Spent the morning hanging out with friends, helping pick out yarn for a knit along project, and knitting at my local yarn shop. I could spend more Saturdays like this.
Some things I have noticed while knitting on a plane.
In a nutshell, knitting on a plane generally means plenty of uninterrupted knitting time. Which, when you have no choice but to travel, is a great way to pass the time.
Back in 2008 (April 6th to be exact), I went to see the Yarn Harlot in Atlanta and ended up with 6 ounces of soy silk. Oh, and I also saw the Yarn Harlot. On July 5, 2011 I finally decided to spin it up. On July 13, 2011 I finished plying it and promptly did not record how many yards I spun. Seriously. How did I not do that? WHY did I not do that?!
Then in October, before leaving for SAFF, I decided that I needed to knit up the circus roving turned yarn into something. So I made myself a little handspun yarn cake and took it with me to Asheville, NC. On October 21, 2011 I bought Trillion (Ravelry link) at SAFF. I also promptly began knitting it. It’s a really simple knit and shows off my handspun yarn really nicely.
It’s a fantastic knit when you’re hanging with friends, drinking and not always paying attention to what your hands are doing. The two-row repeat is really easy to memorize. I highly recommend this pattern for when you need some easy but still enchanting to knit. And because I had no clue what the yardage was on my yarn cake, there was that element of danger as to whether or not I would run out of yarn before I had a wearable…Trillion.
And I still can’t help but wonder if I could have fit in one more row.
Neckerchief?
Wanna hear something kind of hypocritical? Even though I am technically half “yellow” I don’t actually like the color yellow. Since I’m half yellow and half white does that actually make me…beige? Either way, I still don’t love the color yellow.
Photobombed by My Own Husband
But when I wrapped the Trillion around my neck, the yellow is not so noticeable and I can live with that. This is not the best picture of how to wear the Trillion, but you’ll just have to use your imagination. Also, I feel that this is a completely acceptable reason to buy a dressform – to take photos of hand knits draped across it. Sans photobombers. And that is actually B photobombing me. I didn’t photoshop him in or anything. Clearly nothing is sacred to him. And yes, this is me wearing exactly NO makeup. (Note to self: get an under eye cream for dark circles.)
BAD Boy is learning about Greek mythology in school and next week is Greek Week. And on this coming Friday, he has to wear a costume. They drew costume choices out of a hat. His costume? Pegasus.
That’s right. PEGASUS.
In case you were wondering, the only pegasus costumes you can buy are for babies and/or sluts.
So we improvised. We ordered some angel wings from Costume Express. And I made him this hat.
Pegasus Hat Front
Pegasus Hat Side
Pegasus Hat Back
Pegasus Hat Mane
Let me start off by saying that I am freaking AWESOME. No seriously. I am also a genius. And being humble? It’s my best trait.
Seriously, though, I am really really really happy with the way this hat turned out. Especially since I was really ready to burn the pattern. And also drink a lot. I ultimately refrained from burning the pattern. The drinking, though, really helped with deciphering what the hat pattern was saying. I used the Mohawk Hat (Raverly link) pattern, altered the mohawk to a mane and then used the Horse and Unicorn Hat (Ravelry link) crochet pattern to make the ears. (The rest of my project details are here. (Surprise! Also a Ravelry link.)
That’s right. I said CROCHET.
I have a confession to make: I am bi-craftual.
Sort of.
Actually, I’m poly-craftual, but that’s a story for another post.
ANYWAY.
BAD Boy will have this hat, the wings, a long-sleeved plain white shirt, white pants, a tail (I have more of the same yarn the mane is made out of for the tail.) and white shoes. I think that this will make an excellent pegasus costume for a boy.
Also?
I ROCK.
A couple of weeks ago I went on my annual trek to the mountains of Asheville, NC for SAFF and stayed in a rustic cottage of mostly awesomeness with my girls Evil Science Chick, Evil Julie and Nytefalle.
Drinking Is Srs Bizness
Evil Science Chick
Zombie Nytefalle
We learned that if a bear shits in the woods, it definitely stinks. (A bear may or may not have shit outside our cabin. Or possibly the drunk boys 2 cottages down. OR there may have been an issue with a septic tank. We went with bear.) We pretty much blamed that bear for anything remotely stinky. Strangely enough, I think that bear may have followed me home.
Moving along!
We ate lots of tasty, tasty food.
Caramel Sea Salt Mocha Chocolate Cake
Spring Ridge Creamery Ice Cream (Pumpkin Pie & Peppermint)
Acropolis Pizza
Saw lots of cute animals:
Heeey, Baby!
Communing With the Sheepies
Check Out Those Horns
How You Doin'?
This Is My Good Side
I made several purchases. Again.
Corriedale Fleece
It is both awesome and dangerous to be friends with folks who on a fiber mill. I had 2 alpaca fleeces and also wool from Sugar Ray (I hope he’s getting plenty of tail in bunny heaven) that I wanted to blend and Jen picked out this gorgeous Corriedale for me. Then Jared took in my order. I’ll be getting a beautiful DK weight yarn out of the mix. I can’t wait to see what they do with it all!
Supporting My Friends
Sugar Skull Stitch Markers!
Gale-dar in Full Effect
Stash Enhancing
Because Everyone Needs A Ball Sack
You Can Never Have Too Many Project Bags
Oh Yeah. I Went There.
And the coup d’état :
Loom!
I blew my Vegas wad on a loom! [Sidenote: I won a grand in Vegas on the penny slots and my first thought was "OH MY GOD, I WON!!!" and my second thought was, "SAFF MONEY!!!!!"] I got a Kromski Harp 24″ Rigid Heddle Loom. As you can see here, I set it up as soon as I got home and started warping almost immediately. I think this is an excellent starter loom. You have the loom on one side, flip it over and the warp is on the other. Which is what you’re looking at. (The pegs are removable. Also very awesome.) I will be going through my used stash to find the rest of my sock yarn remnants to play with this baby on my first run. I imagine it will become a scarf that only a first-time weaver can love. But I can definitely see how easy it will be to use up a lot of yarn quickly. Maybe even some of my handspun. Also? It has the option of adding a second heddle, which means I can get fancy with the designs. Lots of options.
This was my 6th year of attending SAFF. I can honestly say that it never gets old. Asheville in October is absolutely gorgeous.
Scenic Drive
We usually see interesting things along the way:
You're Not Reading That Wrong
Let's Stop and Ask for Directions!
And I get to spend time with my tribe.
Bunch o' Weirdos
I can’t wait for next year!
Last weekend I spent the majority of it on the porch with the dogs while I finished up knitting and seaming a baby sweater.
SQUIRREL! TV
My Little Hoarder
They had a blast watching the Squirrels! and just being dogs in general. Can you tell Cody used to be a stray? He has a tendency to hoard and steal treats.
Seaming Trellis
I enjoyed being out on the deck, listening to my audiobook, knittingseaming and capturing the moments. Also, two tv trays and a large blocking board can make for an excellent workspace outdoors. I can’t tell you just how much I love my deck.
Perfect Afternoon
The dogs love it, too.
Not too long after that, I went to Chicago for work and also a baby shower. For which I made this swaddling blanket and Trellis.
Finished Trellis on Swaddling Blanket
Cutest Buttons on the Planet
The presents were a huge hit.
Then on the way home from Chicago, I ended up sitting across the aisle from another Raveler whom I may have stalked from time to time, Elliebelly!
Elliebelly!
All in all, it was a good, albeit tiring week. I’m glad to be back at home; I feel mostly caught up on sleep and I’m really glad to be with my family.
I have a baby shower to go to this coming Wednesday. This is one of two gifts I’ll be giving. Or it may be one of one gifts if I don’t hurry up and finish the baby sweater. To speed my knitting along, I’m going to take my time and show you this swaddling blanket.
The pattern is one I found on Ravelry called Jewell. I, as usual, slightly modified the pattern. Instead of knitting the points with alternating rows of stockinette and knit, I just made them all stockinette.
Oh, and the pattern also called for a single crochet edging. I’m not sure, but I don’t think that’s what I did. I’m not really sure what kind of crochet edge I did, but it’s definitely crochet. And I’m really proud of it all the same.
That’s right. I can knit AND crochet. I just don’t really know exactly what I’m doing with the crochet. I just wing it until it looks good to me. Also, so long as the edge of the blanket doesn’t roll, I’m happy. I am certain the baby will also be very concerned about edge roll. Babies can be fashion conscious, too, you know.
Anyway, to really appreciate this blanket, you need to see it in action. I do not have a baby handy so I used a teddy bear instead.
Pretend this bear is a baby.
See? This babybear is swaddled. Wrapped up like a little sandwich. Or a roll. Would you like a teddy bear roll up?
And here’s the swaddled babybear being held by it’s “parent.” Can you see the fear in that babybear’s eyes? I can.
So there you have it. One present down. One to go.
I had every intention of spinning while I was at the beach. In fact, I did. Just… I only spun while it was raining and well… it only rained the day we drove down and the first full day we were there. You see where this is going right? Yeah, I didn’t spin very much. But would you want to sit inside and spin when you could be outside in this?
This Is What Summer Vacation Is All About
Yeah, I didn’t think so. And for those of you who have never been to an Alabama beach and wonder why I don’t spin outside? I’m not into felting roving onto my wheel. The humidity is just a tad too high for outdoor spinning. It IS, however, perfect for swimming in the ocean and also the pool. And for sitting under a tent while reading a book and having a beverage.
Oh, and also for catching sharks.
SRSLY. SHARK.
BAD Boy caught himself a shark while fishing from the beach shore. A SHARK. Also, that’s my BIL, not my husband. They’re identical twins. Well, identical to everyone else. I don’t think they look all that much alike most of the time. Also? SHARK!
We also saw dolphins, stingray or some kind of ‘ray and of course, crabs.
Can You See the Crab?
We also saw some bigger crabs in the water. The dolphins we saw while standing on the balcony of our rented condo. There were two different pods that swam by where we were staying. This is the second and smaller pod of three, though you can only see 2 of them in this video. You have to look really closely to see them. There were schools of fish, i.e. good eating, that the dolphins were after. It was so neat to watch them all. We were totally mesmerized by them.
I didn’t get any video or photos of the ‘rays. They were doing what they normally do, which is skimming along the ocean floor and they looked like fast, dark moving groups of blobs underwater, but they were clearly out enjoying some second breakfast. Being down there after a lot of wind and rain and kind of stormy weather brought out all kinds of marine life while we were there. It was pretty cool. Except for, you know, the SHARKS.
Anyway.
Tour de Fleece.
So I will consider this Tour de Fleece a 50/50 win/wash. When I did spin, I did a great job of it (except for that one time with the novelty yarn) and enjoyed myself immensely. But between going on vacation smack dab in the middle of it and also having some back issues, it was simply not meant to be this time around. I guess you could say I was one of those contestants who had the best of intentions of finishing, but events conspired against me otherwise. I have, however, rekindled my love of my wheel and spinning. And because of that, I think it was well worth the effort. Now what I really need to do is set the twist on all the yarn I’ve spun both during Tour de Fleece and before. Next up? Figuring out what I’m going to do with all of it.
On Day 13 I didn’t spin because my back was acting up again. I cannot stress to you enough the value of a good mattress. I spent Day 13 at work thinking that I really should have gone home to rest my back, but since I was going to be gone for a week (Hi! I am totally blogging FROM THE BEACH. Jealous? Yeah, I would be too. I mean, if I wasn’t me, but I’m not not me, so I am basking in your jealousy. Follow? Cool.) that I should get as much done as I possibly could before I left so I stayed at work. WHEW.
And then when I got home? I laid down in the floor on top of an ice pack and alternated between icing my back and then rubbing biofreeze all over it. It was the complete opposite of sexy. And also NOT conducive to knitting. I consoled myself with playing Puzzle Quest on my PSP while laying on the ice pack.
And then yesterday was my birthday! So I totally got a pass, right? After work, I spent my evening getting a mani/pedi and then going home and chilling. What? It was my birthday. And I needed my nails to be beach ready.
Today started with me waking up feeling like I was coming down or had come down with a cold. That is most definitely the SUCKIEST way to start your vacation. I consoled myself with taking my sweet time getting ready. And my morning cuppa joe.
Also? I cleaned the entire kitchen with the exception of the floor. What’s the point of having kids if you don’t put them to work, right? You know, because pushing a swiffer around is HARD LABOR. Especially when you make them do it twice – once dry and once wet. I know. I am a cruel taskmaster. Well, kid’s gotta learn sometime that life’s not fair.
ANYWAY. Super clean kitchen. Then shower. Then taking my sweet time to pack. And we left the house by 12:30 pm. So really? We made good time.
And then it rained off and on THE WHOLE WAY TO THE BEACH. It took us about 6.5 hours to drive what is normally a 4 hours TOPS drive. I think we saw at least 4 wrecks on the way down, too. And once we finally made it to the condo, we did what any sane person would do. We unloaded the car as fast as we could and headed straight down to the pool.
What?
It wasn’t thundering or lightening.
I would just like to take this moment to tell you how proud I am that my kid does not act like a baboon at public pools. There were a couple of kids there RUNNING AND CANNONBALLING into the pool WITH TOTAL DISREGARD FOR THEIR SURROUNDINGS (i.e. US). While I do not mind the occasional cannon ball, ENCOURAGING YOUR KIDS TO ACT LIKE ASSHOLES IN PUBLIC IS POOR PARENTING. These kids didn’t pay any attention to who or what was around them and would just take off and jump into the pool. Deep end. Shallow end. People nearby. It didn’t matter.
As a former lifeguard, I had to bite my tongue. HARD.
Anyway, we can always hope that they’ll leave soon. Like maybe tomorrow. Or maybe, they’ve already gone. A girl can dream.
After swimming and dinner, I unpacked my spinning wheel from my brand new Lendrum bag my sweet honey bought me for my birthday and got to spinning. (I’ll take pictures of the bag tomorrow in good lighting.)
Shiny
Miss Babs Merino/Tencel Top
I am having to pre-draft the hell out of this roving, but it is so worth it. It wants to spin up thin, so I am obliging. The pictures I took really don’t do this yarn justice. It is absolutely gorgeous. And I think it’s going to take me awhile to spin it all up.
Love
I am absolutely thrilled with how this turned out. But I am also ridiculously tired, now. Plying is hard work!
Tomorrow I’ll find out how many yards I ended up with. One bobbin has some leftover singles on it. Did I even say that right? Anyway, one day, I’ll have two perfectly even bobbins that ply up with no yarn leftover. However.
Today is not that day.
