Life Just Got Busier

I don't use my cell phone for work, and I'm not much of a phone person to begin with. So naturally, my cell phone is pretty much for emergency use only, like Mitch's teacher calling me to come fetch him because he's got a boo-boo. So when it rings, it's almost always an Uh-Oh.

Today Charlie called me on my cell to tell me to come home.
"House flooded. Yarn is fine. "
Ookie Dokie.

We moved into this house ten years ago, and we chose this house because it was not in the flood zone. The last house we were renting flooded every winter. I mean, every winter. So this was the first flood in ten years. And it wasn't from the storm; it was from the washing machine, although the exact cause still remains to be a mystery. I'm just glad that it wasn't in the middle of the cold, wet winter.... Mitch was disappointed when he got home, because he was hoping to "swim in the house" after we told them about the flood.

So life got even busier. But while cleaning out the wet stuff in the garage, we tossed out a few of the remaining moving boxes (with stuff still in them!). If we didn't need them the last ten years, we'd never need them. We've finally moved in, I guess! Cleaning to be continued tomorrow...

Life is Busy

I know I haven't been posting, and Designated Knitters never expected to hear that from me. I always enjoyed writing a post -- it was for me, not for anyone else, for the most part. But for the first time I just couldn't find a thing to write about.

The work has wound down significantly, but life remains busy -- the summer approaches, and it means there will be school events, like a school trip and, -- get this -- the preschool graduation! Mitch's birthday is coming up almost simultaneously with the graduation, and I have not decided what to do. Signing up for the swim lessons, scheduling trips, tidying up the guest room (a.k.a stash room) for my mom's visit -- the list grows bigger and heavier, with no progress at all. This stresses me out.

But kids always keep things in check.

Ahhh simple pleasure in life... I thought he'd just wade ankle-deep. He just sits down in the water and we didn't even have a towel! Spontaneity is something we lose as we grow old...

My Heartbeat Sweater is progressing slowly, and I'm fidgety for something new! I'm dying to spin something interesting too.

We had a great time at the last Knit Night. We were shocked to find out that this was the first time that all four of us had gotten together since last fall!!

The Japanese Indigo is finally showing some growth. I am so excited. I need to bring at least one plant to flower so I can harvest some seeds for the next year. Pictures next time.

This is a picture Mitch took on the Memorial Day weekend at Williams Soaring Center. Well done, kiddo.

Hot, Hot, Hot

We are in the heat wave in Bay Area. It seems slightly better today, but this is the third day that is near or over 100 degrees. And it's still May. I really hope that it won't continue like this all summer.

Because of the heat, we are all a bit "off" today, and we are lying down in the living room and watching "Castle in the Sky" by Hayao Miyazaki. We've been watching the Miyazaki's animated movies lately, and are really enjoying them. Very magical and somehow nostalgic. Mitch loves Totoro and Princess Mononoke, but the latter is a bit bloody in my taste...

I bought this book from Amazon the other day;

Can you tell what I've been thinking about? I must say that this book was very discouraging to me. It offered so many negatives, but not many positives. I wanted to know certain "how-to"s, but they weren't there either. Maybe that's for the better?

My Heartbeat Sweater is progressing, and I'm on the front (or back; they are actually the same!). Honestly, I'm getting a bit bored...

OK, off to a little napping. I've got to rest so I'm in a good shape for the Knit Night tonight!

On Mom's Day...

1. I will not cook.

2. I will not go grocery shopping.

3. I will not check email.

4. I will knit.

(Heartbeat Sweater from Just One More Row. Does anyone know what happened to their site? I'm interested in trying other patterns from Jill Vosburg, but the site has been under construction and nothing is updated. )

5. I will enjoy the sun.

Have a great Mother's Day!

Soon...

I think about writing. Then I think how boring my posts would be. There definitely would be a grumble or two about my work. And little this-and-that about my KIPs or other fibering related things. More grumblings about my work.

In two weeks, the half of our current projects will be over. Then in about a month, the majority will be done. Then all I think about would be the six weeks of time off from work. The first week, I'll be off to the Golden Gate Fiber Institute Summer Intensive! Every chance I get, I daydream about which wheel to take, and what projects to bring. My son making me laugh at home, and thinking about the Intensive and the rest of the summer are what get me through the tough, stressful days at work right now. And they seem never-ending.

Good thing Mitch isn't at all demanding about doing things and going places on weekends. We were so beat to do anything fun this weekend, but he was just as happy to tag along to our chores. Just a tiny bit of knitting accomplished this weekend on the Just One More Row pattern. I love this pattern -- it's very simple but it doesn't look easy.

Blue Citrus Done

Just as the unusually cold week is over, my blue Citrus York Pullover is done. It's way too warm this weekend to actually wear it, but I'm sure I'll have some chance during the summer -- Evenings can be quite chilly in northern California summer, and it's a cotton/silk blend yarn.

Pattern: Citrus York Pullover by Katie Himmelberg, IK Winter 2007. Yarn: Misti Cotton Worsted weight (100g/191 yards a hunk). It took three hunks and 1/3, so total of 330 grams , 649 yards used (600 meters) used. Needles: 10 1/2 DPNs and circular. Modification: I added a little increases on the sleeves (toward the wrists).

Not a big fan of the york part -- Doesn't look very neat to me. Maybe it looks better if I blocked? But it's very comfortable and wearable. I was concerned that the york part may be a bit constrictive and the arm joints very tight -- but was not the case.

Now I am onto "Heartbeat Sweater" from Just One More Row. It seems that the owner is still working on rebuilding her site, so I have no pictures I can link to; I will post a photo next time. This is the pattern I bought at Stitches, and the hand-dyed silk noil yarn to go with it. It's a huge hunk, and the label says 32.5 oz, 1000 yds +-. Here's how big it is rolled up in a ball.

Yup, blue again! Hopefully I'll get to wear it this summer. Going down from 10 1/2 to 6 is a bit of a change in the pace. And of course, the pattern is a lot more challenging.

Three of us went on a bike ride yesterday to the park. It was wonderful, and I managed it. Mitch was very proud of me, and kept announcing to the passers by that this was "mom's first time riding with me!"

Blue Citrus and The Story of My First Bike

I have one sleeve done on the Citrus York Pullover.


The yarn is Misti Cotton, pima cotton 83%, silk 17%. It's so soft to the touch and I love it, but it "sheds" somewhat, and I keep wiping my face to remove the fine flyaways that tickle my nose while I knit. This is a top-down sweater, so yes I did try it on. It fits -- although I wish I had made it a tad larger. Will post a photo on me as soon as I'm done with the other sleeve.

On the completely un-fiber related topic -- At last weekend's Knit Night, Erin gave me a bike she no longer uses, and I now am a proud owner of a bicycle! This is the very first bike I've ever owned in my life. Do you think that's strange? I grew up poor, and had owned very little in the way of toys, clothes, books and everything else that a child would have in a "normal" childhood. As a result I never had a bike growing up, and as a result of that I never learned how to ride a bike until I was in high school. I think I've ridden a bike fewer than ten times in my whole life.

Last Sunday I got myself a pretty red helmet, and went on a ride all by myself around the block. What an adventure, and how exhilarating! I am going to be a late-blooming cyclist for sure. A conversation between my son and me last Sunday;
Me: I'm going on a test ride around the block.
Mitch: I'm gonna come wif (with) you.
Me: Oh, next time. I'm not very good yet, and I don't think I can make sure that you are safe. I'm going to be quite busy taking care of myself.
Mitch: I can teach you, Mom.
Soon, it'll be the case for almost everything. Even now, he teaches me how to sing "Flying Purple People Eater" song.

I went to a Knit Night and came home with a bike! Thank you Erin! I might get a bike trainer (not training wheels, mind you!) so I can knit while I pedal away in the garage :-)

Long-term Project

As promised, here's how my Japanese Indigo is doing.

This is a pot in the backyard. The seeds I sowed in the sunny veggie patch are not doing well at all, but a neighbor cat has dug up the soil twice already, and it may be the cause.

This is a different plant from the Indigo we have in the US. Both yield blue dye, but the Japanese indigo leaves can be used alone, crushed, to dye, where the Indigofera tinctoria requires fermentation before it can be used. Last summer I read so much about the fun of Indigo raw leaf dyeing on several Japanese blogs, so I wanted to try.

Here's what I found on Youtube. In case you understand Japanese, the narration is actually talking about dyeing with safflower, but you are actually seeing the Indigo fresh leaf dyeing. Note the aeration, then re-dip. Added bonus: you get to see the making of a silk cap, and at the end you'll see a beautiful pink kimono dyed with safflower. Enjoy!

I hope my plants will grow well so I get to try this at the end of the summer. Now that's a project that needs patience and planning!

I'm finally making some progress on Citrus York pullover.

Doesn't it look funny?

Mitch (another long-term project) and I went to the beach last Saturday. It was a perfect day on the beach. He said he had "the bestest day ever." I totally agree.

Fleece Therapy

I've been spinning a lot. "A lot" is a relative term. 3 hours in the evening is three times more than I usually get. I need it; treadling and watching the fiber slip between my fingers, the rhythm, the gentle white noise. The sense that I am producing something -- for some reasons, spinning is more therapeutic than knitting to me usually, as it brought me fewer disappointments and frustrations so far.

Brown New Zealand Corriedale I bought at Stitches. I spun two full bobbins this week, and I was planning to ply this with the redhead alpaca, which I also spun more of. Then I realized that these two are too different to be spun together -- the alpaca is too good for this particular corriedale, which is not N2S soft. I'm not too sure about the color combination either -- the dark brown and cinnamon seem too high in the contrast. I think I will spin some white merino and try plying that with the alpaca.

The brand-new book called A Fine Fleece arrived! It's a beautiful book.

This is about knitting using handspun yarn, but the patterns are pretty much all Aran sweaters. They are beautiful to look at, but it is a bit disappointing; I don't think I'd be spinning one kind of yarn (and consistently that is) enough to knit an Aran sweater. I have no patience to knit a fancy Aran sweater with full sleeves either, not to mention the skills!

Another disappointment is that the photographs, as much as they are beautiful, don't show the full view or the details of the finished works. There are two vest patterns in the book, but I can't really tell what they are going to look like in reality! There is a close-up shot of a nice cable stitches for one of the vest patterns, but I can't figure out where exactly the stitch is used, from the photo of the vest itself. I may actually try knitting one of them just to see -- if I can spin enough yarn for it.

At last, I give you my apple blossoms! Next post will be about the Japanese Indigo.

Have a nice weekend!

Happy Sheep (and Goats) Day

On Saturday, my son and I went to visit the Meet the Sheep Day at Meridian Jacobs in Vacaville. Lots of Jacob sheep and lambs, and goats frolicking in the sun was something I really wanted to see this weekend.

Don't they just make you smile?

3-weeks old lamb. Awwww.

Mitch meets a kid goat. Goats are very curious, sociable animals, compared to sheep.

There were several spinning and weaving friends of the owner Robin, and Mitch and I enjoyed spinning with our spindles in the sun. What a nice way to spend a sunny afternoon.... This really made me think that we need to form Marin Spinning Connection.

No, I didn't buy any fiber. The new spindle and dyed wool were for Mitch, so they don't count!
Come to think of it, he probably needed a bag of multi-colored Jacob too. Well, next time.

We got to feed the two weeks old kid goat. This little guy was about cuddly as a cat.

Robin and I got to talk about spinning and how I got started on spinning. I almost asked her for how she got started on sheep farming, and how that's been working for her, but I stayed away from that subject; that's something I can't even dream of doing in Marin, as much as I'd love to.
I can also see from the sheepskin that were sold there that sheep farming does involve some business other than fiber. I'm not sure if I can deal with that.

We had a great time. It was good for me, in many ways. I know somewhere in my heart that this is the kind of life I want to live. I'm sure that many visitors who came today had the same thing deep in their hearts. I spent the rest of the day by my spinning wheel.

Spring Fibering (and other news)

The daffodils I got for the American Cancer Society Daffodil Days fundraiser produced some natural yellow wool again. Fifty daffs and about 250 frozen dandelion flower heads on very soft merino.

I am so miffed that the pretty lemony-yellow just doesn't come out right on this camera. I can see it already in the view finder that the color just isn't right. I love this camera, but I wish it did a better job on the true colors.

I also spun the rosemary-dyed corriedale from last year.

Again the color isn't right -- it's a tinge more green.

I spun some more possum - merino blend on my spindle while we were at the little league game. It surprised me just how many people came by to see what I was doing. Kids were interested in it too; there was a boy in the game who seemed almost more interested in spinning than the baseball.

The spring issue of Spin-off just came out, and it's the best one I've ever read. It has inspired me to spend some time on my wheel. While I was looking for the rosemary-dyed fiber in my stash bins, I made a horrific discovery; I HAVE TOO MUCH FIBER. I declare; I will never buy any fiber for the rest of the year! Oh, I know -- you've heard that before.

Last week, I stepped out to my backyard and heard unfamiliar birds -- lots of them. There they were in the neighbor's birch trees; I counted around one hundred. Bohemian Waxwings -- wish I had a better picture to show you, but here it is.

There were many more just flying in and out. I'd never seen waxwings before. Now I've seen one hundred!

Mimint-san, one of the Japanese bloggers I visit posted gorgeous cherry blossom photos for me! She lives near Asakusa, Tokyo, where I was born, and often posts photos from Asakusa Temple. Every year I miss seeing the cherry blossoms in Japan; next year for sure, I said that last spring. I wonder if I'd ever get see the flowers again in my hometown.

Ways to Decompress

It's been stressful at work. Just way too much to do, and this is going to get worse until the release date in May. Yick.

Gardening is one way to decompress. I've been watching the new veggie patch every day, and now I see tiny sprouts -- they are carrots (lots), Japanese indigo (just a couple) and pumpkins (that I didn't plant). Pumpkins a good surprise whenever I use the soil from the compost.
Oh, by the way, would anyone like to try sowing some J. indigo? I have quite a lot of seeds still left, but not much land left to grow. It's annual, and non-invasive.


Spinning is another way to decompress. Can you guess what this fiber is?

I just read a post about spinning cotton on one of my Japanese daily reads, and -- call me crazy! -- when I opened the new bottle of kids' vitamins for my son, I couldn't resist to try with that wad of cotton balls that came out. I had great fun. It wasn't as difficult as I had thought. The spun cotton smells like grape jelly!

And little critters. We lost our cat over a year ago, and aside some walking stick bugs, we remained pet-less. Mitch had been asking for "sumping (something) furry", and we landed on little mice. As we started announcing our new family additions, I realized that many people are squirmish about mice (which I don't really get; to me little mice are cuter than hamsters!), so I hope I don't scare you away, but here they are;

This is Harry Potter. Mitch named him of course.


And here's Algernon Flowers. I bribed Mitch for the naming right for this little cute guy. They are just a little bigger than the length of my thumb, and they are actually female, but Mitch doesn't know that. Algernon is quite fuzzy and his fur is a bit longer than Harry's. When I commented on it, Charlie said; "no, you may not spin Algernon."

I used to have a little mouse when I was a little older than Mitch, and I really enjoyed having him, so I hope that he'll remember fondly of these critters.

And of course, Knit Night Friday.

The boys enjoyed playing together, as we knit and chatted. I finally went past the first three rows of Citrus York! Yeah for that, but I am not sure this is going to be wearable -- this is a top-down sweater, but the neck opening looks a bit small for my big head. I will try that out when I progress a bit more on the york.

Because We Have So Little Time

I was working and watching TV peripherally, as usual, last night -- instead of knitting. I don't remember the name of the program, but I think it was on ABC -- "What would you do?" was the theme; a young actor is sitting on the ground in a park, uncontrollably sobbing. Several "test subjects" will walk by him on a path. Some just walk on, and some stop to offer help.

The biggest contributor in deciding whether to stop or press on was the time. Some were told to hurry to get to a meeting at point A; some didn't get that time pressure. Many in the "Group Rushed" didn't stop to help. Many who weren't pressed on time stopped.

It made me think. We are always so rush-rush. We have early morning meetings. We have deadlines. We got appointments. Bath. Bedtime. Business trips. What am I going to pack for lunch tomorrow?

Our son's morning dilly-dallyness is helpless. I'm sure what he hears every morning from us have become such an annoyance for him. And by rushing him so much every morning, are we making him not see what's important or what's right? And what about us?

I think that's one of the reasons why I love knitting and spinning. Rushing doesn't work. I take the time and repeat it over and over. Stop and admire what I have accomplished. Don't you just wish that's the way we lived our lives?

I tell myself that we should take a deep breath and slow down. What's another five minutes of Mitch stirring the yogurt cup. What's another frogging on my I-can-never-get-this-right Citrus York. Wait -- what's for the lunch tomorrow??

Weekend Accomplishments

We had a beautiful weather over the weekend, and naturally we spent a lot of time outside. We accomplished a lot around the house;

A few weeks ago just before the storm, we had the big yucca tree (or plant, more correctly) removed from our backyard. It was growing fast, and every strong wind had knocked down a big limb or two, giving me a constant worry.


The persimmon tree that was knocked down by one of the fallen yucca limbs in the New Year's storm, is budding now. I thought it was dead, so the sign that this is still well and alive makes me happy.

Since we were using the yucca to hang the bird feeder, we had to find a replacement.

The birds seem to love the new set-up, and they come by numbers. I've been filling the feeder every other day. I'm going to have to keep working just to keep the birds fed!

And we've finally made the water fountain in the backyard. I've been wanting this for a long time. And the most important thing is that it's solar!

I've also moved my vegetable patch from the shady spot to the front yard, where it will get more sun. Hopefully we'll have more tomatoes this summer than last year. I've also sown Japanese indigo seeds here -- hoping to try some indigo dye in the summer.

We visited the Novato History Museum here in town (first time in our ten years of living in Novato). We went out for lunch, Mitch and Charlie went for a bike ride, Mitch and I went to Josh's baseball game -- Mitch got to spend a few hours with Erin's boys while I enjoyed chatting with Erin. Charlie went flying. Boy that's a lot of activities.

I even had a few minutes to myself sitting under my cherry tree and admired the blossoms and petals coming down like snow. It does make me sad a bit. I'd love it if someone bred a cherry tree whose blossoms last a month.

On the knitting side, I cast on the Citrus York Sweater with the blue pima cotton/silk blend I got at Stitches, but realized that I already made an error. Just a simple misunderstanding of the pattern that's supposed to be simple -- so I have to rip it. Oh well -- it's OK. It was a nice weekend. The only problem is that it was too short.

Ribwarmer Done and it's Spring

It took so long for me to finish this. Now it's too warm for me to wear the Elizabeth Zimmermann's Ribwarmer.

Knitted in my Corriedale handspun. I used the I-cord edging for the whole thing. It was fun and I like how it looks. But I wish I made the whole thing a bit smaller for a better fit. This was the first time for me to knit a piece entirely in garter stitches, but boy it was tiring... Come to think of it I love purling so I probably shouldn't be choosing garter stitch patterns.

I have not decided on a button -- the one in the picture on the top is a brooch.

This is the biggest piece I knitted using my handspun yarn. It wasn't easy to have enough yarn that has the same twist, ply and weight... It was harder than I thought it would be!

Yes, the spring is here in Northern California.

It's time for a little break and sunshine. It would be good for you and me.

I'm thinking about taking a couple hours off tomorrow and sit under my cherry tree and admire it like a fool. I wonder if I had any sake in the kitchen?

Socks Completed!

Yes, you read that right.. I finished sock number 2! We have an official pair folks! Hard to believe. I have to admit this was the most fun project yet. Okay, so the 2nd sock had it's share of trouble, and in the meantime I lost the 1st sock a few times, once at Stitches West (later found in my new stash pile from my Stitches West loot!)

Nicole has a pair of hand knitted sock and she loves them.

Okay, so now I need some help. I could not do a decent Kitchener's stitch to save my life Both socks had issues. In addition, I have a small hole right at the corner where I picked up stitches. What is the trick to reduce the "hole" size?

All I can say is I am hooked on knitting socks AND finishing a project. So, now my dilemma is this? Do I start a new project with my new yarn? OR... do I finish my shrug scarf I started last February? I am leaning towards finishing so I can be done....

I am so happy with my wee little socks!! Thanks Erin for all your help.. and especially the other night at Stitches when I needed a designated knitter to fix my blunder.. after drinking too many margarittas!!!

Knitters Everywhere

So I made it to Stitches! The storm was approaching the Bay Area, and the weather radar Friday evening didn't look pretty. After that New Year's storm and power outage, the word "storm" gets me nervous every time. Decided to go early, early in the morning on Saturday to beat the rain clouds. Then by 8 am I was sitting at the lobby of Hyatt and knitting.

Left a voicemail on Erin's cell phone, but she didn't call back after an hour. An extended weekend away from kids, Liz and Erin are enjoying sleeping in, of course, probably high on the yarn fume. I called again at 9:00, waking the girls up.
"Come on up, we are in room 715." Okie dokie. After several knocks, the door doesn't open. The TV's on, but no one answer the door. I call on the cell phone.
"Let me in!"
"Oh, okay."
Still, no one comes out.
My cell phone rings, and it's Erin.
"Um. You are not at Hyatt, are you? We are at Hilton."
I laughed all the way to Hilton (just across the street), even harder when I found Liz in the lobby of Hilton in her robe, buying coffee! When you are among knitters, anything is possible, and everything is forgiven. Well, almost.

After admiring their yarn acquisitions and hearing hilarious stories at the Stitches Market, I headed out for some shopping. I had limited time on my hands -- I was still worried about getting stranded in the huge storm.

The first booth I stopped was Wild Fibers. Linda Cortright, the editor and publisher of the magazine, was smiling away at me! I wish photographing was allowed. I chatted with her on how much I love the magazine. Linda commented that she wished more knitters cared about where their fibers came from. I agree -- Being a spinner/knitter, I do wonder what kind of sheep, animals once wore the fibers. Who sheared it, and how it came to me. Linda is so fortunate that she gets to travel around the world to see all that. Don't you just wish? Purchased several back numbers that I don't own. The one I already have, with my favorite story about the traveling shearers from New Zealand, will go to Huguette, who didn't make it out to Stitches.



Right across the aisle, there's Carolina Homespun. I bought some Misty Alpaca cotton/silk blend yarn, 35% off! I think I know what I want to knit with this. Citrus Yoke Pullover from IK Winter issue.

I also got some merino spinning fibers -- $10 for 4 oz. What a steal! It's actually soft yellowish.

Some brown corriedale from Carin Egan.

After admiring Betsy's sweater at the lunch table, I visited Just One More Row's booth. Purchased a pattern and a huge hunk of silk noil.

I love the colors. I have not read through the pattern, but it looks like it's going to take some thinking and calculations. I think I like that over the "just follow it exactly as it's written" kind of patterns, but let's just hope that I am good enough to get through it.

The most expensive purchase was signing myself up on the Golden Gate Fiber Institute Summer Intensive. I'm already very excited.

I hurried home, and by the time I got to Oakland, it was pouring. But it wasn't as windy as they had been predicting-- in fact by the time I got home around 5pm, the rain was tapering off to just a shower. I could have stayed longer at Stitches! But then maybe it was for the better. My huge stash containers are all 120% full. It became awfully windy and rained hard late that night, so it was a calm before the storm.

Although it wasn't so good for my stash situations, it was a wonderful break for my mood -- it's so wonderful to be with friends and laugh away. I might just spend a few nights next year, just to get away and get more smile lines on my face!

Stitches!

Last year I missed out on going to Stitches West. For the whole year I kept hearing how heavenly it was, so this year I am going -- Erin and Liz are taking some time off from work and going on a four-day straight shopping spree. I am just going on Saturday for just one day visit. (One day is dangerous enough.) Huguette is still waffling.

Before I lose my senses in that infamous yarn fume, I thought I should get together the plan of attack -- list the projects I wanted to do, yarn required, yardage, color, etc -- I've been working on it for a few days now, but no progress. I really haven't run into patterns that I fell in love with for several months now -- that's a sad state of my knitting mind. And the last two issues of IK don't help either (yes I am pretty persistent).

I might end up just buying a Prius-full of spinning fiber, and it can only mean less time for me to knit!

This and That

It was a four-day weekend for me -- my son's preschool was closed last Friday, so I had to take a day off. Yes, it's hard to twist my arm for that. We had a mini-vacation over the Presidents' Day Weekend two year in the row and really enjoyed it, but it didn't happen this year as Charlie was sick. We will try that sometime next month.

Instead, Mitch and I took a drive to the Tomales Bay. The weather was just gorgeous, and the road was empty. We picked the good day for it, because just a few days later they held the Tour of California on that route.

I swear. The sunny days in February in Northern California are the best. The hills are green, the sky is blue, the sun is warm and gentle. Something about this little trail made me think of my childhood.

I spun the rest of the Corriedale to knit the Ribwarmer. It was the huge ball (my guess is about two pounds) of white roving that came with my Ashford Traditional. It's all gone now -- I've practiced, admired, dyed and experimented a lot of things with it. It was wonderful to spin.

So, no one I know likes the Spring issue of Interweave Knits! The lack of variety is what gets me. I did appreciate some of the articles, but none of the patterns. As Stefaneener puts it, they are all "look at my belly" designs! I will look forward to a nice surprise in the Summer issue, but that feels like a long time to wait... I should be receiving the new Spin-Off soon, and I hope it's a good one!

Spring is in the air

I know I've been away for a while, but I'm glad that Liz has been keeping you amuzed!
Happy Valentine's Day! Spring is definitely near with acacia and cherry blossoming here and there. It means lots of sneezing for Mitch and Charlie. Poor boys.

Mitch has a wide range of hobbies.

While he was having fun with my Joy, I was spinning more corriedale because I was running out of the handspun to knit EZ's Ribwarmer.

This was knit with my earlier handspinning product. I love the way it's coming out -- I wasn't happy with the singles when I was plying them, but when it's knit up it's very soft and lofty.

But the batch I just spun came out terrible! It's too tight in both spinning and plying, and the gauge is all wrong now -- and it's tight and not pretty. I thought my spinning skill was getting better, but I guess I was imagining. Sigh.

Luckily I have just some more corriedale left, so I am going to spin it again -- back to basics. I hope I can repeat the soft hand again.

Here's the January delivery of "Fiber of the Month Club" Charlie gave me for Christmas.

MMMMMMMohair!!

I wonder what this is going to turn into?

Did you get the Spring issue of IK? Did you like it? I didn't. Why do they have to put six cardigans in very similar designs knitted in similar yarn in the colors alike? I didn't much care for the Winter issue, and I'm disappointed that I didn't find anything I wanted to knit two issues in a row. Bummer.