Friday, October 2, 2009

NEW BLOG

Okay everybody,
I've moved.

http://sadieruin.wordpress.com/

edit your bookmarks accordingly.
Hope to see everyone there.

Monday, September 21, 2009

Guess what I did this weekend...

That's right I reinstalled my camera, and what a hassel, my own fault, I packed the software to install it, luckily there was some on the companies website. So in leau of getting her back online I bring you pictures. Lovely lovely pictures.


Now this may not look like much but I assure you it is. The Texture pattern is basically a cross between a rib and seed stitch, and anyway you slice it that takes time to do. But I do love the jacket so I am willing to slag away on it. And I did get a fair bit done (about seven inches - I'm taking the waist shaping out since I don't like to emphasize my waist so basically it's pattern until a certain point then switch to other pattern and volia jacket is done).


The Turtle tank (as I call it - it's really Norah Gaughan's Basalt tank from Knitting Nature) is coming along since I picked it up again. I'm on hex 6 of seven. I plan to wear it over long sleeved shirts etc when it's done, unless we manage to get more hot weather, but I really hope we don't. The construction of this is so much fun, it's easy and yet interesting, plain and yet complex. I don't know how she does it but she does it so well. I think I have a knitter crush on Norah.

When the heat went above 35 (celcius folks - canada does celcius) there was no way I was going to knit with wool. There was no way I was going to knit, I was sweaty and unimpressed. I found a solution however, and that was to spin in front of my fan. I got two skeins of two ply and a little skein of three ply out of this. It's Lambchop a Rambouillet from Auntie Annies Stuff. I processed the fleece as well as dyed and carded it. This is just a little bit of it, I batch dyed it in different colors this is the second color I've spun up, the first being the grey-blue stuff. I recommend Auntie Annies, great customer service, quality fleece, and just plesant all around.

Last but certainly not least is the Aestlight Shawl, I've been plodding away steadily since the beginning of the month and I'm on the edgings now, I passed the half way mark for it last night (while watching The Big Bang Theory Season Two). I'm guessing it'll be done by the weekend.

I also picked up fabric for my convocation dress this weekend. I have a little under a month to get it ready, I also want to knit a shawl to match so sometime this week (soon this week) I'm going to go to the yarn store and pick up some coordinating fingering weight for it. I know I'm going to be under pressure, but I'd rather wear something I like that I can wear again than go out and spend a lot of money on a dress I'll wear once and forget about. Oh practicality is my third middle name (and if you believe that....).

Friday, September 18, 2009

I'm getting better at this posting thing

now to get the pictures back.

I'm onto the edging of the Aesthlight Shawl (not that I have learned to spell it yet). This is the first time I've done an edging like this, I feel all learned and such. It is going to be very pretty and bright when it's done.
The turtle tank also seems to be getting more attention, I'm almost done hex 5 of seven. I had such lofty hopes of it being done in time to wear as a tank top this season, but I guess it will be making apperances over long sleeved shirts in the winter months (yes I'm preparing for winter - it's Canada for crying out loud). Either way my love of Norah Gaughan is always reinforced when I knit on it, her patterns are amazing and her designs are simple yet complex. Plus nature and math totally raises my geek flag.
Lacy Baktus has had a little more time as well, it's my purse knitting so it gets a row here and a row there, last night when I was at Alisha's getting my letter of intent all gussied up (final revisions before submitting it) I worked on the Batkus. I double I'll get much done once home buying goes into full swing, and the end of september is shaping up to be one of those uber busy times.
Either way by November I'll be able to slacken off for a month or two and that I'm really looking forward to. Lately it's been about cleaning and packing and doing house work for my mom, and I really don't get much time for me anymore. It's a lot of work and what everyone else wants and what I need to get done. And I need to get my place ready for the move. I prefer to have a smooth move as averse to a chaotic mindbend. But for optimum smoothness I need to figure out how to get more money, save more money, just money in general. I really dislike how much of life has become about money, but there are always bills and they just get bigger.

Monday, September 14, 2009

idle chatter

Still haven't gotten the camera re-hooked up since the great virus attack, stay posted for actual picture content. Still on the needles (and getting attention) are the Aestlight Shawl which is almost done the lace portion, the basalt turtle tank (which I picked back up again), the Lacy Batkus (which is suffering without being knit on for a few weeks), and the snail mittens (which get intermittant rows). I've been spinning though.
On the wheel is the ram I got and processed from a sheep named "Lambchop". It's dyed greens and blues, and I think will have a really nice heathery barberpole when it comes to fruition. I want to do a two ply instead of navajoing it because it's rather thicker than I'd use on a three ply.
As I was checking in to see where the intentions yarn club was at, I was saddened by the way it's been going, and what i expected vs. what has come around. I don't fault Miss V. as when it rains it pours and clearly she's got some troubles. And while I am still glad to be in the club etc, it's money I clearly could have saved if I hadn't signed up and there's no steady supply of yarn to keep me from feeling a bit like someone who got stood up at the prom. I don't think I'll do it again.
I thought it would be more like the Wollmeise yarn club, I suppose having expectiations isn't a good idea when joining yarn clubs.
In other news a bag of free yarn came today. I have some ideas I want to chart and pattern to make for samples. I squeed when I saw it. Who would have thought a sock pattern would lead to having people want you to use their stuff. I have no problem being a yarn whore, as long as I liked the product before hand.

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Retrograde Retrospective

Last week I caught a cold of the sinus infecting variety, and my computer caught a nasty virus (which I suppose was enevitable since it was virtually unprotected for several years). Thusly I was not only without my faculties but also without the interwebs that I have become accustomed to and love so much.
Needless to say until I can re-install all my software there will be no pictures of my current projects (no matter how this unnerves me).
Currently I'm frogging back half of the first half of the Weekend Sweater as I misread the instructions and rather than ending with a RS facing I ended on an RS and compleatly fraked up what i did. The sadder part is that I only realized this AFTER finishing the right front side. *facepalm* I will go back and re knit it but for now it's recieving a time out.
I started christmas knitting, not that it will loosen the chaotic grip of Decembers mad dash to finish everything, but I have started.
The Aesthlight Shawl is trucking along, I'm now onto the border, it's good to have the main triangle done, it gives me a vague sense of actually accomplishing something.
I have also dug out the snail mitts for moms friend and started back up on them again. The first one is 75% of the way done.
I appear to be drowning in WIP's and have thusly put myself on a stop casting on kick until at least two of the things that are on the needles are done. This could take a while since many of them are larger things.
Vilai got frogged, mostly because I felt the med. weight STR was a bit too heavy for it, I will knit them just in a different yarn and at a different time. I have a thing about STR since it's relatively expensive and hard to find in these parts (ie. if you don't order it from the internet you better have a friend that lives somewhere that has STR), but I get a bit neurotic about which socks get to be knit out of it. Maybe someday that will change but on my student budget it makes sense to me.
I am currently at the office wearing the finished earth maiden. I need to do the I-cord for tying it up yet but my fervent dislike of i cord's means that could take a while. I'm also contemplating useing a ribbon or something similar so I don't have to make the I cord.
On the wheel is "Lambchop" some fleece I processed then dyed and carded into rolags. I'm doing the blue/green stuff right now. I imagine it will be very pretty when compleated. And when I get tired of all the stuff I have already blogged about (because my knitter/spinnerly add knows no bounds) I break out the carders and work on the Corridale I got a while back and processed. It's a yummy chocolate brown/natural black that makes me want to drool.

Thursday, September 3, 2009

The house papers are signed! Possession on the 22nd of October. I am very excited.
However since I promised some yarn pron, lets get right down in it.

Baby Belle (pattern by CosyMakes) Knit out of two different handspun yarns of mine, "Blue Ruin" and "SparkleMotion".
Both handspun yarns are three ply navajo to keep the color from barber-pole-ing, I felt that would be best for the yarns I was making at the time.
Sparklemotion comes in at 8 wpi and Blueruin is getting 8.5. So I concider them a close match.
Sparkle motion is spun from a spinners salad from Golden Willow which is a 60/40 merino silk blend that I hand carded along with some nylon fibers for the “sparkle”, Blueruin is hand carded mohair locks (I know this because it made me a bit itchy) and romney also from the willow.
100_2241
100_2240
It's going to be Zibbie's birthday present, she'll get it tonight at her party, I hope it fits and she likes it.
Since I appear to have been on a Cosy kick
100_2246
This hat is from Cosy's book "Knit One, Embellish Two" Which you can buy on her Etsy site autographed I messed around with the pattern a bit, I didn't want it to go to a point so I went to a certain point and then do a three needle bind off. In the picture in the book the hat looks pointless, and that is the line I went for. I ended up getting this very slouchy big fluffy warm hat for the winter months.
That's one of the great things about Cosy's patterns, they are all good simple knits that allow for customization out the wiz-waz.
Not to be missed would be the spinning I have been up to
100_2245
This is from my Joni Mitchell hand-dyed farm roving. Colorway "My Old Man", I spun up all four ounces of this colorway and I'm glad I kept it for myself, It's going to look so great as a hearty winter garment. And while it is warm out, the nights are cooling off and I really think it's time to start the prep knitting for winter (I should probably get back to work on my andre scarf).
And not to be left behind, as soon as I cast off the Earth Maiden (by Ilga Leja which can be seen on her website in two different yarns) and got it all wetted and laid out for blocking, I felt the call to join the chant and start knitting The Aestlight Shawl.
100_2257
I'm useing a varigated jewel tone Tofutsies and then a hot fuschia for the eyelet part then going back to the varigate for the edging. It should be interesting and bright, I forsee doing more of these in other colorways (possibly christmas presents) as the pattern is just so darn loveable.

Wow that was a lot of show and tell, and you know I'm not even done, but I am done for now, until I get around to taking more pictures. Upcoming will be Earth Maiden, possibly the progress on vilai, the lacy baktus in all it's half finished glory, and possibly some more spinning.

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

I know I promised more yarny goodness (and it is coming)

but I got a HOUSE.
Okay okay, I don't have it yet, but I am going after work to sign the papers, and I'm setting up all the different disconnection/reconnections, giving notice at my apartment etc. right now.
It's been a really stressful week in which I wasn't going to convocate on time and then I am again, needless to say I am no longer hyperventilating because of the idea of an extra symester for one class.
I've been plodding along getting my grad stuff ready since I found out I get to convocate (I found out yesterday which meant today was emails galore to profs for recommendations, revising my CV, digging out the letter of intent to merge the two copies together).
On the house front I've been tracking down home inspectors, who I am still waiting on return calls from, calling people about floor restoration (there's oak hardwood under the carpets in the bedrooms and the living room - I want to take possession early so I can get the floors refinised before I move all my stuff in).
This house is fate, Seriously, I will call her fate. I found her on a private sale website and when I called the man I talked to said there was an offer in and that they were going to get financing, but if the financing fell through he would call me. I gave up then and there, the stress of last weeks educational bumps/ falling down the stairs/ house hunting had taken their sweet toll and I was nearly done in.
Then yesterday I heard from my academic advisor that there was a transfer credit I could use to graduate on time, and the man who owns the house called to say the other people's financing fell through.
Mom and I saw the house after work, and then went to supper, after supper I called with our offer. So begins the newest chapter of sadie life, I am looking forward to having an "office/computer space" seperate from my living room and a garage that I intend to turn into a work area. YAY.

Without further adeau I give you the future backyard
YARD!! (plus garage)

Sunday, August 30, 2009

the prodigal's return

I know it's been a while and I have been knitting and spinning as much as i can (which is never enough I know) Life is still ass backwards busy, and I'm guessing the dive i took on the stairs last night won't help me either (my neice put a bunch of rocks on moms stairs while I was babysitting last night I bruised my left wrist and my tailbone, seriously there's a hideous bruise running up my back).
But since I have much to show I'm going to just do a few posts over the next few days with stuff thats going on.
I am still working on the birthday weekend sweater, I haven't forgotten about it. I've just been working on other things.

Useing bits and bobs of leftover handspun I made one of the scrappy lenght-wise scarves, it never hurts to have extra scarves on hand, how many people ask about scarves I will never attempt to count but for the people I don't dislike I like to have a few laying around.

While I was sick with what I can only determine was the worst strep-flu I've had in years I managed to finish my stockinette monstrosity. It's been laying in wait in the stash for one of those times where I want to knit but pretty much anything over stockinette is too taxing on the system.
Here it is laying out ready to be seamed. I seamed it did the edging and added the tassles but haven't photographed it yet.


Some things that will be popping up: my cosymakes autumn harvest hat, baby (blue) bell (who just needs to be blocked), some spinning thats been done, earth maiden (one more chart repeat and shes ready for blocking), possibly vilai but not much work has been done there.

Monday, July 27, 2009

updates in the land of the knitterly love

I know I know, bad Sadie no cookie, I haven't been posting as much as I should. I've been inundated with Chem, and this weekend I've had Sarah visiting, as well as helping mom with the backyard for her birthday, I've just been uber busy.
Dispite this uberness I have had time to do some knitting. I finished the first of these:

That's the Knee Socks! from Ravelry. I'm doing them in Casade Heritage greens, and a skein of Noro sock. I'm alternating four row repeats and just guessing most of the way. I have big calves so I like the toe-up construction that allows me to make them bigger as I need. The pattern is written well and I have managed to follow it dispite the changes I'm making.

The other thing I finished/ have been working on is Ilga Leja's Manon. My mom got it when she was in Edmonton from River City Yarns (a place I dream of visiting, in fact I may need to go to Edmonton just for the yarn). It's done out of Arucania Ruca and Silkessence.

As you can see it still needs a good blocking (which may take a while with the schedual I've been keeping). It is however gorgeous. Part of me can't wait for autumn to bring out all the scarves shawls and stoles I've been working on.

I also started the Inconcievable! shawl knit along, I'm doing it in Dream in Color Smooshy, it's turning out nice. I love lace but it does require more attention than I seem capable of devoting lately. Which is probably why the smaller easier patterns are getting done and the jackets and shirts are getting neglected (I will finish that tank top by summer).
The other thing that's happened is that I am going to frog the waterlily tank and re knit it in the smaller size. It' grew, and it grew again, and currently it resembles a dress. While sometimes I would be drawn to just saying let by-gone's be by-gones, this is some expensive stuff, and I do like the top, I thought going down two inches was enough but clearly I need to make the small size and let it grow. I don't want to frog and reknit the entire thing, but that is going to have to happen so I may as well accept it. It may not be reknit in time for the weather though, once I've frogged it the yarn is getting a time out for bad behavoiur.

Friday, July 10, 2009

Tour de Fleece and Socks

So between class, work, and finding a house (which means packing cleaning etc), I have been spinning on the Tour de Fleece. My goal was and has been to spin all the Jacob I have, some of which is dyed and some of which is natural brown. I got the brown done first.

This picture is more true to the color than the other one. It's a fingering/light fingering weight, and there's over 700 yards of it. I'm calling it "Fezzik" after the Princess Bride, I'm also planning to knit the Inconcievable wrap from it. I'll get a different guage but that's okay.

Here is all the yarn that has been set, there are four skiens of it. The Jacob was a trial, it was fun and it is beautiful but the sheep was unjacketed and I processed this from the raw so there was much picking and even in spinning a lot of VM came out, but I think it's pretty and will have that rustic look that I want.

And because this is a knitting journal at the heart of it all, here are the cookie A. socks I finished (knit during my last class - Logic). It's the Thelonious Socks pattern done in Cables and Lace "Night's Plutonian Shore" from the Poe Club. Its hard to take accurate pictures of them because I am only one person (without sock blockers). But they are pretty and I am enjoying them.

Sunday, June 21, 2009

week end accomplishments

My two goals for the weekendwere simple, Dye and clean...and as everyone knows I am a process cleaner, so while I did accomplish some rigourous purging, furniture movement, and organization, this could take a while.
So Dying, I dyed a few of the Joni inspired colorways I wanted to.

This is the top rack of drying goodness.

And this is what the other levels of the drying rack look like. Once everything is dry and I can take some decent pictures the Joni stuff will be up for sale. Gotta get ready for the tour de fleece.

This is where a chair once was in my living room, by the fact that I can have a shelf and a wheel in the same place means it was one big chair, which now serves as a lookout post for the cats in my room.

And because I'm so chuffed (hey I had to take off the chair legs and do some interesting moves to get it in my room), here's the shelf now healthily organized and clearing up some space elsewhere. Slowly this place is doing what I want it to, slowly but it's going.

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Written Out Mermaids Lagoon Sock Chart.

If you are following the chart from Knitty.com or you want to but have problems with charts, here is the written format. (Note* there are four repeats per round of the chart per round).

Row 1)*SSK,YO,K1,YO,K3,K2tog,K1,SSK,K3,YO,K1,YO,K2tog* Rep. to end.
Row 2 and all other even Rows)K all Sts.
Row 3)*SSK,YO,SSK,YO,K2,K2tog,K1,SSK,K2,YO,K2tog,YO,K2tog* Rep. to end.
Row 5)*SSK,YO,K1,YO,K1,YO,K1,K2tog,K1,SKK,K1,YO,K1,YO,K1,YO,K2tog* Rep. to end.
Row 7)*SSK,YO,SSK,YO,SSK,YO,K2tog,K1,SSK,YO,K2tog,YO,K2tog,YO,K2tog* Rep. to end.
Row 9)*SSK,YO,K4,YO,Sk2po,YO,K4,YO,K2tog* Rep. to end.
Row 11)*K2,YO,K11,YO,K2* Rep. to end.
Row 12)K all sts.

Saturday, June 13, 2009


I spun up the batts I ordered agges ago it seems from Hungry For Handspun, then I navajo plied for color consistancy, I don't know what it's going to be yet. With the weather getting up to +30 today (we're in Celcius here in Canada) I am not in the mood for knitting anything wooly (which is a shame but proved good for the waterlily tank).
My uncle is in town from B.C. so I spent most of the day with him and mom etc, twas fun but I realized far too late in the game that I should have packed some knitting for the day. I had my Thelonious socks on me but not the pattern *silly sadie* That was in my clipboard for school. None the less a good day hanging out in the sun was had by all.

Here's the finished waterlily tank, ignore my angry look, I don't know why I look so angry, I wasn't I was quite content. Cameras and I don't nessessarily agree. I guess this proves it.
It grew with wearing over the day but it still looks good, I did the largest size and it seems to work best for me, I think if i'd have gone down a size it would be too tight on my less than flattery bits. Plus it's a cotton rayon blend, I can always figure out a way to shrink it a little.

Other than that I'm recovering from a stomach flu and some regular flu that has left me dehydrated and sluggish. Hopefully I have seen the worst of it and won't have to deal with being sick for a long while now. As soon as a sick bug breaks through my system I catch everything possible before I get well again, the breaks of an immune system that is less than stellar.

Friday, June 12, 2009

Mer Socks

There were a couple of things I wanted to add to the Mermaid Socks, among them is this:

This was the original chart (note that unnumbered rounds are knit). I knit the socks off this chart (although I did much swatching with the other chart), I thought I would provide it to the masses incase they prefered this, note* this chart only goes for when working all sts tbl.

I'm also going to be putting up the written charts soonish, as I understand some do not like or get charts. This will probably happen after I get over the evil stomach flu that has kept me from life for the last day ish.

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

It's here!


The Mermaid's Lagoon Socks (which I've been hinting at like an elephant in a china shop) have landed.
So go check em out, knit a couple pairs, have fun with them, cause I did.

Friday, June 5, 2009

Plagues, carding, socks, and Poe.

Can't keep my mind from the circling skies
Tongue-tied and twisted just an earthbound misfit, I
- Pink Floyd


Okay, I started the Waterlily Top. I found my 9mm circs and boom, a skien was knit up, and now I'm onto skein two, because really... what else is there to do with ones evening? (Don't mention the homework or the impending letter of intent please).
I also finished spinning up 4 oz. of the Ram that I had processed. It came out in a grey/blue kind of color and then I navajo plyed it. I tend to like the ram in a more worsted woolen aran weight anyway.
This however means I need to card something. There is an itch in my soul for carding and oh yes it shall be done.
The Thelonius socks by Cookie A. are still on the needles Sock #1 was finished two days ago and sock two is well into the pattern. I'm useing the "Night's Plutonian Shore" colorway from the Poe Club that Violet (of Lime and Violet/Happy Housewife) and Cables and Lace are doing. They're actually taller than I had expected but the generous helping of yarn will surely make the pair (there probably won't be much left though).
I've given up the ghost as far as attempting to keep myself on only five projects this summer. I throw caution to the wind, let the startitis plague me I do not care. Eventually everything will get knit and eventually everything will get spun, so while I'm busy decluttering and destashing my life, I will just have to accept that the stash of fibre stays no matter what (we will not speak of the acrylic - it serves it's purpose).

Monday, June 1, 2009

The yarn gods smile

Occasionally it happens that when a fibreista such as myself sees her stash dwindleing she is hit with a paralyzing fear that she is going to *gasp* run out of yarn for projects. I had a few such moments in the days leading to my birthday, Really I am not joking I thought to myself "I better get spinning so I have stuff to knit with". I was on a processing dying spinning kick and what I wanted more than anything was to be reinvigorated by the stash.
Now the yarn goddess must have known my plight, and through some kind of strange twist she embibed my family with wonderous ideas of yarn. So I give you the take, aka what mah mommy and bro/sil got me.

First off let me say mom went to River City Yarns in Edmonton (one of the benifits of having a parental unit that travels a lot), I gave her a little list of suggestions, she not only got everything on the damned list, she got more!

Ilga Leja patterns, Ancient Bark, Balsam, and Earth Maiden.

What is this, could this be a bag of Manon? Silk and Arucania, plus the pattern, there was a lot of squeeing and swooning. I like to pet it before bed.

Mom said she saw this and had to get it for me, it's the knit kit for Fibre Trends Hedgies! I can make my own stuffed hedgies! And I've been wanting to try out the fibre trends for aageess.

Colinette Giotto (for the IK Waterlily top), this kind of stuff is never found here, it's usually beyond overpriced, and there is never enough to actually make something more than a shrug. So I am over the moon about this. I almost cast it on last night, but then found that although I have them my 9mm circs were no where to be found.

For the spinner/dyer's soul, half a pound of louet biffle, and a soy bamboo sampler. I've never spun with either soy or bamboo so I am super excited.

When going anywhere that carries STR I will usually beg and plead for a few skeins. I got two! which means i can either make something like a shawl or a pair of knee socks either way, two skiens of bunny foo foo.

On occasion Mary Maxim has a kit that makes you remember why you look at it in the first place, this is one of those kits, I have been drooling over this jacket for almost a year now, saying all the time that I will buy it when I have money to spare (as we all know how often that happens). My bro and SIL got the kit for my birthday, which is totally jinxing me in the starting department.

Seriously I was over half way through my goal of not having more than five projects on the needles at a given time until this giant pile of stash ended up in my lap. Sure I casted on the Textured Jacket recently, and I have the Thelonius socks on the needles for school, and a bunch of other things that languish in the WIP pile, but now I want to start everything. Maybe summer will be the time to have some severe knitting startitis that will all get finished in the fall. Hard to say. What I do know is There is not enough time in the day to properly molest this new haul.

Thursday, May 28, 2009

No photos here sadly

I have been meaning to get new batteries for the camera (the rechargeables I've had for years seem to have finally kicked the charge button).
The roving went really fast for the amount I put up (there are still three left until further notice), I'll have to gear up the etsy. I confess I'm so busy these days it may take a while.
I got the last of the Jacob fleece drying. I have learned an important thing here, I don't like a lot of veg matter. I know in theory it's cheaper but it takes double the time to process and well I guess I'm getting snooty about it.
The ram that is blue black got carded up into a lovely grey, but until I get alisha over here to ply off her bobbins I am not going to get much spinning done. I'm still figureing out the newer wheel so she's only getting certain fiber I feel comfortable experimenting with.
I have seen the knitty pattern in it's ready state, I am overjoyed with it. My first pattern publishing experiance, and it was great, the editor Kate was amazing. I totally love her. Logic class is going okay. It's going. As far as I logically care.
In knitting I started Stephanie Japel Glampyre's Textured Jacket from Glam Knits. I'm doing it in Wool of the Andes from knitpicks.
I appear to have the nastiest case of startitis I've had in a good long while as I have soo many things on the needles already plus plans for more. My bro and his wife got me a jacket kit I really wanted from Mary Maxim for my b-day. Of course I'm straining myself not to cast on asap. And it's taking what limited willpower I have not to.
I promise I'll post pictures soon. As soon as batteries enter my life.

Monday, May 18, 2009

I give you Tori Amos Inspired Roving

Since I said I would on plurk here's a chance to get these fabulous rovings before I put them on etsy, and since it's a chance to get them before I put them on Etsy, I'm offering them at $5 dollars US each (plus shipping of course).
There is approx 2 oz per roving, it is a processed farm top, I can not identify the animal except to say it's not one of the scratchy hard wools, it is definatly a multi purpose roving.
So I will give everyone two weeks to mull the possibilities over. If you want any of them feel free to email me at dirtyjeans(at)gmail(dot)com.
Without further ado I give you the Tori Line:
In The Springtime Of His Voodoo
"in the springtime of his voodoo
he was going to show me spring"
SOLD

Dragon
"You touched my hand
I felt a force
You called it dark
but now I'm not so sure"


Spring Haze
"so i know it's just a spring haze
but i don't much like the look of it
but all we do is circle it
and i found out where my edge is
and it bleeds into where you resist"
SOLD

The Beekeeper
"Call Engine 49,
I have come with my mustard seed"
SOLD

These last four are all the same color, Sweet Sangria
"Balmy Days,
Sweet Sangria,
She's been gone,
Have you seen her?"

#1 and #3 are SOLD



Sunday, May 17, 2009

dying arts

Last night I set about to dying, my major goal being to make a dent in the roving top and to get some of the ram I processed dyed up.
Several hours later this was where I was.

Here are some of the braided tops that are dry and weighted and will go up for sale soonish.

Here's a look at the drying rack. Top is ram that I processed dyed shaded solids in green and blueblack. The hanging stuff is roving top that's been dyed, and the bottom two hanging rows are Alishas farm processed fleece.
All in all it was very productive. I'm slowly running out of dye I will have to order more soonish. But getting two and a half pounds done last night was good. Only like 10 more pounds to go. Clearly this is going to take all summer.

Tomorrow I'm going to be going over to moms to plant and start cleaning the garage. She said I could set up a dying studio in there so I want to get it cleaned out asap so I can get all the shelving and other stuff set up and be dying in there by the end of june.

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Waiting

As I can't really talk about the pattern that's in the next Knitty until it comes out (or show you for that matter) I will just say that's been on my mind a lot.
It seems spring has been thrown back as yesterday I woke up to snow.... SNOW in MAY. Okay past the anger, it's messed with my mojo something horrible. I was on a spinning kick and now I just want to knit big comphy things.
But since I know how I love pictures in posts lets get to the good stuff:

This is the merino tencel from spunky eclectic (esuary) it was only two oz so I imagine I'll be doing something small, probably a calormitry, it's very soft. I don't particularly like spinning with merino tencel though, too slippy.

This is the amazing ram I got from MoonlightBaker on Etsy. I haven't gotten to the targee batts I ordered at the same time but I really love this stuff, it's soo smooshy. I spun it as thick as I could muster, and then navajo plyed it for color continuity. I think it will become a cowl or a hat eventually, possibly something cosymakes or wooley wormhead.

And since so many people seemed obsessed with my mock pigtails yesterday I give you the classic "off to work" shot. Please ignore the mess that is my life.

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Apollo (or my newest find)

I was at work doinking around on the internet and on the used website for my city I spotted an add for a wheel, a wheel for 100$, with a giant bag of wool, so I messaged the woman, it was unclear if there were two or three bobbins that came with it.
I did a little research, It's a LeClerc Nilus, which were only manufactured breifly but the LeClerc name is still strong in the loom business so they do a good job. The deciding factor would be the bobbins, if it came with three then I would be set for most spinning needs, and from the pictures I could discern some wear and some stuff that was going to need to be done, but for 100 dollars I was not about to let this go.
I called my mom and she said she would get it for me as a grad present if I wanted and if it seemed like a good buy. Good buy indeed. The woman messaged back that there were three there was a fourth somewhere but she hadn't found it in her cleaning but she would give it to me if she found it. So I said yes I wanted the wheel and she brought it into the city yesterday.

So this is my new baby girl. The thing was that the pictures as I found out were horrible, a lot of what I thought was wear was serious dust, serious dust and nothing more. The entirety of the body is fabulous, I had to tighten two screws. The shape of the body is impecable.

You can see the big bag of roving behind the bobbin here (i'm thinking of dying up a bunch and doing a sale of some of them - it's all prepared top and with some color omg how fab). The bobbins are shorties compared to Newo my Louet S10 there's two ratios on this one and she's a double drive. but as you can see the bobbins are pristine.

As I was wiping the dust away it just kept getting better, the footman and the treadle are in perfect order, it needs some oiling but nothing more.

This is the one are that she needs help, the paint has chipped off on the wheel a bit, but other than the surface appeal of the paint the wheel is still perfect, and the axle is also in fabulous working shape.
The spinner (the ladies mother) who had her before took immaculate care of her. Apparently the mother is now disabled and cant spin but was glad that it was going to a spinner that would love her and make nice yarn. Plus the money will help out the mother buying things she can do etc. Basically the 100 goes to the mother to do with as she pleases and quite frankly thats the way it should be.

So this is the new baby, I named her Apollo, since the line in Junesong provision goes "Dear Newo Ikkin how's Apollo been treating you" and my other wheel is named Newo, I imagine them having a camradery, plans for alisha to come over and spin on newo while i spin on apollo are already in the works.

In other news, I am waiting on the last of the ram to dry and then it'll be dying for that as well.

Now I better go get some knitting for mothers day done. I don't think I'll get it totally done today which sucks. Happy MD to all the mothers out there.

I knit therfore I am