lady!

If you'd like to see what some other creative peeps are up to these days hop on over to Wisdom Begins in Wonder and Andrea will introduce you to a nice gathering of folks that are doing some awesome things with fiber.

Have a great week! See ya next Fiber Arts Friday.

The Ugly Sock is finished

After many days of knitting,

all the while wondering why I purchased this yarn in the first place,

I have a finished pair of socks

There was only that little bit of a yarn ball left. I don't believe I've ever used that much of a ball of sock yarn before.  This is just my plain o sock but since it was very fine sock yarn I cast on 84 sts and knit with Size 0 needles.  That was a lot of stitches! Glad their done and it's still cool enough to wear them to work tomorrow. Emily claims they're bullet-proof but whatever!

What do you think of the new Instragram photos? (#1 & #2) I think they make my socks look better.

I've been distracted by a little upholstery project

and I still need to get my pants sewn together. Work is still crazy busy and I run out of energy the minute I walk across my threshold. Maybe I'll get something done this weekend...

Have a great one for yourself. Thank you so much for stopping in to see what's going on here. You'll find lots of creative folks over at Wisdom Begins in Wonder too.

LittleDog could not escape the Instagram experimentation this week either...

Toodles!

Spinning Cormo

What an amazing fiber Cormo is. Well worth the higher price you pay per oz.

I love spinning it, more than any other fiber.

It spins smoothly and drafts easily it practically spins itself

and is making the most beautiful single ever.

If you spin, be sure to spin some Cormo if you get an opportunity to do so.

Thank you Paula, for gifting this fiber to me. It will motivate me to finish cleaning the pillow case full that I have so I can spin that too.

Have a great weekend! Don't forget to check out the other crafty peeps over at Wisdom Begins in Wonder.  Tell Andrea I said "hey!".

LittleDog says "get to spinnin y'all"

FAF 3-31-12

Hello! Welcome.

It's great to be back to Friday again, isn't it? I'm happy to say that I've reached the point of having some breathing room at work. That sure makes the rest of life a lot better. Lets the creative thoughts swirl around in my head a bit better...be sure to check out the creativity of all the folks that post to Fiber Arts Friday over at Wisdom Begins in Wonder.

Tomorrow I'll be buying a Mega Millions ticket and hoping for some good luck. Have you ever thought about what you would do if you won $540,000,000? I had to think a minute how many zeros that would be. An amazing amount. What would you do with it?

I would find the largest and best place for all my friends to spin or knit or sew with endless amounts of really tasty treats and perfectly roasted coffee. A place where folks could gather to hone their skills and their friendships. Where they would be surrounded by inspiration and become their most creative. We could invite all the interesting teachers in the world. This is the place I dream of when I give myself the luxury of dreaming. It would be awesome and you would all be invited, every day.

I've been knitting and spinning and sewing this week. Here are the results so far...

2nd sock for Rita at Yarn Hollow

fiber from Emily at Fiber Addiction.com, this is the same fiber that was green in last week's photo. I can't wait to ply it...probably Navajo to keep the color transitions.

I'm working on a muslin for my new summer pants...I'm on version #2 right now, hoping I've got the alterations right this time. Once that part is out of the way the rest is easy.

For those of you that come to see LittleDog...here is a look into his daily routine. When I open the door he heads out for his adventure...first he stops on the edge of the deck, surveys his pugdom and barks, once.

then, he sniffs his way around the entire yard

until he finds exactly the right spot...

Now don't you wish you hadn't stayed til the end? LOL
I think his 3 point stance is hilarious!  Thank you for coming and have a great week!

A new "do" for Max

Max went to see a new groomer this week.

I think she's pretty happy with her new style even if it is a bit girlie...

She really liked the nice ladies at North Bark. We'll be going back again soon.

Some fiber has been spun this week. The Phat Fiber that I was spinning for Shine is finished...214 yds, 2 ply, assorted fine fibers.

It's oh-so-soft.

Next up, BFL dyed by another GR Yarnie, Emily.  This is an older color she did called Mayim Bialik (aka Blossom...did you know that she has a PhD in Neuroscience? Neither did I).

I checked in on Max last night around 7 and she's still exhausted from her trip to the groomer...

Hope you all have a great weekend. Have some fun with some fiber if possible. Be sure to check out all the creative peeps that participate in Fiber Arts Friday on Andrea's blog called Wisdom Begins In Wonder. You'll be inspired!

Just another reason why he's "The Saint"

Welcome to my Fiber Arts Friday post. If you find this subject interesting be sure to hop over to Wisdom Begins In Wonder where Andrea is the hostess with the mostest.

As the title suggests, there are many reasons but the latest is that last Friday while I was at work this man spent a considerable amount of time working to untangle this yarn mess for me. (I had already worked on it for an hour the night before)

Then Saturday morning while I was away having breakfast with the kids he finished untangling it.

He is the best! His patience and persistence allowed me to get started on Rita's second sock. Wouldn't you agree that qualifies him for sainthood?

Kristen, Paula and I drove up to Hillside Jacobs on Saturday. It was super tough buying only one fleece but that's all I purchased, one fleece, Jennifer's fleece. She's an older ewe but still has a very nice "lilac" fleece. This is the second year I've purchased her pretty fiber. I should have enough now to make a couple of sweaters.

It is always amazing to watch the shearer do his work.  The Jacob sheep weigh an average of 100 lbs and that's a lot of sheep to be wrangling around with a sharp clipper in your hand.

When we arrived the shearer was just finishing up the last  Columbia. They were the tallest sheep I've seen so far. They're all white and produce about 12 lbs of fleece per animal according to the breed website.

Here's my favorite Jacob sheep, Jennifer...

and here she is getting her trim...

She certainly isn't modest, LOL  I got a nice fleece from her and will add it to the fleece I got last year and get it spun up so I can do some sweater knitting.

There were also Shetland sheep sheared today...

I like their brown faces. It's so interesting how a sheep like the adult pictured above starts out looking like this little lamby...

It was a fun day!

I hope you all had a great week. Get out and see some fiber animals this weekend if you have a chance. Supporting our local shepherds will assure a good supply of fresh fiber for years to come.

LittleDog's piece of the blog:

Catching the last few rays on Thursday evening. Toodles!