New Sweater

This summer we went to the beach, which seemed like a good time to start a new sweater. I found Gyda (Ravelry Link) and thought it looked like fun. I have to admit I’m a little “meh” about this sweater. I’m just not loving it. However, I seem to keep pushing on. I’m using the silky wool – after finishing slinky ribs I reallized I really like that yarn, so in my predictable manner, went and got some more.

I was drawn to the cable detail, and had a lot of fun knitting the waist band:

The back is complete, and I’m working my way up the front right now. Here’s a progress shot of the back:

I think I’m going to like it once it’s done. I am a little concerned about the fit. But for now I’ll keep plugging along.

Slinky Ribs: Complete

I finished the Slinky Ribs earlier this year. I’m pleased with the sweater, but am still looking for the best way to wear it. As a style it’s a bit outside my comfort zone, but I do like it.

And for kicks, here’s a picture of our wacky cat, Calvin. He likes to hang over the edge of the stairs:

Booking Through Thursday: 10/01/09 Edition

I haven’t done this for a few weeks. The questions have been interesting, but I haven’t had any “smart” answers. This one called my name, and as I answer it I think it will explain why I haven’t felt drawn to answer the recent questions.
So this week’s question is “Two-thirds of Brits have lied about reading books they haven’t. Have you? Why? What book?”
I have to say no. If the question were “are you tempted?” I’d have to say, but more than anything fear of being caught keeps me honest. There are many classics I haven’t read, and I hope to, but there are times that I have to say “nope, never read that one.” I must admit, I may have committed the sin of ommission – I’ve been tempted to do the 100 book list, but have held off for fear of looking less well read.

For the time being I read mostly mystery series. I read to relax, and I tend to fall asleep with a book, so anything too deep is a little much.

Having found CraftLit, I’ve found myself catching up on some of the classics. I also enjoy it as the host, Heather, does a wonderful job of discussing the book. I always enjoyed literature classes, and I miss the interaction and hearing others’ thoughts. I’m sure I’d really enjoy a book club.

Phew, that’s a long answer to a short question! I’m looking forward to reading others.

Progress and finishing: kid’s knitting

Well, it appears that I need to do a little catch up. I have been knitting and thinking a lot about new projects. I did finally finish the pieces of Pieman:

Now I need to assemble it. I did delay that for two reasons, as the weather finally became seasonal in August and we saw days in the 80’s. Now that the days are getting cooler I can see putting the sweater together. The knitting has been fun on this project, although the sleeves did seem to take much longer than they should. Good think my kid’s not an octopus.

Now that the school year is started I guess I’d better finish the spirit socks. I’ve got a foot and one “D.”

Since I’m pretty much winging these, the letters are a little larger than I expected, so these are most likely going to be knee socks. so I have to figure some increases in the legs.

I’ve got some more to share, but I think I’d better pace myself. And tomorrow’s Thursday, maybe I’ll be able to post a Booking through Thursday post.

Booking Through Thursday (a day late)

Just found this fun weekly meme Booking Through Thursday, and thought it would be fun to join (and give me a little post kick in the bum to boot).

Which do you prefer? The rules were quick answers. More detail to come.
Reading something frivolous? Or something serious? Frivolous
Paperbacks? Or hardcovers? Hardcover
Fiction? Or Nonfiction? Fiction
Poetry? Or Prose? Prose
Biographies? Or Autobiographies? Biographies
History? Or Historical Fiction? Historical Fiction
Series? Or Stand-alones? Series
Classics? Or best-sellers? Classics
Lurid, fruity prose? Or straight-forward, basic prose? Straight-forward
Plots? Or Stream-of-Consciousness? Plots
Long books? Or Short? Long
Illustrated? Or Non-illustrated? non-illustrated
Borrowed? Or Owned? Borrowed
New? Or Used? Used

Mass Sheep & Wool!

So, E & I decided to head up today with my Mother in Law who wanted to get some roving for needlefelting Santa Heads. It’s always good to have a purpose for visiting. My goal was to visit Spunky Eclectic and Foxfire Fibers as well as every other vendor there. I haven’t taken pictures of my purchases, but I took a few while we were there.

Within 10 minutes of arrival E was holding a baby angora:

And asking if we could take it home.

We saw plenty of sheep:

E was quite partial to the shetland lambs:

Again I was asked if we could bring one home. They were incredibly cute:

The answer was still no. Fortunately the breeder of these particular lambs was not interested in selling.

E also tried her hand at spinning. She waited very patiently to try it out. She listened and learned about staple length:

And tried it out:

I picked up a couple more bobbins for my wheel, so she could work on that and she got a drop spindle of her own.

All in all a fun day!

Fiber Festivals

So, I’m a bit late to the posting. I’ve been knitting on my slinky rib sweater, but haven’t taken a good progress shot. In the meantime a few weeks ago, I decided on the spur of the moment to go down to the Hudson Valley Fiber Farm Shearing Day. An hour and a half ride on the spur of the moment.

I’m really glad I did. There have been plenty of pictures and stories written, and I don’t have much to add. I was excited to see my friend from work, Joan, there. The neat thing about Joan is where there’s fiber I usually see her. She had introduced me to the Fiber Farm a while ago. I didn’t buy a share this time around, but I’m not ruling it out in the future.

I also got to meet a couple of people whose blogs I read. I have to admit to being somewhat shy about speaking up, but I’m glad I did. I spent a lovely time with Jessica (of Summer of Socks and so much more) watching the adorable angora kids playing. I also said hi to Deb and her Mom, but didn’t get to meet Chappy this time around.

The kids were adorable. Here’s one shot I liked:

I loved the little guy who figured out where the center of the action was:

I did find something to bring home that wouldn’t eat much (although Calvin wanted to make sure himself):

I am going to go the The Massachusetts Sheep and Woolcraft Fair this weekend. What I may bring home, I don’t know.

A baby surprise – jacket

So, a while ago I found out that a friend of mine at work was expecting her second child. They were going to wait to find out whether the baby was a boy or girl – making it a surprise. I’d wanted to do an Elizabeth Zimmerman Baby Surprise Jacket for a while, but hadn’t had the right opportunity. This seemed like the perfect opportunity! I thought purples and bright colors would work well for a boy or girl – Eliza had a multi colored sweater that was mostly purple that I thought looked good on her, and would have worked for a boy as well, so I dipped into my stash and used some Cherry Tree Hill Superwash Merino.

Somehow I managed to lose all the pictures I’m sure I took. I think I dumped them off the memory card as I thought I’d uploaded them to the computer. But I hadn’t. Fortunately, Amber was willing to share some pictures.

I love the different buttons.

I also made a little hat to go with it:

At the beginning March, this lovely little boy joined the world. I’m so pleased that the sweater fits – I have to admit when I finished it I couldn’t beleive anyone could be that tiny.

Isn’t he the cutest little guy?

Progress on the Pieman and a new project

I finished the front of Pieman. I seriously hope this sweater isn’t too big. Now I’m reading others have done much smaller sizes for kids about E’s age.

I’m still happy with how this is turning out.

I’ve gotten yarn for my next project, even though I haven’t finished this one. Today I wound some of the yarn into balls:

Custom Knits Collage by scoutj

This is for Wendy Bernard’s “Slinky Ribs” from Custom Knits.
Below is a collage that Scoutj made. The sweater is the one in the upper right. I got enough yarn to make long sleeves, so that’s my plan right now.

I think this will be a fun one to knit!

Pie Man & Spinning!

I’ve been plowing through E’s new sweater. The back is complete:

Here’s a close up of the cable detail:

Once I got the pattern memorized, it really started to fly. I do need to pay attention, as I’ve had to tink back a few cables to correct the direction on occassion. Other than that I’m happy with the pattern. I did stop the back about an inch shorter than the pattern called for, because it seemed a little long for E. I think the arms may need some modification.

In other news, I finally cleaned my wheel up and started spinning again! Last year I got some alpaca roving at Rhinebeck, and I figured I’d give it a whirl. I’m very new at this, so it’s not very consistent, but I’m having fun, and I think it will be knittable. Here’s the single all spun up:

I found my Ramboulet roving in the barn, and am planning to spin that up to ply with this. Once I’m done, I’ll measure it and see what I may be able to knit. I think it may be enough for a cowl.