Total Mish Mash

Today's post is a total mish mash of what's been going on since the last time I posted. It's been busy. It's been crazy. It's been pleasant and very unpleasant.

I'm going on a road trip tomorrow to drop a child off at a summer camp. So I have to post a bunch tonight before I go.

First, this is p. belotii blooming. I love this flower because it has such a fragrance. I'm bringing some rooted passiflora cuttings with me for D - at least one and hopefully two. She'll like that, I'm sure.





Then there is the yarn I spun. This is the Artist Pallet and the Box of Crayons spun and then plyed together. It's fine - about 12 wpi I think (tho I need to remeasure after setting the twist). There are 488 yards and I think it might make a nice shawl - looking for a nice triangular lace pattern for it. It's got nice color changes.

This is some super fine yarn spun on the micro trindle that Jeremy (trindleman) sent me. Just in case I haven't mentioned how much I love these things, let me tell you that they are fabulous! This handspun is thinner than sewing thread and perfect and strong and lovely. And it was easy to make because of the trindle he sent me.


And these are some of Miss M's needlefelted creations - they are wonderful and getting better with each attempt. The wizard on the right is fantastic! And Lanolyn is back in one piece and better than ever. The monster in the back is adorable and the pic doesn't do him justice. The alpaca in the front was a thank you gift and is perfect and wonderful.

This is the seamist ecospun (with recycled soda bottles) that I spun. It's lovely yarn and soft and nice and you'd never believe it was plastic unless I told you - maybe not even then.

so, here is the last afghan for Hailey. Now I am finally finished with all the baby things.

Baby Blanket

Here is the one afghan. It's double knit and oh so soft.

Which Ewe are You?

Another Potter House quiz - this time what type of sheep are you? Very cute.

http://www.randomhouse.com/crown/pottercraftnews/blog/2009/06/which_ewe_are_you.html

Updates on this and that

Been a little while since I posted anything. We've been busy doing that summer stuff we do. Caught up on bills and paperwork last week and mailed out a box to you guys. Miss M is going to the Tech TEC camp starting tomorrow so hopefully things will be a bit quieter.

There is an open house at Mom's house today - hopefully someone will buy it.

This is my new micro trindle - think he said it weighs in at 8 grams. It's small and very light and that's the silk that I'm going to try to spin on it. I tested it out with some orange mystery fiber (feels like corriedale) and it spun up to about the thickness of sewing thread so yes, this baby will spin very fine yarn. And it's gorgeous.













This is the brown, gray and white alpaca roving all spun up. There are three hanks - 124 yards, 138 yards and 256 yards. It's absolutely lovely and squooshy and soft. I think I'm giving it to a friend who will love it.




New fiber from Feeling Sheepish (who Mom's gift came from). The white stuff is 4 ounces of Bamboo top - undyed. The lovely blue/brown is called Robin & Wren and is almost 6 ounces. Might just spin that one next.














This is the pound of BFL and 4 ounces of yearling mohair from WC Mercantile. This was partially paid for with my winnings from the Phat Fiber contest.









These lovelies are from Woolyhands on Etsy - the left is called Artist Pallet and it's 3.25 ounces of mill ends (but oh so soft) and the right is called Box of Crayons and it's 3.5 ounces of corriedale. I might just spin them as thin singles and ply them together.



And this gorgeous stuff is corriedale top in the colorway Earthy Rainbow from Fiber Fancy on Etsy. I hope she doesn't mind that I stole her picture, but I haven't taken one yet. She also sent a baggie full of the most beautifully dyed mohair locks that the girls stole for needle felting. Cannot wait to spin this - in fact might just start on it when I'm done posting.

And Miss S has been busy needlefelting. She was gifted with a huge box of alpaca seconds to use as a base, but she's been using them for everything. You've seen the blue bird and the cow and the chicken on the lower left in the photo. And you've seen the mermaid in the back - she lost her head and clothes, but she's been repaired. The new ones you haven't see are the wizard on the right hand side (his hat is in front of the chicken) and the black & white alpaca in front of him. You also haven't seen the cute monster - the brown thing in front of the mermaid. I need to get her to take better pics of him because you cannot see his back which is actually his better side.

And February Lady is back to where she was before I started over. I'm not sure she's much bigger but I don't think I'm going to rip it out again. It's slower going the second time around.

Here are the baby things I knitted for the new great grand daughter.who was born yesterday.I was making two afghans but they still need work. Hope to finish soon & will then post a picture. Just I knit so slow.

First, on the trindle I have some lovely Bamboo/Merino roving from PortFiber - it's a sample from the May box. The plan is to spin it really fine and then navaho ply it to make a dk or fingering weight yarn and see just how far I can take one ounce. So far the plan is working pretty well - trindles make spinning fine yarn very easy.


This is just a shot I took of all the trindles to show someone and since it is nice and clear I thought you might like to see which ones are coming out to you. The one with the white yarn and purple beads is intended for Dena (yes, it's been tested to make sure it works - it does). The one with no yarn and the lovely brown stone beads is intended for Mom - the wood on the shaft is absolutely gorgeous.
I started the February Lady Sweater when we were at the beach. It was coming along swimmingly - knit a lot at the beach and for the full 5 hour road trip home. I had the entire top done and about 4" of the gull lace pattern. Then when we got home I tried it on and decided it was just too tight so I ripped it out and started over. These pics were after I'd already started ripping, so don't show how long the lace really was.
I really love this yarn - it's the Mysterious Fuschia superwash from Lambs pride and the colors in it are wonderful - it's purple but has fuschia, turquoise, blue and purple fibers in it so that it has a heathery look when you get close.

Beach Knitting

When we go down to the beach, I always get a lot of knitting time. First there is the 5 1/2 hour car ride which is usually pure knitting time. Then there is the beach time - I knit on the beach and at the pool too!

So this trip, I finished the Sahara Vest I was making for myself.

And the Leyburn Socks - Again for myself.

And this green short sweater from my Mossy Glen Handspun.

And this blue short sweater from my Midnight handspun.

My Mother's Day Gift

I meant to post this pic a while ago. I didn't get this until a little bit after Mother's day because Miss S made it in art class. It's a pewter necklace that she designed, carved the mold for, melted & poured the pewter and then did the finishing and polishing after it came out. It's a young girl hanging upside down with her hair falling down toward earth. See how her shirt is falling down and exposing her stomach? That girl child of mine also designed the way the cord holds it so that it really looks like the kid is playing on a swingset or something. I think it's beautiful and I wear it often.

Stitches South

I meant to post this more than a month ago but I wanted to finish one of the swatches. I fininally finished it (well, I did not do one type of stitches) while we were at the beach. So here it finally is - a pictorial review of the classes I took at Stitches South and what I learned.