YAYAY! Friday I had Lasiks done, and I am finally able to use the computer without much eye strain. I am so glad I did it, it was by far the best thing I have done so far (aside from having kids and getting married of course!). I can see things I have never seen so clearly before! Before my surgery I had 20/800 vision, and I know it was worse than that because at one of my many appointments my doctor said that my current perscription was way off.
Anyway, the results are wonderful and at my firsst appointment I checked out better than expected, having 20/20 in one eye and 20/30 in the other eye. My doctor said that he thought we would be lucky to reach 2o/40! Everything is healing nicely and the only time I have irritation is when i put the drops in. I do have some eye fatigue, but only if I push it too much, like go out in the sunlight for a few hours or stare at the computer screen (haha, like i'm doing now!). Then I get a headache and have to lay down for a while, in a dark room.
All in all I'm pleased that I did it and so grateful to my parents for paying for the procedure. I now wish that I had done it a long time ago, but the thought of lasers entering my eye gave me shudders. As it turns out they pump you full of valium before you go in, so you are feeling pretty good by the time anything "real" happens.
Needless to say, i'm not going to be doing any intricate lacework for the next few days, but thats quite ok. I think i can get a lot of spinning done! I've got quite a few rovings lined up: nylon/superwash roving for socks, some merino with recycled silk, some merino/silk 60/40, and some of my own hand-dyed. And soon my roving from Spunky Eclectic should show up! woot!
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Secret of the Stole Swatch
Its official! I've joined the Secret of the Stole. I think it will be quite an undertaking, but I think the only way for me to actually finish a stinkin' shawl is if I have someone pushing me to do it. So here is the swatch. The pics are terrible, but I wanted to get them in quickly, in time to be entered in the "drawing". Not sure what the prize is, but it doesn't really matter. Its the deadline that pushes me! The second one is kind of what the swatch would look like if it were blocked. Not bad, I suppose. I started to go up a needle size and saw immediately that it would look funky, so i abandoned it after 3 rows.
I should note that the yarn i swatched with isn't the exact color I have chosen for my stole, but it is the same brand--Knitpicks Shadow. The colorway in the pic is Sunset Heather, but I will be using Vineyard Heather, which is currently on its way. (Yes, my stash is such that I have multiple colors of the same yarn and still think I need to order it in yet another shhade!)I love this yarn, and I think that $2.50 a skein is a bargain and a half. it will cost me $7.50 to knit this stole! Can't beat that with a stick!
I have spun up the roving I painted the other day. I completely forgot to take pics of the roving in painted form, so sadly I won't have any before and after shots. But you'll have to wait until tommorow!
Til then!
I should note that the yarn i swatched with isn't the exact color I have chosen for my stole, but it is the same brand--Knitpicks Shadow. The colorway in the pic is Sunset Heather, but I will be using Vineyard Heather, which is currently on its way. (Yes, my stash is such that I have multiple colors of the same yarn and still think I need to order it in yet another shhade!)I love this yarn, and I think that $2.50 a skein is a bargain and a half. it will cost me $7.50 to knit this stole! Can't beat that with a stick!
I have spun up the roving I painted the other day. I completely forgot to take pics of the roving in painted form, so sadly I won't have any before and after shots. But you'll have to wait until tommorow!
Til then!
Monday, September 10, 2007
DIY Fiber Equipment Link Compilation
There is much discussion out there in bloggerland about DIY fiber equipment. I thought I should corral a few of my favorite links here in a post.
Hackles:
Whimsyknit's $2 hackles
Yarn Knotzi's Hackle, made with nails
Krafti's Hair Pick Hackles
Niddy Noddy:
Dr. Dirt's fantastic $3 Niddy-Noddy--I should mention that the only thing i would add to this niddy noddy would be caps on the ends, but thats just me.
Spinning wheels:
Chris Jordan's collection of links to building your own. Some links are dead, most plans you have to pay for and require quite a bit of carpentry.
Interweave Press's Cigar Box Charkha
Interweave Press's Little Great Wheel
Spindles:
Interweave Press's CD spindle
Yarn Meter:
The Reluctant Blogger shows us how to make a yarn meter on the cheap! I've never seen it done before, Kudos RB! Hers cost $17, not $75!
Yarn Blocker
Spinning Forth
Dyeing:
Pippikneesocks explains how to dye your own roving or yarn using a DIY solar oven.
Drum Carder:
Spinning Forth
Diz:
The easiest Diz in the world can be made simply from a large button with rather large holes, a spice lid with large holes (think those cheapo $1.59 spices in the big jars), or even a soda can tab (yes I've seen this done. Its tricky because the wool catches, but in a pinch...). Of course you can always make your own crazy/cool one by casting a large button/spice lid, etc in polymer clay and adding all sorts of neat treatments to it (see The Glass Attic for just about any polymer clay technique known to man). Bottom line: just about anything with large enough holes will work. Experiment with different hole sizes and find out what works best for you.
Well thats all I have for now. Feel free to post in the comments section if you have your own tutorial, or know of one that I have missed. I would love to find a great tutorial on making your own orifice hook (hint hint)!
Enjoy!
Hackles:
Whimsyknit's $2 hackles
Yarn Knotzi's Hackle, made with nails
Krafti's Hair Pick Hackles
Niddy Noddy:
Dr. Dirt's fantastic $3 Niddy-Noddy--I should mention that the only thing i would add to this niddy noddy would be caps on the ends, but thats just me.
Spinning wheels:
Chris Jordan's collection of links to building your own. Some links are dead, most plans you have to pay for and require quite a bit of carpentry.
Interweave Press's Cigar Box Charkha
Interweave Press's Little Great Wheel
Spindles:
Interweave Press's CD spindle
Yarn Meter:
The Reluctant Blogger shows us how to make a yarn meter on the cheap! I've never seen it done before, Kudos RB! Hers cost $17, not $75!
Yarn Blocker
Spinning Forth
Dyeing:
Pippikneesocks explains how to dye your own roving or yarn using a DIY solar oven.
Drum Carder:
Spinning Forth
Diz:
The easiest Diz in the world can be made simply from a large button with rather large holes, a spice lid with large holes (think those cheapo $1.59 spices in the big jars), or even a soda can tab (yes I've seen this done. Its tricky because the wool catches, but in a pinch...). Of course you can always make your own crazy/cool one by casting a large button/spice lid, etc in polymer clay and adding all sorts of neat treatments to it (see The Glass Attic for just about any polymer clay technique known to man). Bottom line: just about anything with large enough holes will work. Experiment with different hole sizes and find out what works best for you.
Well thats all I have for now. Feel free to post in the comments section if you have your own tutorial, or know of one that I have missed. I would love to find a great tutorial on making your own orifice hook (hint hint)!
Enjoy!
Saturday, September 8, 2007
Finally, some eye candy!
I realize its been forever and a day since I last posted--especially anything with decent pics. I found out that all the pictures that I had from the German spinning wheels are hanging around at my parents house, on a picture CD. Oh well. Until then, I have tons of pics of some recent yarns, and some of the yarns I spun during Tour de Fleece.
Fellow craftsters, I apologize. Much of this will be old news to you, as these have appeared in yesterday's Fiber Friday.
Hurry up summer, 360 yds of sport weight. this is the softest merino ever!
Greek Isles, a 3-ply that has been re-plied, bulky weight aprox 100 yds, local fleece. This is the first yarn i ever attempted to ply. little did i know 3 plies are challenging for a first try. The first time around it wasn't so hot, but now its wayyy improved. the plies are hand-dyed, and the colors remind me of my honeymoon on Crete.
Maize, thick and thin, 120 yds of merino. I was experimenting with different plying angles on this one, (and I tried out beehives of different sizes, but you can't see em here). so its a little wierd looking. oh well, its still soft and yummy.
Rose Garden, 100% bamboo, fingering weight, 200 yds. i looooved spinning this. spinning bamboo is orgasmic. ok, not quite but almost! I wish the pic was better, this stuff looks so much shinier in person.
Royalty, silk/merino blend, heavy worsted weight, 96 yds. another yarn that looks so much shinier in person, and its a much deeper blue. stupid camera!
Rainforest, 260 yds of worsted weight. This one is Ashland Bay wool. I should add here that this roving and the roving for Maize and Royalty were all given to me by my hubby. yes, dear, you do get points for that! Dear Reader, commence being jealous.
Fairy Godmother, Falkland/angelina batts from mandallin (so great, you *need* to get batts from her, they are delish), plied with pink holothread. My first attempt at plying with thread. Next skein will definitely turn out better, I learned a lot while I was doing this. The batts were a delight to spin, however. sooo yummy.
My son adored this skein and hung it around his neck. He said he wanted to be yarn for halloween! my poor kids will never turn out quite normal!
Thats all I have for now. I do have some dyed rovings that are drying as we speak. I hope they turn out well. Til next time!
Fellow craftsters, I apologize. Much of this will be old news to you, as these have appeared in yesterday's Fiber Friday.
Hurry up summer, 360 yds of sport weight. this is the softest merino ever!
Greek Isles, a 3-ply that has been re-plied, bulky weight aprox 100 yds, local fleece. This is the first yarn i ever attempted to ply. little did i know 3 plies are challenging for a first try. The first time around it wasn't so hot, but now its wayyy improved. the plies are hand-dyed, and the colors remind me of my honeymoon on Crete.
Maize, thick and thin, 120 yds of merino. I was experimenting with different plying angles on this one, (and I tried out beehives of different sizes, but you can't see em here). so its a little wierd looking. oh well, its still soft and yummy.
Rose Garden, 100% bamboo, fingering weight, 200 yds. i looooved spinning this. spinning bamboo is orgasmic. ok, not quite but almost! I wish the pic was better, this stuff looks so much shinier in person.
Royalty, silk/merino blend, heavy worsted weight, 96 yds. another yarn that looks so much shinier in person, and its a much deeper blue. stupid camera!
Rainforest, 260 yds of worsted weight. This one is Ashland Bay wool. I should add here that this roving and the roving for Maize and Royalty were all given to me by my hubby. yes, dear, you do get points for that! Dear Reader, commence being jealous.
Fairy Godmother, Falkland/angelina batts from mandallin (so great, you *need* to get batts from her, they are delish), plied with pink holothread. My first attempt at plying with thread. Next skein will definitely turn out better, I learned a lot while I was doing this. The batts were a delight to spin, however. sooo yummy.
My son adored this skein and hung it around his neck. He said he wanted to be yarn for halloween! my poor kids will never turn out quite normal!
Thats all I have for now. I do have some dyed rovings that are drying as we speak. I hope they turn out well. Til next time!
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