shetland triangle and verb for keeping warm retail workshop

before i ramble on and on :) -- congratulations belong to barefoot rooster on random.org drawing your comment (#1!) and winning the aVfKW Ultra Club merino/silk! email sent :)

now, onto the on and on...

I think I love gift knitting because I get to make awesome things I wouldn't necessarily wear myself, and when it's a fit with the recipient everyone wins. I loved making this for my sister :)


Shetland Triangle
Handspun 2-ply tussah silk and sw merino/cashmere
Spun and knit over 4 days in April
US 10.75 needles (7.0mm)

The goal was to make something machine washable (or, at least spot washable/easy care) that she could wear easily as quick cover for nursing baby. I knit it on huge huge needles (7.0mm) to really stretch out the most fabric widthwise I could when knitting, but only lightly blocked it by shaping the edges with blocking wires and lightly stretching to dry. I worried a severe blocking would mar the pattern (already a bit indistinct with the huge needles)... and that my sister is smaller than me and I didn't want it to overwhelm her frame.


(our mom)

I think the size looks perfect when worn, and provides just enough cover to overlap in the front (and bonus-- be able to see baby at the same time.) I used my gigantic (8'+!) Mmmalabrigo Clapotis when I was still nursing as a cover, and my son loved the dropped stitches when he was a little older-- poking fingers thru, playing hide and seek behind the fabric. I am so happy my sister has so much ahead of her :)

While the goal of the project was met, it was really the yarn I was excited about.



When I spun the tussah silk I knew I was aiming for long stretches of color, but really had no idea of their impact when plied with the white until I saw the striping of the Shetland Triangle appear. They look planned... and how I love when the yarn does the work for me :) I also appreciate their subtlety; my sister isn't a knitter and what speaks to me isn't necessarily what'll float her boat. (Noro springs to mind-- I never really dug the color striping and coordination until I knit with it and saw it jump off of my own needles.) I think the white here offsets the striping impact, in that it's not the only thing you see.

For me, the only thing I see is the silk, and the baby indigo blue that looks white until you really look :)



I don't think my photos captured this shawl well at all-- big scale photos don't show the silk which for me makes my toes curl. (missing that)

I also really dig that I did what I intended to do-- spin and ply the silk tightly with the lower twist merino/cashmere, and have the white ply sort of jump out of the silk's grip in both yarn and finished object. The result is so soft and shiny... I hope she likes it too! What's great is she saw me spindle spinning during my last visit and was fascinated-- I think she'll be one who appreciates the start-to-finish of this project.

I couldn't resist showing it off before mailing, so when I heard that A Verb for Keeping Warm was having a celebration to welcome their new full time employee Adrienne, I packed it and the kid up and headed to the WorkShop where I got to show Kristine what her fiber grew up to be and see this ground-up retail store for the first time.



You walk in and immediately its spindles and fiber and yarn and wheels and gentle assault on the senses as you take it in and realize how much work is hanging on the walls around you. It still kneecaps me, knowing how much work (physical, time intensive work) goes into dyeing with natural dyes. I love acid dyers, love food grade colors, but also know the time it takes me to dye a length of roving doesn't hold a candle to maintaining an indigo vat, premordanting raw wool, all of the etc. steps. (I won't go on about natural dyeing and the steps involved, but you can hear Kristine talk about this a little bit on the YKnit podcast a 'cast or three back.)

With all the work and the subsequent higher cost these yarns and fibers have to fetch to maintain a living wage for everyone involved, I can't be happier that Verb's business is flourishing enough to hire a full time employee. Appreciation for handwork, handmade, slow artisanal crafts... sounds like what all knitters and spinners want :)



Another cool thing about the WorkShop is that its creation stayed true to the business' vision: it started with a small truly empty space that was insulated with recycled denim fiber, panelled with findings, windows and doors from Urban Ore, painted with remaindered paint from SFMOMA and floored with carpet from the same.

And it's just a neat place :)



I couldn't get away from bringing some stuff home with me. It didn't help that my son was with me, he was talking me into purchases all day :) We finally agreed on two (not eight like he wanted!) bunches of BFL for a special something for him.



I also picked up something special for me... merino/silk in "sunny side up."



SO much prettier than my overcast photos show... and the last bit :( ...an end run of a limited colorway. Ishbel maybe?

I also broke my not-a-real sock yarn fast after spying this beauty (and a sock pattern I've wanted since its publication)...


Creating yarn (Superwash Merino, 436 yd/4 oz) in "Tide Pool" and "Shaped Arch Socks" by Marlowe Crawford

I think I'll use handspun for the pattern and the yarn for a Cookie A Sock Innovation pattern (I love this book so much I should write a book report ;))... I'm obviously on a project-planning binge :)

If you're local/bay area, A Verb for Keeping Warm is hosting a "Keep the Fleece" event on May 16th, raising money for Heifer International by hosting a day of spinning and knitting scarves-- a "sheep to scarf" event in our own backyard. A perfect time to connect with local spinners and knitters, check out the WorkShop Studio in person, and raise some money to bring more fleece into the hands of the world. Again, just what knitters and spinners want :)

What we want and what we have... but as always, out of time. Til then.

saved by stash

Amidst secret and not-so-secret holiday knitting (grandma afghan status: 2.5 panels of 4 done)... I managed to forget to make something for mom. Now, okay... see, last year she asked for (and received!) the merino-silk Hanami stole I knit, so I wasn't really thinking as far ahead as having a gift this year, just slipped my mind. She doesn't know I forgot, and she's one of those that would be aghast that I "forgot her"-- so stash diving I found some yarn that could be knit up in two days...




Alpaca with a Twist Big Baby-- 100% baby alpaca, bulky wt

...a really great pattern that would make a bulky alpaca hat even warmer, some gigantic needles, and yay!



A bulky baby alpaca set in two days with room to spare :)

For the scarf, I used 3+ skeins of Big Baby, doubled and knit in garter st over 12 sts on US 17 (12mm) needles. The hat is Thorpe, a fun top-down earflap hat that comes both plain and stranded. I knit mine using a skein each of 'natural' and 'harvest' on US 10's to give it more room (coming from big-headed stock)...



See?

I probably should have knit the headband/earflap panel on smaller needles, it is a bit larger than the stranded portion but still okay. I am hoping the stranding will help the alpaca keep its shape and not grow too much-- used garter for the scarf for the opposite reason and hope it will stretch even more than the 6' it's at now. I just discovered I like long scarves :) It is *crazy* heavy, and thick... warmer than Hanami for sure.

And mom will never know I forgot :)

Have a good holiday! And if Santa's listening-- what I *really* want is a year membership to the Grafton Fibers Colorways fiber club... 2 Grafton spindles plus a Grafton Fibers batt a month for a year! (I have not wanted to join a club so badly since... well since aVfKW, since Black Bunny Fibers, since the Bellwether's Rhyme Times... but still!! :))

Miss you!

pre ravelympics stretch

When the first talk about the summer Olympics started around the knitting watercooler, I immediately decided I would participate in the Knitting Olympics, for Team Knitters for Obama. (Didn't finish my last KO project on time, though it was finished...) This time, I'd make a sweater for me out of yarn I'd handspun myself.

Fast forward a month or so and the Yarn Harlot's post about not hosting the "official" Knitting Olympics had me thinking maybe not (particularly the taking part in an Olympics hosted by China). Then Tikabelle's post about forgoing the knitting along to the Olympics was the nail in the coffin for my original plan... even today I wake to the rss newsfeed and read this. So I decided not to knit along to the Olympics this year.

Admittedly though, I was a little bummed-- I really wanted to participate on the Knitters for Obama team, and even though I don't usually do knitalongs well, watching Tour de Fleece posts all over blogland had me really chomping at the idea of a fixed time to complete a difficult fiber related goal. So, as a sort of compromise, I've decided to "compete"-- I'll be participating in the Ravelympics with the Knitters for Obama charity knitting drive during the timespan, knitting washable wool hats for homeless veterans.


verb rolling hat, 64-1 CO (same formula as before)

Knitters for Obama has a continuing goal of donating a hundred washable handknit (and crocheted, and quilted, etc.) items to homeless shelters servicing veterans across the US *per state*. 5000 (!!) items will be needed for them to reach their goal-- they've almost reached 500 (!!!) handknit FOs.

So, I've stocked up on some bulky machine washable (and dryable!) wool...


swish bulky by knitpicks

...should be enough for at least ten (?) hats. Ten hats in 16 days is definitely do-able (famous last words!), so I'll also be spinning the dk-weight yarn I need for the Knitters for Obama prize drawing...



I have pledged the two handspun yarns (super bulky and dk-ish weight) as a prize in the drawing-- since that's being held on August 29, another good fire under my pants to complete this :)

So, come August 8 this'll turn into a hat blog, feel free to knit along (or tune back in after the 24th ;))

etsy friday

Today I have two lovely gifts to show for Etsy Friday, and I couldn’t dig them more :)

A few weeks ago, I found out that the Pigeonroof Studios yarn I’d chosen for a pattern I was writing had been discontinued… the yarn base Krista was using had changed in gauge, and I didn’t want to publish the pattern with a discontinued yarn. As with everything I whined about trying to find a similar sts/inch yarn on twitter :) and Rachel of DyeabolicalYarns suggested that her Sporty! would be a good fit…

Sporty! yarn by DyeabolicalYarns.etsy.com-- “hidden tiger”

The yarn is SO soft with a nice tight twist, and I love this colorway!! I really don’t like lighterweight yarns for sock these days, my attention span is just too short. Sporty! is perfect, knit on US 2’s or 3’s it should just fly by. (Did I mention the colors?! Her semisolid series has my toes curling, too.)

It actually will be perfect for subbing into the cabled sock for my Yuki set too-- and just looking at it makes me excited to get going on that project again. I even started finishing up the second and third patterns in anticipation…

Yuki-- left: cables + colorwork, right: colorwork

More on those later though! I’m actually more interested in this...

ButterflyGirlDesigns.etsy.com spindle

A spindle!! Save me, cos as much as I love knitting I love spinning more lately.

This too was an unexpected gift; Mike gave it to me when he dropped off my Ashford Joy I’d lent him. I totally didn’t expect or want anything in return, but look!! A SPINDLE! :)

If you’ve haunted etsy for spinning supplies, I’m sure ButterflyGirlDesigns isn’t new to you-- she makes really beautiful spindles with glass and semiprecious stone whorls (and has heavenly spinning fibers too!). I knew how pretty BGD whorls were, but the shaft is too!

ButterflyGirlDesigns spindle, shaft

See how it is carved close to the top? I know nothing about spindle spinning (yet!) but am pretty sure this’ll help the yarn catch and not slide down as it builds up. I love little details :)

So now you know what I’m doing this weekend, spinning and knitting :) I hope you have a good one too!

**ps! I’ll also be hosting a free shipping sale in my etsy store, zero.etsy.com thru Wednesday July 16… all stitch marker sets will ship free, even international ones. Shipping has already been adjusted, no need to wait for an invoice from me. I’ll be adding new freshwater pearl, semiprecious stone, and bent wire sets throughout the weekend and beyond. I’ll also be listing spinning fibers on Wednesday, weather permitting…**

but, i'm not a garment knitter!

35 skeins of Malabrigo
(tortuga, frost grey and red mahogany in bags; chestnut and black chunky loose)

I think the grey'll be knit into grandma's Christmas afghan... but the rest?! (Pattern suggestions, anyone?) Judging from his expression, my son's sure it'll just be more fiber chaff hidden in the recesses of his closet :)

Off to knit a Koolhaas hat... you know, journey of a thousand miles and all that jazz.

etsy friday

Always good to start with yarn... :)


Alluring sock yarn by illusionyarns.etsy.com
"Clementine" colorway

I haven't added much new yarn to the stash recently, but how pretty is this?! (It's actually prettier, Meghann's etsy photos are better and more true than my cloudy day one.)

Meghann and I swapped and this was hers to me... I think I got the better end of the deal :) I asked her to surprise me with a semisolid yarn in an orange, yellow or grey and this lovely was made for me! I really dig the semisolid yarns lately, and this beautiful bright one makes me think of the sun hiding behind the clouds outside. It may be too pretty for socks-- I haven't lighted on a project, maybe some bright mitts to ward off the cold? I've been getting a lot of use from my knucks (still unembroidered) outside playing with the kid and my new toy at the same time...


ipod touch cozy made by thelovelyteaspoon.etsy.com

Of COURSE the moment I had my new ipod I went looking for etsy stuff for it :) I know I can knit my own cozy (and there are a lot of sellers who make and sell handknit ipod covers on etsy), but I am a sucker and fell for the pop loveliness of this vinyl cozy. I wanted something super light to slip into my back pocket, no bulk but something that would help protect against coins and keys and whatever else inevitably ends up in this purseless-girl's pants.

Hm.

Moving on-- I always check out the whole store of an etsy seller when I find something I like, and I'm often right that they'll have something else that's absolutely necessary. The Lovely Teaspoon has a *bunch* of stuff-- seriously, a shop that consists of lego jewelry, handbags, this tv neckace that i want-want, and a catchall everything else section that had this gem...


"Abandonment" definition flashcard greeting card by thelovelyteaspoon.etsy.com

Alicia has taken 5x7 word definition flashcards and mounted them on cardstock as one of a kind greetingcards-- pretty big, and really really cool :) She still has "baggage" and "abuse" cards in stock-- believe me I held myself back from purchasing those :)

And now for something completely different... My friend MaryLou of time2cre8.etsy.com (the same who supplies me with all of the supercool recycled paper envelopes I use in my packaging for my shop's shipments) does her own spin on etsy fridays. She features etsy sellers who have purchased from her shop, picking out favorite items to share with her blog readers. I think it's a really interesting way to find new shops-- so I'm going to copy her and include an item in my etsy fridays from shops who have purchased from mine :)

First up, actually my most recent sale at this writing...


Peonies Handcarded batt from theyoyo.etsy.com
photo by theyoyo, used with permission

Notwithstanding the hot jealousy over Alyson's new drumcarder (you can read about her holiday surprise here, too f*ing cute)... her newest shop offerings of batts alongside her handspun yarns actually have inspired me to put her shop's rss feed into my bloglines read. As soon as I pare down my fiber stash (ha!) you can be sure this'll be one of the first places I look for a batt fix.

Alrite! Happy weekend, miss you :)

etsy friday

I missed sharing etsy fridays! :)


Merino/cashmere/nylon sock yarn from PigeonroofStudios.etsy.com
Harvest colorway

I've had this Pigeonroof Studios yarn for a while (relatively!) now... I loved it before both in skein and knit up, and Krista's new batches have more cashmere than before! Her etsy updates can still be hard to jump on but she does maintain a mailing list-- you may want to contact her thru etsy to get on it and get a jump on being ready in front of your computer when she updates. (Or, subscribe to her shop's rss feed!)

Normally I don't ball my wool til I'm ready to knit with it, and have tipped my hand here. I've been knitting with this new formulation, the dread secret knitting, and it's wonderful stuff and really does look great worked up-- no pooling. I'm trying to decide whether or not I want to make my next pattern for sale (one of the samples is knit in this yarn) thru Ravelry's pdf pattern delivery service when it goes live. A good friend, Jen from piddleloop, has a secret identity as a pdf pattern designer extraordinaire and I'm trying to convince her to make her services widely available to other designers like me who are all thumbs when it comes to things like that... I'm sure you'll hear more in the coming weeks on all points :)

Speaking of designing, a lot of my holiday gifts were handmade (purchased)-- including this beauty from a famous designer:


Designs By Romi sterling silver shawl pin

You guys know the giant brain behind Muir and Ice Queen (and an upcoming BOOK about beads and fiber and yarn oh my!) also has a shop selling handmade shawl pins, yeah? (Just checking!) Rosemary's not an etsy vendor but I can't keep this one hidden for any longer :) It was a gift for mom along with the Hanami stole and the red glass shawl pin from TexturedTurtle-- and I had a *hard* time giving it away!

It is supercool though-- the spiral is slightly raised so you can actually draw your knitted fabric in without having to dig down with the stickpin to secure the knitting; a really spectacular detail only a knitter could think of. It's also heavier/sturdier than I thought it would be, but in a good way-- not heavy enough to drag down your knitting, but enough so you don't feel like you're going to bend it out of shape using it.

It really is breathtaking.

(And I really did give it away!)

:)

Another holiday gift...


Handdipped incense from FooberryIncense.etsy.com

My mom has been on a huge incense kick lately, which is funny since she always accused me of ulterior motives when I burned it as a teenager :) Water under the bridge, I'm all about the watching the gap-- which is the reason I chose to buy a grip of incense from Fooberry Incense for mom this year.

This is the freshest incense I've ever experienced, leaning more to the blue boxed dry as a bone Nag Champa for my fix. Since Julie makes your order when you place it, the sticks are just heavy with scent. Not only heavy but varied-- Fooberry has over 200 items/scents for sale including unusual ones like BACON and TOMATO as well as standards like dragon's blood and patchouli. Being made to order, it does take a bit to receive but FooberryIncense was sure to let me know each step from creation to shipping so I didn't worry about it arriving in time.

One other custom holiday gift from an etsy vendor was for my son...


Child's vinyl and fabric apron from DesignsByNanaHome.etsy.com

My blurry child :) Seriously though, he WANTED this-- he's been on a "helping" kick in the kitchen lately, washing dishes and "cooking" alongside me, and we have had a throwdown or two over who got to wear (MY) red apron... so I searched etsy for his own. I knew exactly what I wanted (vinyl coated, for wipedowns-- we're messy round here!; not feminine looking; something size and age appropriate) and DesignsByNanaHome had this perfect one! :) Actually, she custom makes these aprons from several different fabrics, all sandwiched with vinyl-- I picked the perfect surfer one for my crazy haired kid :)

I have to say how impressed I was not only with the apron (it has a toggle at the neck so it'll fit as he gets older and taller, the pockets are a really nice touch), but with the packaging. I don't really go for a lot of fancy packing stuff since it just hits the recycle bin, but DesignsByNanaHome *flatpacked* this so the vinyl wouldn't get creased during transit-- and I was just thrilled with that minor detail. The fact I don't have to share my apron anymore is a plus, too :)

Good to be back :) I'll be back next week with new FOs and some pics of dyed rovings I'll list in my etsy shop (I have a new blend of superwash merino/cashmere/nylon, along with sw merino/seacell and my standard superwash merino to dye... wish me luck!)

Knit and Crochet Show 2007

Being in my own literal backyard, I couldn't resist visiting the market at the Knit and Crochet Show this year. As with all of my fiber arts purchases lately, it's been spinning fiber heavy.


Yak fiber, 2 - 8 oz bags from yarnplace.com


Merino/cashmere (95/5), 8 oz from yarnplace.com

Yarnplace is slowly becoming one of those places I buy from whenever I run into them (last time it was the gold recycled silk at Lambtown). Really though, the yak is amazingly soft and a super short staple... I have it in the back of my head to save it to card with a natural brown merino for a sweater qty of spinning fiber... one of those pipe dreams similar to the baby alpaca/silk from matahari spinnery, but you never know :) The merino/cashmere is the same fiber percentage as the "clouds" yarn I have but it's not the one listed on their site right now... they did have it at the K&CS though, not sure the deal on that. They also don't have their spinning fibers on their website, but they had several grades of cashmere along with camel as well at the show.

I also picked up a 1400 yd ball of gentle, because yall know I knit *so* much lace.


Crosspatch Creations triple play roving (wool, silk & viscose), 4 oz in "Edgar Allen"
from Carolina Homespun

I've really been curious about Crosspatch Creations since seeing this awesome, awesome fiber sampler newsletter on The Bellwether's site (you do know Amelia has a bring you to your knees new website, yeah?)... and this purchase has spurred me on to subscribe. The color's just amazing, and will spin into a fun textured yarn for me (if I can manage to not spin it too finely!)


Corriedale roving, 2 - 4 oz braids in "chocolate" from RoyaleHare.com

I've finally come to terms with the fact I don't have to just spin superwash merino, or just merino :) The royale hare booth was so friendly (almost too much for staring at my shoes me), and told me that this roving was meant to be chocolate (brown) but instead broke into the beautiful purple/gold/brown you see here. I have been buying larger qtys of spinning fiber lately, always thinking I want to spin something substantial...

Aside from fiber, I snagged acid dyes and a set of US 3 Boye dpn's from SheepCityUSA (I swear this is the only needle size I constantly lose) and some wool/silk destash yarn from Caila Handknits (one of my favorite stops whatever show they're at). I felt the most amazing brown-black alpaca fiber at Pacific Meadows Alpacas but they only had 4 oz (I should have picked it up, it was amazing), and saw the cooooolest blocking solution at Article Pract's booth (my lys) called the "knitter's block." It's a set of interlocking foam pieces like little kids' puzzle mats, but the "foam" was covered and not just open and non-absorbant... it was packaged with t-pins and an Egyptian cotton pressing cloth in an adorable tote and gosh I wanted it but had hit my budget, so I hope they'll have it in stock next time I manage to pop over there on transit. My birthday's coming up, so we'll see :)

All of this fiber and no where to put it means I've come to terms with the fact I can't knit (or even store) all of the yarn that I spin, and will be listing a couple handspun yarns in my etsy store as soon as I wrangle time to figure out their weights and yardages (you can sneak a peek at them here, and I'll probably be posting about them on Wednesday.)

Til then! :)

etsy friday

it's been near on a week, and the withdrawal pangs haven't subsided.


superwash merino sock yarn from pigeonroofstudios.etsy.com
"harvest" colorway

I keep telling myself I'm not buying any more sock yarn, that I have almost enough to make somewhere in the neighborhood of 70 60 pairs of socks and I should just really stop looking... then Pigeonroof Studios puts up her etsy updates like a thief in the night and I get to seeing pink and can't help it. (I know! I should unsubscribe from her shop's rss feed. I know.) Orange is still one of my favorite colors in sock yarn, and I just love the way her yarn feels knitting up. (No progress on Twisted Flower-cum-Mona yet, I'm considering frogging again for a colorwork sock. No laughing.)

Anyways. I said before that I like Krista's colorways better than koigu (yes, really) and it's still true. They're just really fresh and bright, even the darker leaning ones. (And you can special order any colorway from her sold items list by convo'ing her and not feel like it's the holy grail or something you're reaching for-- it's still just yarn yall, not the love of your life :))

Not the love of my life either, but still nice...



I know, what could it be?


12 pocket circular needle holder by grannyscloset.etsy.com

A circular needle holder by Granny's Closet, with 12 pockets and this awesome orangey red bird on a ball fabric. I've been kinda sorta in the market for a circular needle holder for a while, really liking what's out there but a lot of it far too hip for mah "little life" here (other beautiful circ. needle holders are made by honeycakedesigns.etsy.com and sanfranciscocrafts.etsy.com)... this one is just right for me :)

12 pockets actually, technically, isn't enough, but I've consolidated the US 1/1.5 and US 2/2.5 needles together, and all of the leftover oddly large I have no idea why I own these treetrunk needles in the last upper pocket. I've also been slipping my susan bates knit-chek needle guide into a bottom pocket, easy way to spotcheck I have the right needle since the pockets are (thankfully) not marked-- I think it'd be a little distracting if they were.

In any case, it's a *huge* upgrade from my previous circular needle filing system...



A hard sided metal photo album, with openings in the top for 20 horizontal 4x6 photos. Cost: $1 at the local thrift store. Not bad really, but since the "spine" edge was hard set, the case with all of the needles inside tended to fan upwards and take a lot of space, and needles would often fall out and/or uncurl. The Granny's Closet organizer has super deep pockets as well as a little folding inner lip of fabric at the very top to keep those upper needles from wiggling out of their bonds.

Now if you're looking for a fancy Knitpicks Option organizer, you know you can hook one up from Zonda's talented little hands, right? (She may even make "regular" cases for those of us stuck in the circular dark ages with our Addis ;)... maybe?) There is a waiting list, but if her cases are as well made as the sockfish bag she made for me is (and I'm sure they are)... it'd be worth it.


Stitched and tatted cards purchased from etsy, l to r:
stitched tulip and you are my sunshine stitched cards from minecreations.etsy.com
tatted flowers card from AprilsFlowers.etsy.com

More cards of course, even though as it is with sock yarn I don't think I can possibly use them all. I still try, and that's what's important, eh? :)

I keep saying it, but I really like stitching on cards-- something is so sexy about thread and paper that I have to have and share. And really, you *are* my sunshine. :) The cards from Mine Creations use stitching and fabric together, which I really like since I can be a bit of a sewing voyeur/groupie (so fascinating! i love being intimidated). She also makes her own envelopes using machine stitching for the edges:



Awesome.

I have no idea what tatting is (wikipedia does), but broadly know it's a form of lacemaking. I actually read about it on the choka-on-it site a LONG while back... but how neat is this? April's Flowers makes delicate hand tatted flowers and attaches them to handdrawn "vines" on cards. I think it's so special, a perfect card for someone who appreciates handcraft and would immediately recognize the work that went into this.

Up close:



Nice way to head into the weekend. Not the best way (hard to beat!) but still :)

Have a good one, miss you.

purples and red

I'd been wanting to knit a string bag for a while, and was going to knit this one pointed out to me by Chris... loved the solid bottom and that it was knit in the round. Then Amy let loose the sheep of summer with the surprises, and I'm nothing if not a knittyhead-- so cast on for the everlasting bagstopper pretty much right away.


Everlasting Bagstopper
surprise from knitty summer 2007
Louet Euroflax Linen "eggplant," 1 skein
US 4 (2.75mm) Addi and US 11 (8.0mm) Susan Bates, 24"
Started: 24 July 2007
Finished knitting: 27 July 2007
Finished with strap: 1 August 2007

It is super great-- flat solid bottom, picking up sts and knit in the round with a super simple stitch pattern (no need to even worry about memorizing). It worked up very quickly-- I used US 11's for the body of the bag (patt calls for US 10.5), just because I had them on hand. The stitch pattern is even more open with my choice of needles, but not a big deal.



I chose a dupioni silk ribbon picked up from Article Pract, don't think it is a really great choice ribbon wise but love the color with the deep purple of the bag. I was worried the ribbon wouldn't be strong enough to support the bag, so I first stitched a doubled bit on the inside of the bag where the handle would go, then stitched the actual doubled ribbon handle (hopefully for even more support) over that.


(no laughing. i am so not a seamstress.)

Since the inside of the bag, including the stitched part, can be seen when the bag is worn, I secured the ribbon with about 2" spare of ribbon hanging below, and then folded it up and secured that with a single stitch.



Again, not perfect but better than seeing my crazy stitching job :)

I also managed to accidentally crisscross the handle... I got a little flustered sewing this thing on and didn't really care enough to fix it, it's still functional.



It is a functional bag, will work well for treks to my local farmer's market. My bag is slightly longer than the original (at about 11" deep before the top border) since, well you know when you have enough yarn you just want to keep knitting? If I knit this again, I'd not let it get so deep-- it stretches like mad and there's no need for a 2' deep bag :) I knit the entire bag from one skein of Euroflax Linen, with a golf ball sized bit left over. I had hoped to see if "linen softens in the wash" was true, but the choice of silk dupioni for the handle won't have me throwing this in the wash anytime soon.

For things I can throw in the wash?


Zen Yarn Garden, "bodhi" colorway
100% merino superwash, 420 yd

It looks so happy next to my new bag-- all smug and soft :) I won a contest @ Roxanne's blog, the dyemaven behind Zen Yarn Garden's yarns, and in addition to getting to name her new spinning wheel (Bodhi) she dyed me a custom colorway. I asked for a purplish, burgundy semisolid, and it is just spot on to what I wanted :) Thanks again Roxanne-- (she has both an etsy shop and her own storefront, I don't think this base yarn is currently listed in either but you may be able to ask her for it).

Yay for favorite colors!


ps... happy rounding up day! many coliseums to you.

Lambtown in Dixon, CA 2007

We made it out to Lambtown in Dixon on Saturday, despite 2 hours in traffic and 95F degree heat. Arriving late in the day, there were only a few sheep victims of the shearing demonstrations to see (though I promised my son we were braving the weather to go to "the sheep show") :)



Supposedly, this year's Lambtown was much smaller than normal and had some cookoff issues. It was held in a park behind Dixon City Hall (as opposed to the larger fairgrounds), and didn't include the sheep dog trials or shearing competition (only scheduled demonstrations). The vendor list was also small, maybe 40 booths-- several of which had nothing to do with fiber or spinning (sunglasses, hawaiian vacations, cheap plastic toys and poppers, etc.) Doesn't mean I didn't pick up a few things, though.


Recycled silk yarn, approx 200gm
Yarnplace.com

This will eventually be another sunburst sling bag. I think it's awfully amusing that as much as I disliked the recycled silk yarn I used the first time, I went back to the same retailer and bought more. Admittedly, this isn't quite the same, but I may be whining about the yarn later. I still really like my hairy red recycled silk bag though, and mom has always admired it/glancingly asked for it. The new gold one (for me!) will have a wider, shorter strap to help offset the amount of stuff I can carry in the bag (like the last dye session's 2.5lbs of roving I took outside for photos) and the consequent stretch.


Superwash merino roving, 4 oz "penngrove purples" (color off, much more royal, no blue)
RoyaleHare.com

Lovely roving, but I can't capture purples with my camera. Superwash = socks :)


Susanne's 4" glove length double pointed needles, ebony
CarolinaHomespun.com

My favorite needles for toddler socks. I mistakenly said these were 5" on the Stash & Burn podcast, they're actually 4". I also liked this length when knitting the fingers for my knucks.

Also picked up...


my "semele" handspun 3-ply with a 3rd place ribbon
category: 100% wool, plied
remarks: "terrific color. spinning is great except for a few spots that are too thin."

I'm pleased as punch. I pulled this skein from my stash and entered it on a whim, and am happy that the judge's remarks hit on exactly what I think is my weakness in spinning (that I tend to spin too thinly). The 1st place winner in my category also took the best in show overall (beautiful handdyed BFL spun on a spindle), and it was just neat seeing lots of different types of handspun up close with the judge's notes on each. Mine was definitely the largest skein (yardage and weight wise), I wonder if people spun just for the competition?

I also really enjoyed watching bits and pieces of the national spinning competition-- I wasn't always sure what they were attempting, but I was surprised to see many using my embarrassed-to-admit short draw method (PDF!) for spinning. I only saw two spinners using long draw(PDF!), but to watch they didn't seem to actually be that much faster yardage-wise and seemed to have less technically perfect yarn than the inchers. Who knows, but as a self-taught spinner it was good to see I didn't have to be too embarrassed about how I achieve the results I'm happiest with, even though I always want to learn more. I even broke out and started spinning the naturally colored llama/merino from debbieshandspun.etsy.com, inspired by the daytrip.

Good times :)