Saturday, June 19, 2010

Spinning Red Bunny Balls

bunny ball spinning (5)
With the decision made to spin for Tour de Fleece 2010, practice ensued.

This fiber just happened to be within arms reach in the fiber closet. It came to me through a swap last year where I wanted some yarn, she wanted some yarn, and this fiber was thrown in to even out the deal. Pretty sweet for me because it was a dream to spin.

bunny ball spinning

Bonus that this isn't a colorway that would typically land in my fiber stash. It began as 4 oz divided into two even balls that required no pre-drafting.

bunny ball spinning (3)

Soft as can be and at 75% Rambouillet and 25% Angora, it is sure to have a little warmth (not that we need it in South Louisiana). Sold by Carolina Homespun through Elemental Affects

bunny ball spinning (4)

My family was shocked to see me on the wheel. I cannot remember the last time there was time made to spin. It had been nagging at the corner of my mind lately, though.

bunny ball spinning (2)
Bonus that it hung balanced and did not even need to be weighted down for drying.

Time to give some serious thought to my Tour de Fleece goals for this year!

Thursday, June 17, 2010

mostly finished


So, most of the thing on my list did get finished. The slip is still floundering, mostly because there isn't much exciting about making a slip that has a sole purpose of NOT showing.

The t-shirts were the easiest project. Pins marked the sewing line and the seam allowance was trimmed out. My son thinks he has lots more shirts that can be fixed up (sigh).

finishing up (6)
Swirl Shawl has been blocked and about 1/4 of the ends are woven.


finishing up (4)finishing up (5)
Both sets of curtains have trim!

finishing up (3)
...and a little bonus. This is my first finished needlepoint project. It was finished up during my month hiatus from knitting
Spring 2010 misc (2)
A better photo. It did not photograph well under glass and always produced some glare. You can't tell, but the green matting matches my wall color perfectly. That was a happy coincidence!

I've been knitting on the Chiara wrap and am very happy with both the yarn and the pattern. It will be gorgeous once it is finished. The pattern was for a scarf, but an increase in stitch count makes the perfect wrap.
Chiara wrap

Finally, a blog friend reminded me that Tour de Fleece will be happening soon. Saffronknits is her blog and I truly love all of the beautiful photos she puts up. Inspired, I became a joiner. You can too - here is the link to the Ravelry group. My plan is to stay with the Peloton this year and see how it goes. There hasn't been much spinning happening here and my wheel might prove a bit rusty.

Wednesday, June 09, 2010

Finish-it week...er, month

Mod Pod Tote (5)It wasn't quite clear that accumulations of nearly finished projects were beginning to pile up.



Sure, awareness existed that things needed to be tightened here, tweaked there to achieve the voila' feeling of completion. Yet, the number of things falling into this category had slowly increased. Mod Pod Tote (3)



I am a finisher and all of these little to-do's are nagging at the back of my mind.

  • slip to be made for my new white dress. After looking high and low, it became clear that one would have to be made to keep my privates private
  • Swirl Shawl needs to have all of those ends woven in and then be blocked
  • one pair of curtains (out of two) needs fringe trim sewn on
  • cut down two t-shirts for my son. He is slim but tall. XXLs offer the length he needs, I just seam the sides and sleeves
  • make lining for the Mod Pod tote

The curtains have been hanging at the window for months, so I hoped that my son had forgotten about his t-shirts and moved directly to the Mod Pod Tote. This is the project that has been waiting the least amount of time to be finished and the thought was that it would go quickly.

Here it is, Friday already and I managed to finish the tote, but nothing more.

Mod Pod Tote

Tuesday, June 08, 2010

Handspun Aestlight

Really?
DSC_0125

Had it been since the 2008 Tour de Fleece since this wonderful merino had been spun?

It had been patiently waiting until the perfect pattern was located - Aestlight!
briar rose handspun aestlight (2)This knit up in a week and is a super sweet design. I tire quickly when garter stitch comes into play. Years ago I vowed to never enter into garter stitch world again simply because I struggle to keep enough interest to finish in a reasonable amount of time. The intriguing lace edge finale was enough to spur me on and a marvelous shawl waits for the few days of cooler weather that may come later.
briar rose handspun aestlight (4)
As for now, the weather has been hot and steamy. No complaints here as my old haunts are 'boasting' lows in the 60's on some days.

Birds which are unfamiliar to me were calling the other night and it felt like I was in a tropical jungle.