Ok first and foremost I must tell you all that I am a winner! Yup, its true! I won the new Noro book, Knitting Noro from Wendy at Wendy Knits! WOOT! Since I never win anything, but always enter, I'm thrilled! Thanks Wendy and Wendy's Randomizer! The book is brand-spankin new (I think it was released last month) and I am very excited to see what Jane Ellison has come up with--she has designed some really amazing things for Noro in the past, including Butterfly, from Noro Knits. Num yummy. I love that coat/cardi.
Speaking of Coats and Cardis, I just got the yarn to knit the Susie Hoodie, from More Big Girl Knits! The yarn is a Christmas present from my Grandma, who is the kind of Grandma who doesn't mind giving yarn as a present (yay! Everyone should have one!) Its the Black Cherry colorway from the Wool of the Andes line from KnitPicks. Its a lovely dark red heather (not quite burgundy). Its a gorgeous color but I am having trouble meeting the rather odd gauge recommended in the book: 17 st/4 inches in Worsted weight wool. I know that WotA runs a little on the light side, but for me to get guage I had to knit on size 11 needles! WTH!?! I will admit that I didn't wash and block it, so I'm assuming that I could potentially go down to about a 10, but nevertheless, it doesn't seem right at all. The fabric on size 10s is pretty loose--not something I was really looking for in a sweater that should be super warm. Plus I'm sure it will stretch out over time. I really want to use this yarn on this hoodie: I've been wanting to knit it forever. Ok maybe not forever, but since I got my paws on the book!
In other knitting news, I completed most of my Christmas knitting (which I can't really post pics of or describe until all recipients have their stuff!). Oh, and another pair of clogs--this time for The Girl. And just in time for carpal tunnel syndrome to rear its ugly head! I am hoping I can really baby my hand/wrist and it will go away, but I have a feeling Prednisone is on the menu. I hate taking it--it makes me all jittery and somewhat crazy--but it certainly does the trick.
I dyed up some really lovely laceweight the other day. My friend Absolute Treasure requested some yellow roving last week (check out her stitch markers btw, they are very cute and totally affordable!) . Yellow is not something I normally dye unless I put it with another color, but my gosh it turned out so nicely I wanted it for myself! Then I immediately thought of that gleaming white, gorgeous merino laceweight I was sent in the Amazing Lace Swap. Oh, and did I mention that I also got in the same swap the Honeybee stole pattern? See where I'm going with this? I used the same dye solution to dye the yarn this lovely gold color, perfect for the stole: (
Nice, huh? Unfortunately the tone-on-tone quailty doesn't really show up that well, but trust that it is there! Now I just have to get that darn Icarus off the needles. I really can't possibly have more than one shawl on my needles, it just wouldn't be right. Or would it...?
The state of Icarus:
I know it looks wierd and blobby, but have faith, grasshopper: it will turn out just fine after blocking! Oh, and one more thing: my friend Pink Spider has once again started knitting, after a long hiatus. She has just started a new blog about her adventures in re-learning, you should all go check it out!
In other news
I'm super excited about Christmas. Seriously. My kids are nearly 3 and 5 1/2 and I'm so stoked. My oldest is about to burst from excitement. Everyday he counts down the days. He has a few different tickers going, so he knows exactly when it is. Since we are a 50% German family, we also have this cool pyramid adorning our table. Its an advent ring, and when you light the candles the little guys move around. Its very cool indeed. This is *not* the video of the week. I just wanted to show you how it moves just by lighting the 4 candles! And yes, this is our pyramid!
The Boy comes home from school, throws his backpack on the floor (aiming for the table I think) and with his jacket still on runs to the Christmas tree to see if any more presents are under there. He pulls them out, counts them, examines the new ones, and then proceeds to tell me what they are. Um, he has actually been right about a couple of them! My favorite part of Christmas? My kids' excitement. I swear it keeps me going through the whole year, and this year they are the perfect age!
In Spinning News
I haven't been spinning that much, since Christmas knitting has taken over, but I did want to share that I finally got my combs! They are simply gorgeous. I love the design. And they are so well crafted. Here are some pics that rather inadequately show their beauty. Heh. Who would have ever thought I would say that about wool combs?
I have some shetland that needs processing, so they will get a work out pretty much straight away. Well, um, that is when I actually get some Spunky Shetland spun up! Yes, the November installment of the Spunky Club came, and it is once again gorgeous. I don't really have a pic of it in fiber form, as I immediately split it and starting spinning very soon after its arrival, but here it is on the bobbin:
My daughter claimed it of course. Its purple, who else would it be for?
I also decided it was time to try out the scotch tension setting on my Shacht. The first time I spun on a wheel it had scotch tension. I loved that wheel! So off came the double drive band (it was getting stretched out anyway) and on went the scotch tension. I really love it. I feel like I have a lot more control and finesse with this style of spinning, though I know there are those out there who would argue that fact. I think it will stay this way for a while, it feels so nice!
Speaking of spinning, lets get to the video of the week!
Video of the week:
This is a fascinating video about silk spinning. This dude goes from cocoon to woven silk bookmark and shows you every bit of it. Really good stuff, and its nice to know that this was broadcast on HGTV. I love seeing fiber arts in mainstream media! (p.s. There is about one minute of b.s.--a pretty long and cheesy intro if you ask me. feel free to fast forward to the 1 minute mark. You won't miss anything, trust me!).
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wow Betzi! WTG on winning that book! I can;t wait to see what you knit from it!
ReplyDeleteThanks for linking to me! I will have lots of new listings up tomorrow.(today got away from me)
My mom has a 3 story one of those things. All 3 stories of it rotates. It is very neat. I think she bought it from QVC about 15 years ago or so.