Warm Fuzzies

Yesterday I got in the mail, one of the hats that was being passed on by someone on Ravelry. It's toasty warm.

Thankfully, I didnt have to strictly recieve, I was also giving. Saturday night after Shabbos I logged into Ravelry to find a VERY sweet thank-you note from the little girl that I sent a hat to.

Dear Rebecca,

I like your package! And I like all the stuff you sent me! Thank you very much for the package. All of it was my favorite part. It was nice because I’ve been throwing up.

I love you, 
Prudence 

Adorable, right?

Lastly, finished spinning my ounce of dyed fiber. I've been chain plying it today. It's sooo pretty.

Good Juju Goes 'Round

Dyed yarn being spun.

Newly dyed fiber.

Look! Another post! WHOA! Anyway, I love how the ounce of fiber I dyed turned out. Some of my favorite colors. Also, it's been a breeze to spin so far because it's super fluffy. My goal is to chain ply it once it's done

Also I'm really proud of the Neon Lights yarn all plied up. I managed to get about 105 yards out of 3oz of yarn, which is a pretty big accomplishment.

Coedlan pattern and button

Hilltop Cloud Fiber

I'm so excited that i've been spinning, because I won this awesome spinning kit from Phat Fiber and Hilltop Cloud Yarn. It's a bunch of BFL/Seacell fiber, a pattern for Coedlan cowl and a beautiful wooden button. I don't know if I'm going to use this fiber for this pattern, but I'm so excited to spin it. 

Plus, it still smells SUPER sheepy ;)

There's a thread on Ravelry right now for people to pass on finished objects which they dont wear. I was lucky enough to snag two hats through it, so I decided to pass it forward. I had a bunch of hats that have been sitting around getting no love. I feel pretty good about it. One woman asked for four hats for her sister who has hair loss from illness. Another woman asked for a hat for her daughter who sadly has recently gone through something that NO child (or anyone for that matter) should EVER have to go through. So not only did I send the hat, but I also threw in two flower hair-clips I made, a fuzzy pink pen, a "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" pen and two bookmarks. I really, really hope she likes it. I ended up giving a bunch of the hats to my coworkers, and they all seemed thrilled to get with their new toppers. So I'm feeling pretty good. Do you want one of my unloved FO's (finished objects)? Check them out here, and let me know if you want one!

Back Again

Husband putting on the socks
I made at the wedding.

Ok, I'm back. I hope. Yes, it's been quite a while since my last post (over 8 months) and instead of trying to catch you up on everything that I've done since then, I'm just going to give you the one big highlight. I got married. Not only did I get married, but my husband walked down the aisle in a pair of socks I made for him specifically for the wedding.

Getting ready to ply.

Anyway, right now I'm getting back into spinning. In fact, I just finished spinning 3oz of fiber that was part of a grab bag I bought from The Joyful Sheep. I'm going to Andean Ply it today. I also stuck an ounce of fiber in a pot to dye.

Third Time's The Charm

For the weather at the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival that is. This past Sunday, my family, my fiancee, The Wench and her husband, baby and mother, The Teacher and a few friends from work all descended upon the Howard County Fairgrounds for the 38th annual MD Sheep and Wool Festival. The weather was perfect, the lime-aid tasty, the sheep cute and the fiber gorgeous. I was really lusting for a spinning wheel, but I think I will give my drop spindle more of  a chance and reassess buying a wheel next year (also cuz they're EXPENSIVE). That being said, I did walk out with some pretty fantastic stuff, AND a good time was had by all (even the guys).

The Wench, Me and The Teacher

Much of the crew at the end of the day.

Fiancee: OMG IT'S SO FLUFFY!!!

Me and my sister.

8oz Merino to spin.

Blue Heron RayonMetallic (It's SOO pretty)

Crazy Zauberball!

Laceweight Tencel/Cotton/Linen blend.

Miss Babs Yarn sample! (I love Miss Babs)

Lotion, soap and honey sticks from The Bee Folks

Never enough snarky pins.

Paper Stash

AKA: Magazines. Everyone likes them, whether you read Glamour, Vogue, Popular Mechanics or Time we all pick up magazines now and then. So of course there is a slew of knitting magazines out there including; Vogue Knitting, Interweave Knits, Debbie Bliss and Knit Simple. Two of my favorites are Vogue Knitting  and Interweave Knits.  Both of these magazines have pretty good articles, gorgeous photographs of beautiful knitwear and fantastic patterns. Not that I really need to have more things that I want to knit (that I'll probably die before I have a chance to make) especially considering there's about 300 things in my Ravelry queue. Anyway, my only gripe with Vogue Knitting is that it's still a Vogue magazine so even though there are a bunch of normal looking, beautiful knits and then there's something like this that NO ONE in their right (or wrong) mind would actually consider wearing off the runway.
However, I did decide to invest in a subscription to Interweave Knits. A) I like mail and B) I like knitting stuff, so today I got the Summer 2011 issue and there's some really great stuff in it. There's a blurb about this man who takes knitting to performance art, an article on how to design your own lace patterns, yarn reviews and of course, many beautiful patterns to knit. So I would highly recommend that if you're interested in learning more about knitting or the knitting world that you pick up Interweave Knits or any other knitting magazine and get reading!

Level Up +1 Yarn Dyeing

Dyed Yarn

Today I dyed yarn with food coloring. I'm pretty happy with the results. In the past I've dyed yarn with Kool-Aid, which is great, they make bright colored yarns, AND it smells like fruity sheep. However, if you want to have darker or richer colors you need to up the game. So, food coloring it is. I used McCormick NEON! Food color and egg dye on Red Heart Heart & Sole. Mixed the colors up with the ratios that were suggested on the box for turquoise, apricot and raspberry. I had soaked the yarn in water and some vinegar overnight so that the yarn would hold the dye better. Then I used a medicine dropper to get the dye onto the yarn while it was in my crock pot. The dye immediately took to the yarn, because I was able to suction up excess water and it was pretty much dye free. I thought that was pretty cool. Cooked in the crock pot on high for about an hour and a half so the dye would set then rinsed and squeezed out as much water as I could. It's still going to be a day or two until it's fully dry though. I think I'm going to make these Elphaba hand warmers out of the yarn.

Roxanne after Clue #2

Also, finished all of Clue #2 of the Roxanne KAL. I like how it's looking so far. The textured sides are nice, though I'm hoping when it gets blocked it looks a little more lacy than it does now. Also, it ain't all that big so far, so I'm really looking forward to seeing what Clue #3 brings.

Riley figured out the the shawl was cozy.

Lastly, I have started crocheting a kippah for The Fiancee. He has a big head. It's going to be a BIG kippah. It has made me realize why in the 5+ years that I've been with him that I haven't made a kippah for him until now. They're SO EXCRUCIATINGLY SLOW! All the TEENY stitches!!! AAAUUGH!! Hopefully I wont stab myself with the 1.3mm crochet hook before it's finished.

Artistic Yarn

This past week, the Baltimore Jewish Times ran an article about a local man named Sam Barsky. Mr. Barsky has been knitting his own sweaters for years, and not from patterns. He makes his own designs for pictorial sweaters and they're beautiful. His sweaters are representations of places and different Jewish holidays. He said that he doesn't make the sweaters for money because they would cost far too much due to time and effort, which I can completely understand. Even if you buy cheap yarn, all the time spent making teeny stitches, especially to create a wearable piece of art. I have a lot of respect for Mr. Barsky and his beautiful work.