Fingerless Mitts, Fingerless Gloves, Fingerless Mittens

No, I haven't gone insane, if you were wondering. Not yet anyway.

I finally managed to knit a pair of fingerless mitts, and I get to post about it. I'm dying to see if I can attract some Googlers that come to visit our blog as a result of searching "fingerless gloves" or "fingerless mittens." Between the fall and late winter, those who come to see Liz's post that was written nearly two years ago are a half of the hits on our blog. You see, it's like a study on statistics...

So there.

Sorry about the dark pictures. It's just a gloomy day here... The pattern is "Mitt Envy" by Weezalana. I love this pattern! Used Nature's Palette fingering superwash. Probably used about a half of a skein with US 1 DPNs.

As much as I love them, I don't get to keep them... They are going to our beloved neighbor Lia. Yup, I am going to knit a pair for myself before it gets warm!

I've neglected to post, but I've knitted a pair of socks for my mom using the same yarn earlier. They are done and safely arrived in Japan, and she loves them -- phew! It was the first time I've used this yarn, but I was shocked by its rather poor quality. The color is great -- it's the uncreatable "Mystery" colorway. But the yarn was cut in three places, and on top of it there were about six places where the yarn was thin, barely held together by a fiber or two. The second ball I wound up was the same way. I've contacted the owner of the yarn company, and she promptly contacted me, to which I was pleased. She mentioned that she suspects a moths damage (which never occurred to me as the cuts were all clean, perpendicular cuts). I offered to send her the yarn so she could inspect, as she did show an interest, but after that no reply. I have a ball of yarn just sitting here... And yes, she did offer to send me replacements -- very nice of her.

Seed Stitch Ribs from More Sensational Knitted Socks. My mom has tiny feet, so a skein was more than enough to knit this pair.

Ok, here's Mitch's Cowabunga, knitted with my handspun merino. See the post below for the link for the pattern. Another great pattern!

Should have made it larger (or deeper). It'll be way too small next year!

I've spun the camel too. Three-ply with two strands of Camel/Silk 50/50 blend from A Verb for Keeping Warm, and a strand of Mongolian camel I spun at GGFI. Some of the Mongolian camel was re-carded and respun after I practiced long draw with cotton. Fulled and whacked. 12 wpi.

I'm not sure if I LOVE this yarn... I'll see when I knit it. It was quite confusing to me to spin the Silk/Camel blend. Silk is very long, and camel is short. To which fiber do I apply the twist to? I felt like I was doing a core spin, the silk fiber being the core. I love the camel though -- so I decided to treat myself for the camel/merino blend from Herndon Creek Farm. I thought these two fiber might be more akin to each other, and less confusing.




Great quality, great service -- and the red ribbon is a nice touch! Oh, did I mention GREAT price? I highly recommend them. Can't wait to spin it, but now I have to concentrate on casting on and finishing a pair of mittens for Mitch.

I need to take a breath! Boy it's a loaded post. Happy Holidays everyone -- wishing you a great time knitting and spinning, and being with the family.

My Hat Model

My son's Cowabunga hat was going well, until of course I ran out of my handspun yarn just short of finishing it.

When I spun the first batch of merino for this hat, I thought I had messed it up -- I did intend to put more spin and ply twists, but it seemed way too much. So I was expecting the yarn to be tough and harsh on my hands as I knit, but in fact it was one of the nicest of my handspun to knit with. It was bouncy and even, tight but smooth. I'll remember to recreate this again when I spin for socks.

So he models the propeller Cowabunga while I spin more yarn. But so far it fits.

While the wet-finished merino yarn dries, I knit another item for Llama Llama's Homeward Bound Knit-along donation. We needed more kid-sized hats. I think I'd call it a acorn hat.

I love this yarn (Sabrina from Tahki Stacey Charles, needles US 13 and 10) -- it was an odd-ball in my stash, but now it'll be useful somewhere and hopefully loved.

My hat model, a.k.a Mitch, has been working hard on learning reading, writing and numbers at kindergarten (and at home too -- the amount of homework he gets!). He helped me make a grocery list today. I think I'll save this one for myself -- the first one went to his grandma. I just hope that he'll start curving the "J" to the left soon!

Spinning Bliss

After some practice with cotton and re-spinning the camel I butchered at GGFI (it was my first attempt in long draw), I felt I was ready for the yak down. I had two 2 oz bags from Tactile -- one I got as a door prize at GGFI (thank you, Maia and Brooke!) and another I purchased at California Wool and Fiber Festival.

It was another humbling experience. But after fumbling with the whorl size and skipping the carding process, it started to go much better.

This is before fulling, in a somewhat poor light -- and here's the one after fulling in hot soapy water. Yes, the sun makes it look much happier as well.

It's so soft and downy I can't stop fondling it. I think this might be the softest yarn I've ever spun. Spinning from the clouds of down is also very different from spinning a commercial top. This may get me addicted.

The four day weekend has been very nice and relaxing -- tomorrow I'm going to go take my scarf to Llama Llama Knit. They are hosting a "Knitting for Others" event, and all knitted objects gathered from the knitters will be donated to Homeward Bound of Marin. Llama Llama will also give you 15% discount for the yarn for this project, and there are some raffle prizes for the participants too. The event ends on Dec. 19.

I love this scarf -- very light and soft, and love the color gradation. I hope it will keep the recipient warm. Used two balls of Gedifra, US 10 needles.

Despite the fact that our annoying neighbors have already put up the Christmas lights, I am still in denial that Christmas is just around the corner. I'm so not ready.

Beach in November

We are having a record-breaking warm weather here in Northern California. I took my son to the beach last Saturday to take advantage of the unexpected gift. I thought it might get foggy and colder as we head to the coast, but in fact the thermometer climbed up to 75 F when we arrived at the beach. No wind, no waves, just a perfect beach day.

The locals know -- there were many families with young children. It was nice, peaceful, relaxing day. The water was just amazing!

And after leaving the beach, we stopped by Windrush Farm in Petaluma -- they were having a gift show - open house. My son is very tolerant of me taking him to fiber-related outings.

He got to feed Mimi's goats -- they love grape leaves, and Mimi let him treat them.

(Waiting Anxiously!)

I finally finished my FIRST pair of socks of the year. After knitting ten pairs last year, I may have gone sock-shy, but here they are.

Classy Slip-up from "Knit Socks!" by Betsy Lee McCarthy. Yarn - Lana Grossa Meilenweit, US 0 needles. I made them quite a bit longer than I usually do, and I only have 15 g yarn left over. I think they'll be very warm because of the waffle-weave pattern, but if you try this pattern make sure to knit them just a tad smaller because they scrunch up.

I didn't want to start anything else until I'm done with them, so now I'm eager to get started on Christmas knitting, finally! The heat is on.

I finally skeined up the silk hankie 3-plies as well.
I spent my Sunday afternoon at Llama Llama Knit. Their first Spinning Sunday!

What a great weekend it was. Just not long enough!

Here, There, Everywhere

I was in D.C., Montreal, Toronto, a pumpkin patch in Petaluma, and Placer/Nevada Counties in California, all in one week, and even managed to squeeze in one night on my own comfy bed. But, not much knitting was accomplished, and worst of all, no pictures! I've got to see some of the famous fall scenery in Montreal, and didn't take my camera with me.

In Auburn/Grass Valley, since I was the one doing all that driving (Charlie was stuck in the CAP meetings all weekend at Auburn) and keeping my son occupied, I didn't even think about taking the camera out of my bag. Funny thing.

But I came home without picking up nasty germs from the foreign places, feeling well, rested and a lot accomplished, and first sock of the year (hard to believe) nearly done.

Only if I managed to clean up the mess in the house, and deodorize the mouse cage!

Finally Ravelry

Other Designated Knitters had been urging me to join Ravelry, but it didn't spark my interest so much -- I have this blog to keep up after all, and felt I didn't need another online black hole to suck my time. I already have enough of that! But oh yes my lovely fellow knitters just signed me up and I found myself adding my projects... My ID is Tamami (how original). Knitters, see what you've done to me??


I've finished blocking my False Modesty. I love how it looks and feels, but it was dreadful when I found two more dropped stitches on the mohair! I kept knitting until the Kid Silk Haze was about to run out on me, so it came out a little wider than it was supposed to be. I think it's a great size for a stole.

It's hard to see, but the darker rows are the cotton handspun. The colorway of the carded cotton is "Abalone" and the way it variegates on the yarn is beautiful -- Purple, blue-gray, green, dark green.

This is before blocking.

This is the cotton laceweight. I'm not sure if it stands to be shot close-up!

I've started on Shetland Triangle shawl for my mom. She and I went to Knitterly while she was here in the summer, and there was a knitted sample of Shetland Triangle. My mom loved it, so there I go. I'm not a shawl type of person, but I always wanted to knit one, so it's perfect. The question is whether I'd be willing to let go when it's done.

I am fascinated with the way it's knitted, like starting at the center of the neckline! It's so clever. I'm trying to decide if this is going to be safe for me to knit while flying -- I am traveling to Montreal and Toronto next week. I know very well that distraction is dangerous for lace knitting and that's a sure way to mess up the whole thing.

Doubting

Mitch is a happy brand-new kindergartener. He's adjusting well to the new environment. His parents are not so thrilled about the homework. Yep, homework for a kindergartener. It's nutty.

I understand the concept and purpose. I love it that I see what he's doing at school almost real-time. But he is only five. He is in kindergarten, not middle school. This is the time of his life when everything should be carefree. Do the teachers ever think that an evening of playing UNO with the family may be what's good for him right now?

How about taking out the whole bones from a baked fish and marveling over it?

Do they ever think about the working parents?

We'll see how this issue is going to develop (or lack thereof) in our household...

I am knitting False Modesty from Knotions with Kid Silk Haze and my handspun cotton. I wanted to use my practice cotton long-draw for something, and landed on this pattern. I love how my yarn looks in it, but it's somewhat low on the knitting satisfaction gauge -- doing K2tog on Kid Silk Haze is very tricky and time-consuming. I now know what "dropped stitches" actually means!

Meanwhile, I have not started seaming the Delft Tiles. If I don't start on it soon, it will never be worn!

And Many More....

Today is my birthday, and I got to go out for breakfast, stroll down the main street in town, to the new yarn store -- Llama Llama Knit. They have taken over the yarn store that was there(that I rarely visited -- guess the reason why) just two weeks ago. The new owners are very nice and the shop is comfortable to stay and knit!

They have Knitters' Nights on every Tuesdays (7 - 9 pm). I might show up rather frequently! Novato knitters, support our LYS!

Kids friendly too :-) Marie and Alec endured the endless babbling torture from Mitch with grace.

Charlie has given me a birthday present a few weeks ahead of the time -- a charka. This was because I was enjoying spinning cotton so much on my wheel, and thought that I could spin when I was away from home. I haven't figured out how to use it (correctly, that is). Like when I started spinning on my Ashford Traditional two years ago, I feel like I need the third hand.

The other day at the pool, I saw an older woman -- in her 70's, my guess -- practicing synchronized swimming with her coach. Just looking at the way she was performing, from her legs and arms rising above the surface of the water, I wouldn't have been able to tell her age. The following day, I ran into a group water aerobics -- the participants are in their 60's and better. They all made me appreciate how important the health and positive attitudes are. I will keep that near my heart as I grow older.

Continuous Strand

I've been spinning for just two years. I was able to produce a continuous strand, pretty consistent one, in most kind of fibers I've tried -- admittedly they were limited to sheep's wool, and wool/silk blends. I liked what I spun. I thought I was doing OK. And that's after just learning the basics in less than an hour from Nancy, my spinning teacher.

Flax single (A sample I spun at GGFI Intensive Spinning Class

So, why take a class? After all it's just a hobby, and I'd never make a living doing this. Why pay money to take a class for something I was just enjoying. Why do I need to learn about the types of fibers and the spinning technique to go with them --woolen, semi-woolen, worsted -- and to learn the fact that I didn't know anything about this subject.

Silk - Wool blend single, wet-finished. Another sample I spun at Intensive.

Now I know I have much more to learn. And by learning, I'm not just producing better yarn, but I am more intentional, thoughtful, and clear-minded -- Judith MacKenzie McCuin said that using your hands -- that subtle pinching motion for spinning -- wakes up the part of the brains that never get to be used otherwise. Strangely, after the Intensive, my hands look different. I am seeing things differently. I feel different.

Judith is one of the most graceful, calm, charming and charismatic people I've ever known. There's a down-to-earth reality behind her grace, and spending a week in her class was the best thing I have done for myself in my recent memory.

One thing I realized (painfully) was what I was not good at all -- long-draw. I had never done it, but that was the only way I could spin the beautiful camel down. After seeing me ruin the camel, Judith hinted that I could practice using some carded cotton. So I practiced after I came home.

Cotton 2-ply, wet-finished and wound using Pat's nostepinne (thank you Pat -- I LOVE it)

Now I am crazy about long-draw. Just as Judith said, it's like watching the water flow. It's where I want to be. So you see, taking a long spinning class is similar to going on a meditation retreat. It's just that you'll have a lot more fiber sample to spin after you come home!

And here's my Delft Tiles Tee. I'm using hemp/wool blend, so I think it'll be too warm for a summer tee. I am planning to make it into a pull-over vest.

Should I go clean up in the house? Nah.

Countdown

4 more days until my sabbatical.

11 more days until the Intensive.

Ahhh I should get busy!!

I finished my heartbeat sweater -- finally! This is the second try on the neck edging. It could have been a little wider edging, but I'm not going for the third try.

Just in time with the FO, Just One More Row's website has come back! I may order another pattern sometime soon.

Here's what was on my wheel just two days ago; Lisa Sousa's hand-dyed merino, "Bird of Paradise" colorway.

Huguette got this for me from Stitches West 2007.

Heard that space-dyed roving never looks the same when it's spun. It's true.

Looks even more different when it's plied.

I was contemplating on going to Lambtown this year again, but I've decided against it -- despite my heart's desire. I have enough fiber to last me for years, and with the Intensive and trip to Japan coming up, I have no money to spend on more fiber. Maybe Mitch and I will go to the beach, if it's warm...

Or I should paint the dining room. I've painted the guest room last weekend, and I should keep the brush going!

Action Packed

We had the whole July 4th week off from work. What a treat -- I managed to reserve a local camp site (Samuel P. Taylor State Park) for three nights, so even though it was a bit inconvenient for coinciding with Mitch's swim class (it was a must for this summer for the water safety!), we decided to go for it. We even "borrowed" a kid from Erin.

(Oh No What Were We Thinking!?)

Our site was among beautiful redwoods and right by the creek. We enjoyed evenings by the fire pit, roasting marshmallows. Falling asleep listening to the soothing sound of the creek was wonderful.

It was a bit on the chilly side -- although there was a great swimming hole, it was too cold to jump in. But we thoroughly enjoyed the clean, serene water.

Coho salmon and steelhead trout come up this creek in the winter time. I'd love to come back to watch.

Mitch and I went to the Fourth of July Parade at Downtown Novato on the 4th. Next day was the County Fair for two of us, where he met a Storm Trooper! I'm sure he was on his way to his break, but he was kind enough to stop for a Kodak moment. Thank you!

Oh yes, knitting. I've FINALLY finished the heartbeat sweater.

Heartbeat Sweater by Just One More Row, with hand-dyed silk noil also by Just One More Row. Used about 800 yds, US 6. I love blue, but now I'm not sure if I still do.

Before the neck treatment, the neck opening was way too large. So I decided to knit extra edging, putting in more decreases. And what do you know, the neck opening now is too small!

I think I'm going to unravel the neck for two ridges and see how it looks. But for this evening, I am on my wheel, spinning like a mad lady. Pictures next time.

Boy coming back to work has never been so difficult! I still have a guest room to put together, dining room to paint, and the supply to pack for the Summer Intensive! The list of the things to bring just arrived, and it looks like I am packing the whole camping gear and more.

Things You Never Learn

Liz posted! Whenever other Designated Knitters post, I do a double-take, happy one.

The house is finally dry. This is the midst of the mess we just went through!

We have found the cause of the flood. The hot water intake hose for the washing machine had ruptured while we were gone, and since the laundry room is on the same level as the first floor of the house -- it should be in the garage, which is just six inches away -- about 80% of the first floor was under water.

The cost of cleaning up, drying the carpet, replacing the padding under the carpet, and cleaning the carpet was over $2,000! For a measly $15 hose. And the PG&E bill hasn't come in yet, and it will definitely be monumental.

Lessons learned:

1. Check often and replace the washer hoses. Come on. $15 or $2,000+ ? How much yarn could you have bought with $2,000? (The thought is killing me.)

2. Laundry should be in the garage. Period.

3. Yarn should be stored in the good, sturdy, plastic tubbies with no cracks. This, I was good at. There were no damages to the yarn.

Should probably count our blessings -- this could have happened in the middle of the wet, cold winter, or while we were on vacation!

It's about time someone posted a knitting related photos. Here's how my Heartbeat Sweater is progressing.

I love blue, but this is getting boring, and I'm starting to regret choosing this color.... Lettuce Green would have been prettier.

Despite the fact that the project at work has slowed down, I am not finding any time to knit or spin. I am going to make effort to take time to knit this weekend though -- it's Knit in Public Day! Where are you going to knit?