Spin-spired Again

It was the KWKnitter's Guild Knitting Fair this passed weekend and I volunteered for security duty so as to NOT (hopefully) be used by the yarn and fibre and provoked into yet again breaking the bank of Lyz!
It was a wonderful day. I worked too much (planned it that way and it was such fun) and therefore missed a lot of the 'good' stuff. But no need to despair, I got a few really yummy things and I am all in all very pleased with the day. Simply put the day was awesome fun for all. I had very little shopping time but since I had nothing on my 'I have to get it' list, that was okay. I went with the attitude that I would listen for what called to me and pick out a few special 'just for me' treats.
I treated myself with:

• An afghan pattern from Sandy's Needle Nook called Hexagon Afghan (Pattern #NN177)
• A cardigan pattern by Ilga Lega called Shorelines
• 100g of chocolate brown Alpaca fibre from Alpaca Acres, it's soft as butter and now half spun up into a lace weight singles I think for a nice light lacy scarf for me
• A litre sized mason jar filled with all sorts of fibre goodness by The Roving Spinners. It contains silk, wool, alpaca, firestar, and mohair for a total of 100g in the colourway Boysenberry which is mostly purples with a bit of grey and pink added in for fun. They call it a Gourmet Carding Recipe but it reminds me of the Surprise bags that I used to get at a birthday party when I was little. All sorts of good stuff stuffed and packed into it. Inside the jar there are all the makings for a luscious batt just not made into a batt. That's where the fun comes in. You can make your own custom 'designer' fibre batt or just spin it up as is. That is what my choice is. That is once it's finished being a gorgeous centerpiece on my coffee table LOL.

The highlight of my day though was trying out a couple wheels at Gemini Fibres. Though it won't happen for quite a while yet, I have already decided that I am ready for my next wheel and that I am outgrowing my first wheel. I love it to bits but it's just not always thinking along the same lines that I am. It seems to like thicker yarns better and I have figured out that it is going to be an awesome plying wheel, when I have another wheel with a little lighter touch and a little more speed to spin the thinner singles I love to spin. I tried out two Kromski wheels and they were both just lovely to work with. I liked the Minstrel a little more than the Sonata though. Even though I haven't touched my wheel in over three months and still consider myself a beginner spinner, just learning a bit more than a year ago, I sat and spun like I had done it every day. I plan at some time in the future to try to get up to Gemini Fibres and try out some of the other wheels. It doesn't hurt to be prepared LOL.

The only slight regrets (which I am not crying over at all cause there is always next year) is that I didn't realize that I was one skein short of the Jitterbug (Colourway 142 Sea Breeze) I was going to use for the Guild Mystery Shawl Kal. Had I known, I could have got some yummy fingering weight just for the shawl.

My other slight regret was that I had that awesome Heere Be Dragons Shawl pattern IN MY HANDS damnitall, and I forgot to go back and buy it!!!

So if I can't locate another skein to match my Jitterbug soon, I have decided to spin something up for the Kal and as for the pattern, there's always next year!

And, oh ya, as usual, pics to follow soon (hopefully)

Now I've Done It

See how long it lasted? I missed a bunch of time with my posts again. Sorry I tried. Oh well I am here now, right? Well at least I have been productive with my knitting time since I haven't been on the computer hardly at all lately. I have my New Year's Socks almost finished. I am working down the foot of sock #2 now and I WILL have them finished this weekend. Good thing happening here right?
I will post a pic when they are done so therefore another post in a day or two.

SSS Cast On

I went to Shall We Knit with Mom yesterday and got the rest of my Malabrigo for my Spring Shawl Surprise project and cast on last night. I have made a few stupid goofups already but I frogged back to the edging and redid the rows. I felt better after my little warm up of the pattern as I am preferring to call it now, and I have it going slow but sure. I am not saying that it's going to be easy sailing, that I know is such a total untruth as I have already managed an extra yo in the row I am working now and HAVE TO REMEMBER to drop it when I go back on the next row. I have worked a few rows on my Chevron Lace Socks from Get Started Knitting Socks book and I am decreasing at the gusset of sock 1 of my New Years Socks from Sockamania. Pictures to follow when I get enough on my needles to have it actually look like something.

Baby Surprise Sweater and Matching Hat

2008_0104 Baby Surprise Sweater and Matching Hat
Originally uploaded by Lyzert

I have finished the Baby Surprise Jacket with matching hat that I started in mid December. It was a gift for my daughter's friend that had her first baby shortly after Christmas. The matching garter stitch has was of my own design and matches wonderfully.

Swatch number 1

Of the Spring Shawl Surprise project as well as the yarn I am using.



the yarn is Malibrago in colourway Jewel Blue

and this is the swatch.

Swatch number two is blocked and drying. I will get pics up of it (hopefully tomorrow)

Swatching Blocking

Ok I finished up Swatch 2 a little late, this morning not last night, but that's ok. I am a little disappointed though. The decision to move down one needle size was not a good one. Now it's a little too small. I don't like the look of the excess stretching when I was blocking it to gauge size. I will go back to the 2.5 mm needle when I cast on the 'real' shawl. Later though, or maybe tomorrow. Now I am scared to actually start it for real! LOL. I think I will go work on socks now. bye....

Nope I didn't do it

yet.... The pictures I mean. I have my camera sitting here daring me to hook it up to the puter but I just don't want to spend the time right now with it. I will do it this week, I promise. We have had our 9 yrs grandson here for a week and no, it's not that he's a handful, it actually the opposite. He's bored and we have been wracking our brains (or what's left of our brains) trying to keep him busy. We baked Grampy a belated birthday cake today! YAY! Bug's first time making cake! yes Granny MADE him make it! and I was appalled that he didn't know how already! Well we fixed that! and the cake was delicious too! He did a great job on the cake.

I have been swatching for the Spring Shawl Surprise project and I have swatch 1 blocked and drying. Pics to follow even though I made mistakes in it that i didn't fix. I decided that it wasn't that important to start over yet once again because the size of the finished swatch would not be affected by the mistakes in pattern in the one area that I goofed up. The second swatch is on my needles and about 3/4 done. No mistakes in this one... yet... LOL. It's lace pattern on both sides and a bit harder to work. Excellent practice for me though and I decided to switch needles to one smaller size after blocking swatch 1. I am off now to that and not play with uploads of pics. I would like so much to get swatch 2 finished tonight.

BTW, anyone know how to make lace blocking wires? don't think they are in my budget right now, too close to after Christmas to be able to afford them. :(

Sad but yet so Happy too

I am sad, yes I am. Why am I sad? I broke one of my new knitpicks wooden circular needles yesterday. First time used, cast on and four rounds into it's very first sock and poof! Gone! Ruined in one quick snap of the wood. and now... I am so sad. But yes it's true I am happy too! I started swatching for the Spring Surprise Shawl project last night. I have been not feeling well and without truck again and not able to even swatch because of lack of lace weight stash. The ONE lace weight yarn I have is two skeins of lucious Sheldridge Farms Lace Weight Merino in off white colour that one day will be my Swan Lake Shawl. I cannot use it for another project or the Swan Lake Shawl will never be, I just know it! So I got on the phone with Karen over at Shall We Knit and asked her guidance of laceweight and colourways and she was sooo wonderful and helpful. We narrowed it down to two possibilites and she put them aside for my Mom to pick up for me. (YAY MOM!) Well Mom came over later in the afternoon bearing wonderful yarny treats for me :) I love them both! Malabrigo laceweight in Jewel Blue and Emerald. EWwww wow! what a choice. I started swatching in Jewel Blue and have picked another project from Arctic Lace for the Emerald colourway. I called Karen this afternoon to let her know that I would need more of both yarns LOL. Happy? YES!!! but still sad too... I will try to get pictures on tomorrow.

Notta Resolution

because I believe resolutions were invented only to be broken and not kept. Instead I present my new Mindset for 2008, and that is to let go the old crap I promised to blog about and get on with the new. (Recited in my best Queen Victorian imitation voice) 'We are going to try to be a real blogger this year lest we end up being not amused!' Hear that Nic? I'm gonna try real damn hard to blog at least weekly if not more often! ok stop laughing now... I am outta here to check on dinner that is in the oven.
Btw, cast on Chevron Lace Socks from Getting started Knitting Socks by Ann Budd in Pigeonroof Studios superwash sock yarn in Cousteau colourway. And since I gotta new camera for Christmas there will be great pics too! ttyl. I promise.