one down one to go

finished one blue sock, this lisa souza sock yarn (i cannot get the link to work) is a treat to knit, i love the subtle variation in the denim color. and it's a bit thinner than my beloved koigu, for the first time i knit a sock for myself with 72 stitches.



used the pattern stitch of the conwy sock from "knitting on the road", but didn't use the shaping, it would have been way too narrow if i would have decreased down to 60 stitches.






this is the right sock, i knit all my socks with anatomically correct toes.

it's very easy. instead of doing all the decrease rows the same way, every alternate decrease row you begin-- needle 1- knit to last 4 sts, k3tog, k1. needle 2- k1, sssk, knit to end of needle. needles 3&4, knit. you get a nice gently sloping toe.



for the left sock, simply do the alternate decrease rows doing the k3tog and sssk on needles 3&4, and knitting plain on needles 1&2. there will be a test lisa ;-)




and now for my newest love, our screen porch. some of you know this already and your eyes are glazing over, i have developed a severe allergy to bees, wasps and ants. unfortunately it has affected my life more than i would have ever dreamt. living in florida does not help. we finally had our porch screened in :-) was supposed to happen over a year ago, but all those hurricanes kept the screen company very busy. i cannot wait til it cools off here and i can sit on the porch, spin and knit without fear of my life!!!

thanks for all the comments, who'd a thunk i'd be a comment ho?

blue suede socks

lisa souza, your denim sock yarn rocks! ok, so i am trying to butter you up ;-) or maybe just keep your head from exploding.



started the conwy sock from "knitting on the road" with all good intentions of making the pair for my husband. hmm, this sock will fit me, how convenient. bbbring, bbring, call lisa, please send more denim, and do you have anything else interesting brewing? 2 lbs. of luscious biffle, why not? one can never have too much fiber stashed.




how on earth am i supposed to be watching what i eat when this is waiting for me? dd makes a mean cupcake :-)
vanessa, la blimp!

soft and dry

the skeinikins are nice and dry and squishy. perfect for a new england hat. there are about 153 yds.



cleaning out the "guest" room, cough cough, i came across these lovely dyed rovings from sandy sitzman of woolgathering. the pink is bfl, and the other is a corrie x. the quest for the sproing continues, thanks for the info june!

gilmore girls was a little better last night, but still not as good as years past, so sad.
vanessa

all plied up

finished the 8 oz. went very quickly. have 2 bobbins packed full, and one partial bobbin of plied yarn.




the skeinikins outside.




the skeinikins having a bath.



now they are hanging and drying. the yarn is nice and soft, but my yarn never seems to be very elastic, i wonder if it's because i use the short draw?




i got very lucky and found a reeves spinning chair on the housecleaning pages, here's the frame wheel and chair in front of my windows, don't they look nice together?

hope tonight's gilmore girls is better than last weeks. i don't like what they are doing with the characters ;-(
vanessa

spinning outside the box

trying something i never do, spin a fat lumpy soft yarn. first time with the large whorl on the reeves double treadle frame wheel, albeit the smaller groove. it's hard for me to not add too much twist.
the roving is a lovely blend of merino, wool, angora and silk called summer sunsets. bought it online from a lovely lady in massachusetts named carole kerris of twinbrook farm.





only took about 45 minutes to spin up this bit, much faster than my usual thin worsted style of spinning :-)




can't wait to see it plied, i'm thinking of using it to make a hat and mittens for my basket teacher/friend karol on nantucket. should be nice and warm for those cold cold new england winter days.






am still disgusted with the koigu sweater, will have to rip the whole body, oh well, at least the sleeves fit ;-) spent the weekend looking through old spin-offs and trying to figure out where to place the barn on our farm. also pulled out tons of soda apples, man those thorns sting!
vanessa

cloudy sky

courtesy of rita.

metamorphosis

how does this




become this?




ah, the power of blocking!

have been a very bad blogger, but a prolific knitter ;-) finished the flower basket shawl/scarf. knit it smaller than a shawl, so my dd could wear it around her neck, or waist. used knitpicks gossamer, less than 1 skein, so i think it cost less than $5, unbelievable. but don't worry lisa s, your dyeing will always be my first love.

also bought some beautiful handspun yarn from june at twosheep, she is donating all the proceeds to katrina relief. unfortunately, i usually am too late and the goodies are sold, but i scored with this lovely yarn, and look at how june wrapped it, really the extra touch!








have also finished sivia harding's faroese shawl with knitpick's gossamer in blue jeans, haven't blocked it yet.

and am working feverishly on a koigu pullover, but have run into major problems...

where's handel when i need him?

could go for a swelling of voices singing handel's messiah!
i have finally finished spinning the neverending teal roving!

finished the last bit on the bobbin with andean plying, didn't want to waste an inch ;-)

think i have about 2,190 yards of yummy soft merino, all for me me me! even though dd has told me how much she llloooves the color every time she passed the wheel. too bad, so sad ;-0

feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders, now what to work on next, finish fern, nah, finish grant ave, nah. feel like a little lace :-)
http://www.knitpicks.com/books/books_display.aspx?itemid=50391
did get the yarn and pattern for this shawl, but maybe dd would like a leaf lace or birch better?
vanessa

katrina

my heart is breaking for the gulf coast. have donated money to the red cross and the humane society. hope all others who can afford to donate will chip in.
vanessa