Spinning my wheels and chasing my tail(s)

Dear Mom,
Well, September flew past. And so did my September socks.....
This is how much I've managed to knit

and I'm pretty sure this didn't get started until the last few hours of September. I'll do my darnedest to get both September's and October's socks done this month.

My absence here on the blog only means that I've been busy - with things that are too mundane to be considered blog worthy, or things that are top secret and cannot be shared here. Yet. Let's just leave it that I have had some serious bouts of creativity interspersed with the last tennis matches of the Young Man's high school career. And thanks to all the good rain we had last week, that last match took three days to complete!

Thanks to a tip from Bonnie Jo, MelissaWhoSpinsButDoesNotKnit and I went to the Hoosier Llama and Alpaca Association show at the county fairgrounds on Saturday morning.

In addition to the llamas and alpacas, there were a few vendors and I managed to bring home some snow white alpaca roving to spin, some colorful Shetland wool roving to spin (which I've already done and am extremely disappointed in myself. Note to Self : No good ideas come after 10 pm and spinning at 2 am is never gonna be good.) In my defense, I never intended to be spinning until 2 am, but was so tangled up in "my good idea" that there was no way to stop. And when I say tangled up, I mean TANGLED UP. Knees and teeth, in addition to both hands and feet, were occupied with plying. It was like Lucy and Ethel Learn to Spin.

I also brought home some wonderful ceramic buttons. All reasonably priced and there was a very healthy selection of buttons from which to choose.

Can you blame me for trying to figure out how to get around the neighborhood covenants, re-fence my yard and build a shelter for a couple of these guys?

Love,
Kim

Golden Delicious

Dear Mom,
It's the most wonderful time of the year. Crisp. Crunchy. Quiet and a little rusty. My favorite season officially arrives on Friday, but Autumn has been here for a couple of weeks.
We picked some Golden Delicious apples off the tree on Saturday. 100% organic- we don't do a thing to these trees. Peel away the spotted flesh and cut out the spots the bees have nibbled and what is left is perfect, sweet, crunchy, delicious apple. The Winesaps are not ready for picking yet, but there are plenty of those, too. PIES!!

We've been snacking on the apples, but last night I made "Mimi's German Apple Cake" from this book. This is one of those books that inspires you to cook. And I don't say that because it is a dessert cookbook. The photos are beautiful and it is hard to feel bad about eating dessert when it is full of fresh fruit. This cake recipe only had 1/2 cup of sugar in it-you taste the apples and fresh lemon zest. A bit of Turbinado sugar sprinkled over the top before baking gives the cake a crunchy sweet crust. YUM. MEE.

Saturday night I finished Sunderland #3, this one with some yarn I hand spun. Special thrill. My design, my hand spun yarn. (I'd say the next step should be my design, my yarn, my sheep, but the neighborhood covenants won't allow the sheep part.)
This one was off the blocking wires yesterday, but the weather prohibited getting any good photos.

Elle may be cooperative, but she cannot hold an umbrella.

The roving used to spin this yarn is from River's Edge, colorway On Golden Pond, a gift from CarolWhoseHouseGotStruckbyLightning.
And speaking of gifts- scroll back up to that first photo of the apples and acorn. See that wonderful copper tray they are sitting on? That copper was once part of a roof that hung over our living room window. After years of struggling with a leak, the roof had to be removed. MelissaWhoSpinsButDoesNotKnit took the copper off my hands. Besides spinning, Melissa hooks beautiful rugs and does some metal sculpting. She is a good cook too..... I don't know why I like her.....Anyway, she surprised me with the copper tray you see up there and I love every beautiful millimeter of it.

I've got to get back to some knits that are in progress but were abandoned while I cranked out the design and pattern for Sunderland. And not only have I not even started September's socks, I haven't even wound the skein of yarn into a ball. And if I start thinking about the laundry and housework that lurk behind me as a write this I may start to panic. Logging off now, and getting back to the real work.
Love,
Kim

Sunderland

Dear Mom,

With the final test knit of my scarf off the needles and currently blocking, I've named my scarf design Sunderland, after all the classy creative Ladies with that name that I've been blessed know and love.

The pattern is available here and more details can be found here.

Love,
Kim

Queens, Vikings and Pirates! Oh My!

Dear Mom,
We spent an entire 15 hours in 100 degree heat at the Ohio Renaissance Festival and we are begging for more and more and even more!!

Our entrance into the festival!!  Our greeting sounded like this, "Good day to you!  I've missed you so much!"

Adoring all of the fancy finery!

Music to entice us!

Vikings in all sizes!

A bit of romance!

Handcrafted pretties!

The amazing craftsmen!

Pirates!

Ships!

Mud wrestling!

Can we do it again?!?! 

Love,

Wendy

A new low

Dear Mom,

I was just asked if I qualify for the senior discount.

"Does 50 qualify?", I asked.

"55", the cashier answered.

That didn't make me feel any better. And yet I smiled and acted like it didn't really bother me that she asked so I wouldn't HURT HER FEELINGS.

Everybody better be nice to me for the rest of the day.

Love,
Kim

Weaving as a Personality Profile

Dear Mom,

The weaving class I took on Friday and Saturday taught me about more than just weaving. The project I was assigned was a scarf with lace panels. Great! I'd not done any lace and definitely had an interest. Once my wool colors were chosen, I wound my warp threads, dressed the shop loom (Donna Reed stayed home) tied up the treadles and studied the treadling sequence. I made a little cheat sheet for the treadling sequence and taped it to the beater on the loom so I could keep track. Thankfully, the treadling sequence turned out to be one that was easily memorized and I could read the progression of that sequence in my weaving making it possible for me to figure out where I was in that sequence in the event of a sudden day dream, lunch break, or just plain forgetfulness.

There is always a planned-for amount of warp on the loom that allows for "sampling". For me sampling is not so much about evaluation as it is about PRACTICE. I sat down and began "sampling"- watching my edges and studying the treadling sequence in an effort to make sense of it all. Linda, the shop owner and mostpatientweavingteacherever, gently suggested that I not beat the life out of my scarf, but rather to gently place the weft threads next to each other. In other words, loosen up. Until that point I didn't realize how desperately I was compacting those threads! Lining them up in nice, neat, tight, well-behaved rows. Hmmmm. Psych assessment, perhaps? Good heavens, I had to concentrate to relax!

A little more kinder, gentler sampling and I was ready to begin my scarf for real. That lighter touch gave me the lacy look the scarf was meant to have. Old habits are hard to break, or whatever, but I caught myself weaving a bit more heavy handed right after the lunch break and I had to remind myself, again, to lighten up. If I look close enough at my scarf, I can see where I picked up again after lunch.

The scarf is finished and hemmed. It is soft and feather light. And pretty if I do say so myself.

Love,

Kim

In the last four days...

Dear Mom,
In the last 4 days I've taken a two day weaving class, met up for the monthly spin-in and taught a knitting class.
I also finished the fingering weight version of my new scarf design.

It blocked out so nicely and I was surprised to find it is almost as big as the worsted weight version. The pattern should be ready for purchase after one more test knit with some of my handspun.
Four days absence means lots of catching up to do here. I'll share the results of my weaving class tomorrow.
Love,
Kim

I love it when a plan comes together

Dear Mom,
Often a knitting idea is content to just float around in my head and wait patiently for its turn on the needles. But every once in a while an idea so urgently needs to be realized that everything else comes to a screeching halt until that idea is born. That is what happened this weekend.
I think that perhaps these explosions occur when the thought of something has been floating around while the 'how' of it works itself out. Once the figuring out has happened, watch out!
I'd been pondering a small wrap or scarf, with no right side or wrong side, and with an edge that adapts to the wearer's neck. A scarf that is slightly but not obnoxiously assymetrical for easier wrapping, and of course one that is knit in one piece.
I spent countless odd moments mentally knitting my idea before I grabbed a ball of scrap yarn and some needles and played around a little- enough to know I was on the right track and to work out a few kinks. I worked up a few charts and made notes. And more notes.
Faced with the promise of a long weekend, I searched my stash and on Friday evening I cast on.

I knit Friday night. I knit on Saturday between grocery shopping, feeding people and doing their laundry. I knit in the car on the way to Lowe's. (I was not driving.) Late Sunday afternoon, I bound off my last stitch and let it block overnight.

The body of the shawl is worked in garter stitch, on the bias, and the lace edge is knitted right along with the body of the shawl.

The top edge of the wrap is a straight edge, but because it is knit on the bias, it will fold and drape easily.

The lace edge comes to a rounded point in the back and is shaped like a check mark rather than a v. This give the wrap one long arm for wrapping.

I see countless options for this pattern. This one is knit in with about 360 yards of Tahki Donegal Tweed, a heavy worsted weight yarn. I've already cast on a second in a light fingering weight yarn  (Ella Rae Lace merino) and have plans for a third in a dk weight. And handspun yarn? Oh. YEAH. Bigger shawl size? No problem.
The biggest challenge so far is coming up with a good name for this design. Once I've done that, and double/triple checked my charts and pattern notes, I'll publish.
Love,
Kim

Last night...

Dear Mom,
.... I finished August's socks.

And later on came downstairs to find Patsy sleeping like this:

Squished into a chair. She doesn't look comfortable, but she didn't budge during the photo shoot, and I took several shots.
Let's take a brighter look, shall we?

Yes. Her muzzle is resting on her right back foot.

Never a dull moment.

Love,
Kim

Beautiful Morning

Dear Mom,
It's a hotteaonthebackporch kinda morning.
Enjoy the day!
Love,
Kim

August Socks

Dear Mom,
I am woefully far behind on August's Socks. Woe.Full.ee. I turned the heel on the first sock only this afternoon. What's today? The 25th? That gives me 6 days to knit 1 and 1/2 socks if I am gonna finish before the end of the month. I know I'll get plenty of good knitting time while watching Project Runway tonight and if I knit nothing else for the next 6 days, I can probably beat the deadline.
This is more Vesper sock yarn, but it seems I've lost or thrown away the ball band so I can't tell  you the name of the colorway. Actually, I found a ball band in my sock knitting case, but it was for the colorway "Candy Corn" and I knit those socks way  back in January. I also found the business card for my neighbor's orthopedic surgeon and she saw him early in 2010.....

Love,
Kim

Mittens

Dear Mom,

I've been asked by the Village Yarn Shop in Zionsville to teach some knitting classes- my North Porch Hat and a mitten class, to be specific. Teaching knitting classes is something I've resisted for a while now. There is so much knitting in my brain that I am afraid that in my excitement I will try to regurgitate it all up at once and confuse/overwhelm/scare any and every one of my "students". I have been giving it some thought, though, and guiding knitters through some simple patterns, sharing my little hints and tips for turning out something worthy of their time and efforts is something I want to do. I've taught individuals how to knit, and certainly done a decent amount of problem solving and question answering in my past. I should have no problems (I hope) with a room full (I hope) of friendly (I hope) knitters.

Along the lines of keeping it simple, I needed a very basic pattern for the mitten class. A quick perusal of the patterns out there convinced me that I would be better off and more comfortable designing and teaching my own. And the Village Mittens pattern is born.

Village Mittens

I've got a girl's sweater design on my needles- an update of one of my favorites sweaters I knit for the Young Lady when she was just a little girl. Nothing much to show right now, but here is a little peek:

I am not getting an accurate color in this shot- the green is much more a dark evergreen and the red is very cranberry. I'll try to do better when the sweater is finished.

Love,

Kim

Here we go again

Dear Mom,
There comes a day every summer when I Need Them To Go Back To School. Yesterday was that day.
Which is pretty good. Probably the longest stretch of summer break before the alarm on my internal Back-to-School clock went off. A testament to the busy-ness of our summer, I think.

I realized I'd crossed that threshold when I stopped vacuuming so I could say things like "wasting time" and "good books" and "make stuff" to the Young Lady. Being the smart sort of teenager she is, she quietly slipped out of the room and found a less obvious spot to communicate with whichever electronic device she happened to have in hand at the time.

Tuesday is the official First Day of School, but the High School tennis season is in full swing and the Young Lady has already picked up her schedule and loaded school supplies into her locker. I've written checks for yearbooks, school directories and in-line skate rental. If we are gonna do all that they might as well be there. I may not be ready for the early alarm clock, but I am definitely needing the routine. Plus, I am tired of cleaning around the extra bodies.
And, I know. I KNOW! I should be making them pitch in with the housework more than I do, but some battles aren't worth fighting.


This next bit has nothing to do with the first paragraphs, but it is definitely worth sharing....


Earlier this week we discovered that Patsy is a hot tub kinda gal. Why doesn't that surprise us?

Patsy didn't stay in long (hot), but the duck and the beach ball were too hard to resist.

She jumped in and out a couple of times. Maybe the best part was watching her race around the yard after she jumped out- like dogs do after they've had a bath. That, or watching her head pop up in different spots around the hot tub while she tried to figure out the best way in.


It isn't a full blown case, but that Startitis I felt coming on has arrived. Details coming soon.

Love,
Kim

And we even had cute shirts

Dear Mom,
Saturday night's tragedy at the Indiana State Fair understandably cancelled all fair activities on Sunday, which meant there was no Sheep to Shawl competition at the fairgrounds. Lives were changed forever and a little spinning and weaving contest is nothing in the shadow of that. Still, Team Ewephoria was disappointed not to be able to compete after so much went into preparing for the day. And even though we were the only adult team competing, we were anxious to complete the task of carding, spinning and weaving a shawl in 4 hours. We will be ready next year for sure, and hopefully more adult teams will join us.

On a happier note, my Dragon Wing Shawl is finished and thanks to your floorspace, is blocked and modeled here by cooperative Elle.

Little projects on my needles now, bigger projects swimming in my brain. I feel a bout of startitis coming on.
Love,
Kim

Dragon Wing Shawl

Dear Mom,
I have a shawl on my knitting needles that is very nearly finished. I've loved knitting every stitch of this pattern and it may be the quickest, biggest shawl I've ever knit.

I purchased the pattern at Earth Guild 3 years ago, and the yarn (one sport weight 16 oz cone) was purchased last summer at Marr Haven Farm. It took almost a year for me to figure out that the two would be perfect for one another, but once the match was made, the shawl has practically knit itself.
The shawl is a full circle with an opening along the radius. Magic happens with lace knitting when it is blocked out and I can't wait to block this one. I may have to clear out a room to have enough floor space. (Or borrow some from you- hint hint.) I imagine the diameter of this shawl will be longer than my wingspan when it is blocked.

MelissaMySpinningFriend came over last night for an emergency Sheep to Shawl practice session. We worked out some kinks, honed our rookie skills and feel we're as ready as we ever will be. Nervous, excited, curious, a little scared, but ready for the new experience. I've realized that once I start spinning it is hard to stop. It's like getting into a good book that you can't put down. Seeing the bobbin fill up with pretty yarn inspires me to keep going. And then two full bobbins practically DEMAND to be plyed Right Now. I stayed up way past my bedtime last night.

And haven't the past few days been Perfect? Sunny. Mild temps. No humidity! Cool breeze. Blue BLUE sky. Just makes a person want to sit out on her back porch all day and pretend she is on vacation....between loads of laundry.

Love,
Kim

Patsy

Dear Mom,
I've had a few people ask me about Patsy, and I've neglected giving the blog a progress report. And Progress it is.
I haven't been fair to Patsy in adopting a  'No News is Good News' attitude. Especially after having been so quick to report her antics, and even more especially after having worked so hard to get her where she is today- a Good Dog. Well. Mostly a good dog.
The joyful pup that bounded into our lives back in January 2010 is maturing. We are nearing that magic number in a dog's life- sometime this fall Patsy will be 2 years old. She can often be found sleeping in a cool spot inside, or sunning herself on the patio.

yes, that is my knitting bag she is laying on

She has a particular fondness for curling up in chairs that she shouldn't, but it's hard to kick her out when she is being so "good?".

The flower boxes we've strategically positioned around the fence are keeping her contained for the most part, although if she really NEEDS to get out she finds a way. In other words, our flower boxes did not stop her from chasing a raccoon at 4 in the morning a few weeks ago or from coming around to try to enter the house through the garage door when I locked the back door. Yes, Patsy can open EVERY door in this house. We even caught her trying to push down the knob and PULL the front door open.
Without a doubt, Patsy is the smartest dog I've ever known.

I hope never to meet one smarter.

All our efforts haven't trained all the impishness and Alpha dog out of her. She'll still block Bumper's entrance or exit through the dog door- just because.

a very good dog

Or pull on his collar to make him go where she thinks he needs to be.
Her super sonic ears hear everything and the guard dog in Patsy wants us to know it.

Our goal was not to erase the Patsy out of Patsy, but to manage it. We've eased her fears and found the loving dog we knew was in there.

Love,
Kim