Mr. Peacock

The best part about NaKnitMo is all the knitting I seem to be getting done. The bad part, the spinning is suffering. I haven't really had much spinning time with all the knitting. Last night I finished this Peacock facecloth. The edging is different thatn the pattern calls for. I honestly don't remember where the edging came from. I saw someone make it when I was still on the knit list. I didn't design the edging and therefore can take no credit for it. I like it much better than the edging Medrith did.

I have knit this facecloth many times but I haven't knit it in quite a few years so it was almost like visiting it for the first time. The pattern was originally from an old issue of Workbasket, I believe. Then Medrith Glover redid it. It's really magical. The knitting can be fiddly and not for the novice but it's still great fun. There is a "square" version in The Lacy Knitting of Mary Schiffmann. I knit that version as well when the book first came out but I was never quite happy with how the peacock looked off centre when you tried to square off the doily. Now I want to see if there is a way to make this lovely peacock into a shawl. I have some ideas kicking around in my brain. I'm not sure if it will work or not. Time will tell.

I also finished these socks for my BIL. He's been driving me nuts to make socks for him for years. When my MIL was in the hospital all he did was keep asking me when he would get his socks. I gave in and started these socks. The pattern is Colosseum, I believe. It was one of the socks from the Sockamania club but then it was called No Name Socks. The yarn is Brunswick Nylamb that I had in my stash. This sock yarn is so soft. It's softer than most other sock yarn I've used. The problem is the colour. It is really really difficult to knit these things with my old eyes. If I every make socks from this yarn again, and I probably will since I have more chocolate and black yarn in my stash, it's going to have to be a st st pattern where I don't have to really look at the pattern and keep track of anything. I don't plan on knitting another men's pair of socks in the near future. The feet are too long and it seems like it takes forever to knit even though I finished these socks in about 2 weeks.

DKC Bus Trip

Saturday was the 4th annual DKC bus trip. This is my first year going and I am so glad I did. I am pretty sure it won't be the last time I join the group. We gathered bright and early at Finch sation and were on our way promply at 8. The first stop was The Needle Emporium in Ancaster. It was great to see Julie on her turf. I'm used to seeing her at the Knitter's Fair or the Knitter's Frolic. Her selection is vast.
Julie always has a great bag selection and this time was no different. I bought the Namaste Hermosa bag in eggplant.



I was pretty good in terms of yarn. I only bought 2 skeins of Regia Designer sock yarn in their Exotic Pool colourway and a skein of lace yarn from Prism yarns. There's about 1,460 yards to this 100 gram skein. The colourway is fog. I just fell in love. In addition to that I bought the fall Knitter's magazine, a sheep tape measure, a Berroco pattern booklet with this pattern and some cords and 6mm tips for my Addi Clicks.


Once we were done at The Needle Emporium we borded the bus and headed off to lunch.



The bus driver took us from Ancaster to Caledon. The drive was about an hour and the scenery was gorgeous. Lunch was delicious. We had pumpkin soup, quiche with salad and then pie for dessert.



I felt sorry for our bus driver. They kept asking him to move the bus. When we finished our lunch we had to walk up the hill (not far at all) and passed this. I am guessing it's supposed to be a man and a woman but I'm not totally sure.

From lunch we went to our final desitanation - Camilla Valley Farms. I was finally able to get the 2mm - 40 inch Addi lace circular needles I'd been looking for.


I only bought the needles and this purple tencel yarn. I have an idea what I want to knit with it but I'm waiting to see if the cotton yarn I originally was going to use for that project comes in. If it doesn't I'll use this for another Magickal Earth shawl since the one I knit earlier in the year seems to want to continually develop holes.

No pics from Camilla Valley. I was so tired by the time we got there and suffering from horrible nausea so I totally forgot. It's in the middle of nowhere and really is a farm. You could tell the minute we got off the bus. Surprisingly enough though, they didn't have sheep, only cows.

As for NaKnitMo, I didn't get to knit quite as much on the bus as I would have liked because the nausea was getting bad. I did managed to knit some on both the second sock for BIL and the Spring Blossom shawl. With the knitting I did once I got home I managed to knit just over 7000 sts on Saturday.

NaKnitMo

It's November again already!! It's amazing to me how fast the time flies. Instead of doing NaBloPoMo where I have to blog everyday, I decided to do NaKnitMo - National Knitting Month. I have to knit 60,000 sts during the month of November. So far I've had a bit of a head start by finishing this scarf that is a store sample for The Purple Purl.

The pattern is called Nightjar and it's from the Mirasol Collection book 6. This book chock full of lovely accessories. The yarn I used is Sulka and it is just scrumptious. It's a softly spun chunky/bukly weight yarn that I'd love to untwist and spin with. The colour is Red Onion.

I also started this Cabin Fever pattern called Jane Austen Shawl. I did the kerchief size which is much smaller than the shawl size. This is also a store sample for The Purl and I used Misti Alpaca Super Chunky. This was such a fast knit. I'm not used to using such big needles like I used for this and the scarf. Lately I've been knitting socks on 2mm needles or shawls on like 3.25mm needles so the 6mm and 10mm needles was quite the change.

The best part of it is I've forgotten just how quickly this stuff knits up. If I need a reminder, I recently discovered Sylvi. I discovered it when an FO was posted by someone in one of the groups I'm in. Well I just fell in love and knew I had to make this pattern. It's not really for me so I decided to knit it for my daughter. I bought Cabin Fever Northern Lights yarn in Blueberry for the sweater. I was debating other colours but this was one I liked and there was enough of them in stock. I am having challenges with the gauge but I think there will be some wiggle room in the size so I am going to use 6mm needles. I tried going up to 6.5mm but I didn't like the way the swatch felt even after being washed. If I knit this with needles that are too large the weight of the coat will just stretch the coat to pieces. I'll keep my fingers crossed. Now to just try and get the first sleeve done.

I'm also trying to knit a pair of socks for my BIL. Knitting these socks reminds me why I can't stand knitting socks for men. Their feet are just to bloody long. I'm also using Brunswick Nylamb in a chocolate brown colour and it's not easy on the eyes at all. The first sock is done and I am going to try and use NaKnitMo as encouragement to get the second sock done. Even though I don't usually have second sock syndrome, I think I could easily develop it with these pair of socks.
Finally, Monday was my friend Suzie's birthday. A friend of hers made these cupcakes and brought them to The Purl last night. The decorations are knitting related. They are just too cute for words. I can't speak for the taste because I didn't try them but judging from everyone's reaction they tasted as good as they looked.

I went to Gemini Fibres on Saturday and I'll post all about that in my next post. I need to take pictures of the loot. Saturday is the annual DKC bus trip and I'm going this year for the first time. It promises to be tons of fun. I am so looking forward to it. The challenge will be to behave. I'm going to try but it won't be easy. It never is. However, my stash is so out of control I will try to keep that in mind as I try not to browse.

My Son The Soldier

My son Shlomie had to report to the army today. He knew this was in the cards when he decided to become an Israeli citizen. Originally he had to report in December but the date was pushed up. It's tough because he got married at the end of June and being apart from his wife will be difficult for both of them. Me, I'm a mom who will worry but because of his age (he's 25) I'm hoping he won't be in any sort of danger. Right now he's off to boot camp. I'm going to try not to worry and even though the time change can make calling Israel difficult, I want to be there to help support my DIL. We'll see how it goes. I know I'm a little bias but I think he looks great in his uniform.

Tonight is Snb night and I brought my Bosworth book charkha with me to play. Just realized I forgot the camera at home so I can't take pictures. I haven't forgotten about the picture I was supposed to post. I just haven't had the time to actually get the picture taken. One of these days I will do it.

I'm in the process of knitting a pair of socks for my BIL. I got sick of his asking but knitting these socks reminds me of why I don't like knitting socks for men. The feet are too bloody long. I'm not really liking it. I love the yarn. I am using some Brunswick Nylamb that I had it my stash and all I can say is SOFT!!! The yarn is a dark brown and that doesn't make it easy on my eyes but the first sock is almost done.

I'm also working on a scarf that someone asked me to knit as a store sample. The yarn is Mirasol Sulka in colour red onion. The yarn is a very lightly spun yarn that's 60% merino, 20% alpaca and 20% silk. This yarn is yummy. Because the yarn is so lightly twisted I'd sure love to try to spin with it. I'm using my Addi Clicks to try and keep the yarn from splitting and it seems to be working. I'm not having a difficulty knitting with it. The spinner in me keeps wishing it was fibre I could spin.

Where does the time go? My newest grandchild will be 7 weeks on Friday. Henny received the Baby Surprise Jacket I did for him. Now to find or spin yarn so I can make him another one. Still waiting for pictures of him wearing it. Will blog once I have it.

Creative And Knit Night

Friday I went to the Creative Festival. I was surprised by the amount of fibre arts they had this year. The overall show was cut in size by half. They only used one hall where in previous years they used two. However, there were yarn shops and local businesses that I haven't seen at the show in many many years. It was great to see. Now I hope the amount of fibre arts will continue to increase year over year. I was pleased this year where last year, even with the free ticket, I thought it was a waste of my time.

I didn't buy much but after going through my fibre and yarn stash the previous weekend I really didn't plan to. I bought buttons for my grandson's Baby Surprise jacket. I bought an 8 oz. bag of Ashford merino fibre from Romni Wools in a lovely purple colour.

Last year at the festival The Black Sheep and Ewe had these lovely ceramic sheep figurines from Ewe and Me. I'd been looking for this one ever since I saw it at The Purple Purl. When I saw that Black Sheep and Ewe had it I bought the only one they had with them.
This year they had this little guy and I felt it would be a perfect companion to Grandma's Present. I just love them. It's a shame he didn't have more of the small ones. I want to get a family of them. With the two medium/large sizes I have now I want to get some of the small ones and have a sheep family. Tom said it isn't easy for him to get them so I'll have to just get them as I see any I like.

The last thing I bought was a skein of Clestial Merino sock yarn from British Yarn. The colours were such fall colours I couldn't resist. Now to find the time to actually knit socks with it.

Tuesday night I went to The Purple Purl for their knit night. Look who came to visit! It's Cookie A. I wish I had known she was going to be there. I totally would have brought my Sock Innovation book for her to sign. Yeah I know I'm a complete geek but I don't care.
Speaking of socks, I am in the Tri Wizard Tournament group on Ravelry. One of the three tasks we had for October was to knit something blue or with waves. I decided to use this as an opportunity to knit some Regia sock yarn that I had in my stash. I couldn't find a pattern with waves that I thought worked with the yarn so I designed these. Miko from The Purple Purl came up with the name Shells in the Waves and I like it so I think I'll keep it. I still have to block the socks get better pictures and work up the pattern but I will do it eventually.

Schacht Contest

I found out on Sunday that I won Honourable Mention in the Schacht contest. Since I honestly didn't expect to win anything this is such a great thing. It has given me much more confidence in my spinning. I won one of their Dizzy Yarn gauges. I had to enter as an expert because I learned to spin in November 2006 and for their contest 2 years and more is considered expert. I, personally, don't consider myself an expert at all. There was time in there that I didn't spin at all or very little. I do see considerable progress in my spinning and I'm happy with that.

And speaking of spinning, I finished the Louet merino/silk fibre I've been working on. This was spun on my Schacht Ladybug. The fibre is the Louet Merino/Silk blend in Glacial Green. I'm not totally sure of the yardage but it's 220 grams and I think it's about 1300 yards total. There are two skeins. One is 137 grams and the second is 83 grams. I think it's lighter than fingering but not as fine as some lace yarn you can get. I still have to check the WPI as well. When I wind it into a centre pull ball I'll check with the yarn meter so I know the exact yardage I have. This way I can decide what the yarn wants to become. Right now I don't have a clue.

I've also been working on another sock design. The stitch pattern is from a Japanese stitch pattern book I have. The yarn is a Regia sock yarn. I am happy with the first sock but want to try something different in the heel for the second sock. I just have to figure out how I am going to do it. I've never tried it before. I'll have more details once it's finished.

Giuseppe, I haven't forgotten about your request for the picture. The skein I did at that time is very tiny. I haven't really done another skein because I haven't been very happy with the singles so I have been playing and taking it off the spindle and tossing it in the garbage. I will set up the charkha tonight, I hope, and take a picture of the spindle so you can see what I've done.

I WON SOMETHING!!!!!

My name is among the winners in the spinning catagory for the I Made It On My Schacht Contest. I don't know what I won and the grand prize winner hasn't been announced yet. They will be announcing that winner later tonight. I am in shock. I can't believe how far my spinning has come since I changed my drafting technique and Maggie helped me figure out I was underplying my yarn. Thank you Maggie. I couldn't have won anything without you.

I put the spinning aside for a few days to work on a pair of socks. These are the September Sockamania Club socks. The pattern is called Hot Air Balloons. The yarn, unfortunately, doesn't really show of the pattern but it was a fun knit and I am glad I did them. The amazing part for me is that I started these on Sunday and finished them last night. That's 3 days to knit a pair of socks! I don't think I have ever knit a pair that fast before.



I know that there will be other knitting obligations coming up tomorrow but, for now, I think I am going to spin tonight. I finished the first bobbin of Louet merino/silk I've been working on. The second bobbin is going to take me at least two weeks to finish if not longer depending on how much spinning time I get in.



Saturday I spent the day up at Gemini Fibres for their spin in event. I had such a blast!! We were 6 people in all. 3 of the ladies had the Lendrum folding wheel, two of us had the Schacht Ladybug and one lady had the Louet Hatbox wheel. I've never seen this wheel before. It is as cute as can be but I don't think I would feel comfortable spinning on it with the orifice being so low down. After seeing it I can see where there wheel got its name. It really does look like a hatbox when it is packed away.



I didn't come home empty handed either but I wasn't as bad as I could have been. I bought some cotton punis, Ashford merino/silk fibre and another spindle. After I was done I thought that was it but I decided to get a new set of hand carders. I like the fact that the Schacht cotton carders are wider than the Louets and the teeth are closer together. The only thing I didn't like is that the carders are heavier than the Louet. I was also looking at the Clemes cotton carders but I didn't like the way they were finished off. The width and amount of teeth are identical to the Schacht but the Schacht looked like they were better made so I ended up bring them home. Now I have a bunch of cotton I have to card into punis when I have the time.



The charkha spinning is coming along slowly. I'm beginning to get the hang of one handed drafting. I just can't get it as fine as I'd like. I know that like everything else that will come with practice and time.

ETA: I can't believe I wrote this post over a week ago and never posted it.

Roller Coaster

I've been busy spinning a lot lately so not as much knitting has been going on. I finished the Bird's Nest Smoke Ring yesterday. I used Yummy by Fibranatura. I really like this because it is longer than the cowl I made and it can be used over the head to protect my ears when the really cold weather hits.

Saturday was World Wide Spin In Public Day. I brought my wheel to The Purple Purl and spun most of the day. The fibre is Louet merino/silk blend in glacial green. I have no idea why I bought the fibre because I'm really not a fan of green but for some reason it was calling me and I just had to buy it. I am really happy with the results so far.



Saturday was also the group photo for the February Lady KAL. The photo shoot was a blast. It was the perfect day for it because it was chilly in the park and I really needed the sweater.

Now for the roller coaster. I mentioned in my previous post that I made the finals in the "I Made It On My Schacht" contest. Well we had to mail the yarn to Schacht and it has to be there by tomorrow. I sent it FedEx because there was no way it was going to make it in time any other way. Wasn't I surprised when I tracked the package and it was in Stansted UK!!! Right now I don't have any idea if the package has left England or not. I was supposed to get a phone call with more information and I haven't received anything yet. I called back and was told one person in particular was handling my case. Chances are they are going to issue a new bill of lading so there must be a new tracking number and I don't have it. Hopefully I'll get more information tomorrow. I emailed Schacht and they said not to worry so at least on that end I'm ok. Now to hope the package actually gets there.

Finalist!!!!

OMG!!! I was just notified that I'm a finalist in the "I Made It On My Schacht" contest. This is the skein I entered. I only got my Ladybug at the end of July and the deadline for entering was September 1st. Lace takes a while to spin so this was what I managed to spin by the deadline once I got used to the wheel.

I don't really expect to win but I never thought I would make it this far. I am must amazed and so happy. I guess my spinning really is coming along. It feels like it took me forever to get here but I am very happy right now.

The good news as great after I got news from my brother that my dad was taken back to the hospital today. He has phneumonia again yet again. Not sure how long he will be in the hospital but all I can do is pray.

Messenger Inside

CreativeHands asked me to post pictures of the Jordana Paige Messenger bag when it was filled. Well there is room for way more stuff than I have in here right now but this will give you an idea of how much can actually fit in it. Tonight is Snb night and ideally I'd liked to get the buttons on my February Lady sweater so the large GoKnit camo bag has the FLS sweater in it along with the buttons, snaps and other things in it. The small purple GoKnit bag has the Bird's Nest Smoke Ring that I'm working on. I hope to get that finished by the end of the week and I'll post pictures once it's complete. There is a front pocket that just has a few things in it right now but as you can see there is plenty of room.

I am very pleased to say I think my spinning streak has continued. On Sunday I finished spinning the second bobbin of the purple corriedale fibre. I finished plying one bobbin yesterday morning and finished the second bobbin last night. I am not going to complain at all about the results. The Purple Purl had another bag of this fibre and I am seriously thinking of getting another bag. The spinning beings are being kind to me of late and I need to take advantage for as long as it lasts.

Speaking of The Purple Purl and spinning, they are having a twist and ply class beginning next month that I would like to take. Somehow I think that these recent results are just dumb luck because I am not a technical spinner. I did a pretty good job of trying to repeat the results I had with the brown corriedale but I think I can do better.

Now to get back to the pink BFL I was spinning. I transferred the small amount I already spun from the Woolee Winder bobbin to the fat core bobbin that comes with the lace kit for the Majacraft wheels. I did encounter 1 problem. I couldn't get the flyer to go onto the regular head I have. It did screw onto the high speed head so I switched them. That won't work for the Little Gem because the high speed head can only be used on the Suzie, Millie, or Rose wheels but not the Little Gem or Pioneer. I have an email out to Majacraft and The Black Lamb to find a solution.

Worries & Joys & KW

It's amazing how quickly things can change in life. You go along almost like a robot - work, shopping, home etc. Then suddenly something happens and it changes your entire perspective. That's what's been going on around here lately. As you might know from my last post, my MIL was in the hospital and for a while there it was touch and go. I'm pleased to say she came home from the hospital on Sunday. There are no words I can use to describe how great that was. If that wasn't enough, my oldest daughter gave birth to her 4th child on Friday as well. He was 6 lb. 1 oz. at birth and just look at that head of hair. He looks just like his brothers. I can't wait for my SIL to upload more pictures. Henny came home from the hospital today and both mom and baby are doing fine. Name to follow on Friday. That wasn't the only celebration on Friday. My 3rd son Usher's birthday was on the 11th as well. He just turned 27. He is thrilled to have a nephew with the same birthday as his. See, hang in there and you can get through life's curves no matter what. You just have to have faith and pray. I know there are more challenges to come but right now I am grateful for the happy times and I'll deal with the challenges when they get here.

Yesterday was the Kitchener Waterloo Knitter's Fair. I wasn't sure I was going to be able to make it but since I had the good news on Friday I decided to go. I only stayed about 2 hours and overall I think I was pretty well restrained. I had only planned on getting fibre and I was true to that to a certain extent because I didn't buy any yarn. I picked up the lace flyer kit for my Little Gem. It comes with 2 fat core bobbins and the fast whorl. I'm hoping that will help the pull on very fine singles. I also bought the stylus with 2 stylus bobbins. Laurie from The Black Lamb was at the fair so I had her bring my order there so I didn't have to worry about it being shipped. Now I have to finish the second bobbin of puple corriedale I'm working on and get it plied so I can play with my new toys.

What I did buy at the fair was this silver GoKnit Pouch. I've wanted it ever since I saw Amy come back with hers. Don't ask me why I was so crazy for it because I'm not sure. It looks similar to the bag the Little Gem comes in and I can't stand that bag. This I fell in love instantly. I bought it from the Shall We Knit booth.

This is the only fibre I got. It's Bombyx silk roving from The Rovin Spinner's. I would like to spin it on the charkha once I get a little better. I'm in love with the colours. Their two different colourways but they are both shades of purple so I figure I could use it to ply with some purple fibre I already have or some purple Rambouillet I should be getting in the next few weeks.

The Jordana Paige Knitter's Messenger bag I bought from Julie at The Needle Emporium. I had not expected her to have it because I didn't email her to remind her since I didn't decide to go until the last minute. Julie remembered it so I picked it up. I wasn't sure about the pink at first but I do like the pale shade of pink and I love the inside. It goes on forever like the Knitter's Satchel and I will be able to fit tons of stuff in it when I need to.
The first thing I bought were these buttons. They were the last thing I expected to get. I did not do buttonholes for my February Lady sweater therefore there was no need for buttons. Well these buttons had their own idea. I saw them at the Cabin Fever booth. It was the only card they had and they were just perfect for my February Lady sweater. So now I have to decide how I am going to put them on. I am first going to try sewing on the buttons and put snaps underneath. If I don't like the way that looks I get more yarn, crochet a border and do loops.

This Spinning Thing

Things have been pretty hectic in my life of late. My MIL had surgery on August 25th and it's been a very rough ride. I believe she is on the road back and we are all so very greatful. I tried knitting during my time at the hospital but I just couldn't. Instead I was spinning some green corriedale on 2 spindles and finished this corriedale on the wheel. I spun it on Lizbeth and I am so pleased with the results. This is the third batch of yarn that I am really happy with. I know they say that when you spin fine you can never go back. I thought I would try to see if I could spin thicker than the laceweight Ashford fibre I spun and this is the result. I think it's about 20 WPI, if I remember correctly. I don't have it anymore so I can't tell for sure. I know it's about 1000+ yards and it's about 200 grams. I think it's close to fingering weight.

DH also bought me this gorgeous Golding spindle. I've been lusting after it for quite some time and when I showed it to hubby I told him I wish someone would just buy it so I could stop lusting. Well he told me to go ahead and get it so I did. It came last week and, needless to say, it spins like a dream. The way the gold and red look when it's spinning is just something to behold. Yet another great tool from Golding Fiber Tools.

Tonight we're having an impromptu get together with some friends and I am looking forward to it. I took some time off on Saturday and drove up to Gemini. I came home with some fibre and another spindle. I need good lighting for that so you can see the lacewood properly. I also bought some cotton to play with on the charkha. I think I'm beginning to get the hang of that contraption. On Sunday I spent a few hours at The Purl and came home with some violet corriedale. I finished spinning half the fibre yesterday. It's amazing how much quicker you fill a bobbin when it's not thread. Now to get the second bobbin done and get it plied. I'm hoping for fingering weight about the same as the corriedale pictured above. By the weekend I should know if I'm still on a roll.

Ladybug Spinning

I've been spinning on my new Schacht Ladybug daily. I have Lizbeth and Rose right next to each other and I try to spin a little on each every day. It's interesting because I'm spinning thicker singles on the Suzie than I am on the Ladybug. I finished the second bobbin of singles of this BFL fibre on Sunday and started plying it Sunday night. I finished the plying Monday and gave the skein a bath. It's now dry and just gorgeous. I have 75 grams of BLF and it's 23 WPI. I haven't tested the YPP yet. I want to enter this skein into the "I made it on my Schacht" contest. I don't expect to win but I do think it will be fun. Better pictures of the skein are needed and I'll get DH to do that when he has a chance.
I ordered the Hiya Hiya interchangeable needles ages and ages ago. They finally arrived on Monday. I love the flexibility of the cables and it's really easy to screw on the tips. No key is needed. Now to test them out with some yarn. I'll probably do that this weekend when I have some time since I won't be going to the Purl this weekend.
I love the case so much I want to get another one in blue and use it for my Addi Clicks. I hate the case from the Clicks and this has two rows for needles so it will be perfect. A different colour and I'll know which needles are in which case.

18 Years Already?

It's amazing to me that today Paul and I have been married for 18 years. I can't even begin to put into words how lucky I am to have found such a wonderful man. He's been there for me through sickness and health and has never wavered. I have always maintained, and still do, that when I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2000if my ex and I had not split we would have after the surgery and treatment. I am so blessed to have found Paul. He is kind, generous and patient among many other things. He's had to deal with a lot being married to me. The baggage I brought with me wasn't easy. He's never complained. He loves my children as his own. I just wish some of them would give him the chance to prove it.

The past 18 years have flown by. I look forward to many many more.

Paul I love you with all my heart and soul.

Success!!!

As some of you know, I took my first spindle spinning class in November 2006. I got my first wheel just days before Christmas the same year. Finally, after all this time, I have some yarn I love and am knitting with.

This is Ashford fibre and it's a merino/silk blend that I bought from Gemini Fibres. I had 320 grams of fluff when I started and ended up with 316 grams when I was done. The yarn is about 28 WPI and according to the McMorran yarn balance is about 2950 yards per pound. That means I have pretty close to 2,000 yards.

The pattern I've decided to do with it is the Spring Blossoms Shawl by Eugene Beugler. So far I am really enjoying the knit.

Now to see if I can spin some sock yarn. I have some corriedale in a brownish red colour on Lizbeth and some Fleece Artists merino/silk sliver in a peacock blue colour on Rose. I want the blue to be laceweight and the red to be sock weight. We'll see how it turns out.

Meet Rose

I've been a little busy this week and haven't had time to post pictures but my new spinning wheel came on Tuesday. I didn't really get to play with her because I was out attending a memorial for a friend who lost his 15 year old nephew on July 11th.

Lily on the left is my Little Gem. I've decided to name the Ladybug Rose. If you look closely you can see the ladybug on the left rear leg. I can't even begin to tell you how much I love this wheel. It is very easy to treadle. I haven't had as much time to play because I am trying to finish the second bobbin of Ashford merino/silk that I am spinning on Lily. Fine yarn takes forever to spin. I just finished the 2nd 100 gram bag of fibre and am trying to see if I can fit 60 more grams on each of the two bobbins. Then I'll use the wild flyer, I hope, to ply the two together. I want to be done spinning the rest of this by next weekend so I have the weekend to get it plied.


Here you can see a close of of the ladybug. I won't deny that I wish it was in a more visible place but I love her just the same. It is beyond cute.

I also learned from the Schacht group on Ravelry how to set her up in hybrid double drive. You can find out more info on hybrid double drive here. I am using the high speed bobbin that I got at the same time as the wheel and the super high speed whorl. Right now I am not having any difficulty treadling but that might change as the bobbin fills. I'm a little surprised that I did not have any difficulty going from Scotch tension to double drive. I've heard people prefer one over the other usually based on how they learned. I find much less tug on the bobbin when I am trying to spin fine singles and that works much better for me. I don't have to wrap the singles around different hooks to slow the take up like I have to do in Scotch tension.

You can see from the close up that the poly band that came with the wheel goes from the drive wheel to the whorl. The cord goes from the drive wheel to the bobbin. The bobbin gets flipped around from the way it is with Scotch tension and that's why I am using the high speed bobbin for double drive. I'm told that for Scotch tension it doesn't make a difference.

Back to spinning the Ashford. Let's see how much I can get done today.

3rd Blogoversary

It is unreal to me that 3 years have gone by since I started this blog.

I knit small versions of the Widdershins sock pattern from Knitty.com in 4 different yarns. It was to help a friend out with socks for a class she is going to be teaching. I've never knit the Widdershins before and I have to admit I really like the pattern. Now I want to figure out a way to adjust the pattern for larger or smaller feet. I don't remember what the yarns are in the picture below. All I know is they are all non-wool socks.

I also finally managed to separate the sleeves from the body on my February Lady sweater. I am relieved to finally be on the lace pattern. Now we'll see how long the body takes me to knit. The yarn is Tanis green label and the colour is Plum. So far I am really liking the way it looks and the yarn is great to knit with.
I'm still spinning for the Tour de Fleece. I'm still trying to finish the second bobbin of the Ashford fibre. I'll be very surprised if I get it done before the end of the Tour.

My Schacht Ladybug should be here any day. I can't wait to set it up and give it a try. I'm most anxious to see where the Ladybug will be. Will it be somewhere visible or somewhere no one else will be able to see? I hope it's going to be visible.

Another Day of Spin In Fun

Today was the spin in at The Black Lamb. I was either excited about the spin in or nervous about the drive because I had a horrible night. I woke up too many times and when I woke up at 4 I had a really difficult time falling back to sleep. I finally went out to the living room and sat in the recliner and managed to doze off for a little while around 5 but was up by 5:45 after having the weirdest and disturbing dream. I left the house around 7:20AM and then went to the doctor. From there it was off to Port Hope with Cheryl. I'm so glad she came with me because the drive is so much easier when you have someone with you in the car to talk to. Before you knew it we were in Port Hope. There was a very good turnout and I don't think I have ever seen so many Little Gem wheels in one place. Not to mention Majacraft wheels in general. Makes sense since Laurie is a Majacraft dealer.

The weather was a little chilly but I didn't mind. I much prefer that to being so hot I can't spin because the fibre sticks to my hands. Overall I would say this was a huge success and I will definitely go again if Laurie does it again next summer. I know they are planning a spin in for WWSIP Day but I don't know if I will go yet. If they are doing something at The Purple Purl I will go there instead. You can see from the pictures that there was a pretty good crowd.



Cindy, from Studioloo, brought her Mach I and Travel Bee wheels. I tried the Travel Bee and it really is a neat little wheel. When it folds, and is in the bag you can get for it, it could be mistaken for a sewing machine. It also has ratios up to 36:1. How that is even possible for a travel wheel I don't know. I keep telling myself "I don't need another wheel, I don't need another wheel." If I tell myself that enough times I might actually believe it.

There was fun and games. I didn't try to identify the different fibres because I don't handle them enough and I knew there was no way I was going to get anything right. I did decide to try the spinning fine fibre competition. Laurie gave us some of her pencil roving and you had to spin it as fine as you could. This was my result and I won for the thinnest spun on the wheel. Suzie, a friend from The Purple Purl, won for the spindle. I am so pleased because I have tried for a very very long time to get my spinning fine enough and I think I am finally close to where I want to be. These singles needed more twist but the thickness is just about right.

It's That Time Of Year Again

It's that time of year again. The Tour de France started on Saturday and so did the Tour de Fleece. This year I am just going to try and get as much spinning done as possible. I have 360 grams of this fibre and I don't think I can get it all spun by the end of the tour but I hope to get at least 200 grams done. I like to spin as fine as possible so things take a while. This is the first 100 grams done. I have just a tiny wee bit on the second bobbin and will get back at it this afternoon after work. Crock pots are great. Soup is cooking in the crock pot so I can get to spinning not long after I get home.

I'm not just spinning. I'm also knitting. I've got quite a few projects on the go. I'm in the middle of February Lady but no photos yet. I am still in the garter stitch section but almost done with all the increases. Also working on a pair of socks for my daughter's doula. Finally, I'm working on this. It's the Alaskan Dreams by Sharon Winsauer. You can just see the tail and the beginning of the fin. I'm almost done with charts 2A&B. I should begin charts 2C&D tonight. I am loving this pattern and it isn't as difficult as I thought it would be. The most difficult part for me is that the charts are on multiple pages.

Happy Canada Day

Today Canada turns 142. Happy Canada Day to all.