Friday, May 19, 2006

This weeks spinning!


Drag Queen. 68 yards of a mix of everything! I bought the roving at MDSW from puckerbrush farms. It was labeled "Party in a box" I opened the bag to show hubby and he informed me that it looked like a drag queen. THis may become the only scarf I can see myself wearing.


As yet unnamed, but my first skein over 100yds!!!! Woot! Brown sheep mill ends dyed with wilton.



Tequila Sunrise Mill ends dyed with Wilton


Polar express. This is spun from some roving I picked up at Limerick Fibers in Gordonsville. It's called "beast" and is aptly named. It's pretty rough, and have lots of vegetable matter, but it makes a lovely rustic skein.



Canyonlands. Unfortunately the camera didn't pick up the lovely orangey hues that remind me of canyonlands at sunset. again, mill ends with wilton dye.

Tuesday, May 16, 2006

Short update

What a week! I managed to get a promotion. Hubby got an art show. We fixed the fountain in the backyard and I found another Fiber shop nearby! mmmmm fiber. drool.

I'll be posting a longer update in the next day or so. FOr now it's off to work around the house. I'm playing hooky from work tomorrow so I can clean up the house and then I can spend the rest of the weekend spinning and knitting. :)

Thursday, May 11, 2006

This is why you don't give men gas powered tools


This would be the elbow from the pipe on our sump pump. Hubby demolished it while tilling the backyard to put in grass seed. Last night we had our own water garden in the backyard with the pump creating a lovely fountain of brown water every 2 minutes. Hubby tried to convince me that the break had become a "design feature" in the yard.

I don't think so.

This ended in a late night trip to Lowes to buy a new elbow for the pipe. Oddly enough, this ended in a yarn related situation. I conned hubby into buying a hunk of PVC and joiner bits to make me a niddy noddy.

HA! I love turning hardware store trips into fiber related trips.



These are pictures of my strawberry and roma tomato plants. I planted the strawberries myself. While this may not seem like much of a feat to most people. Anyone who knows me knows about my black thumb. I can kill anything green. I've killed cactus, lucky bamboo, assorted houseplants, garden plants and I could probably lay waste to entire fields of silk floral arrangements just by my proximity.

I've made a resolution to change this. We know have a garden at our house, one at my mom's and flowers in the front yard. THEY WILL NOT DIE DAMMIT!!!!! Even if I have to sacrifice my first-born (or God-Forbid, my yarn) to make them live, I will do it! I WILL HAVE FRESH VEGGIES THIS YEAR!!!!!! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!

ahem.







Gratuitous fiber shot. I spun this last night while enjoying the sounds of Old Faithful in the backyard. It's a wool/silk/mohair blend that I got as a bonus when I bought roving from Carol at the Sheep Shed Studio. I love getting roving for so cheap to play with. And I don't feel as bad when I ruin this with my abysmal spinning skills. So far I have 67 yards of it, and I still have a little bit more left to spin. Hubby says that it should be a hat for him. We'll see about that.

Sunday, May 07, 2006

Quick post of the new stash!

The destashing went well, and although I still have some leftovers, I was able to take the money to the Marylan Sheep and Wool festival and Pick myself up a few goodies:


I picked up a large selection of different fibers. Wool, silk, alpaca, superwash, angelina, firestar, organic cotton, Linen and angora.


My mother, bless her heart, also brought home 2 of these babies:



One for her, and one for me. I've already started spinning on it, although it was tough to get started having never used a wheel before, but once I got it started I was ready to burn the drop spindles for firewood.

More to come later, but I have to run to work now...... I wonder if I could put the wheel under my desk???

Friday, May 05, 2006

stupid thunderstorms.

Halfway into Planting flowers the sky opened up and started dumping. I hope the new flowers don't get drowned. Mother nature is such a bitch.

Cheap Spring gardening.

It's amazing what you can find if you look. We've been putting in garden this week. Melon and veggie garden in the back. Replanting some grass and a wildflower garden. In the the front we've had these 2 sad little planter spots in front of the house that have been empty for years. Being poor, I haven't had the money to buy plants to put into it, and plants are so expensve! $1.47 for a single pansy? I think not.

Anyways, I go to lowes last night for some citrnella oil and they have two huge racks of flowers selling for $.10 each. I got 2 flats of pansies, 3 of snapdragons and 4 of verbena for $4. We also got 6 boxes of plant food for $4 because the boxes broke open. all the little packets were there. There was also dandelion-cide for $1, again the bag broke open. We ended up with enough leftoever for a bird feeder and a bat house! YAY! I'm going to get the flowers planted this afternoon, and hopefully gets some pics snapped of them. Granted there are a few sad looking plants in there, but there are so many good ones it's sad to see them just tossed aside.

Wednesday, May 03, 2006

SP8 Questionnaire

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like? I love pretty much all natural fibers. I don't mind synthetic blends, but i prefer them to be soft.

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in? Haha. A drawer. I have fabric to make myself a needle case or two, but do I do it?? Nooooooooo.

3. How long have you been knitting? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced? Only since November, But I'm adventurous enough to be an intermediate knitter. Lace and Fair Isle are my only uncharted territory.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list? yes

5. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.) Clean or spicy smells. I'm not much for the fancy schmancy flowery stuff.

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy? Oh yes. Any thing chocolate. I'd eat chocolate covered cyanide without thinking twice.

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin? I sew, mostly costumes. Halloween and Renn Faire type stuff. I just got a wheel and I've been spinning up a storm on it. I love my wheel. is it legal to marry a spinning wheel???

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD) I like most everything. Lately I've been listening to Dave Matthews, Imogen Heap and FrouFrou, Modest Mouse, but I really do like Everything. I especially like swing and big band music. Glenn Miller rocks my socks.

9. What's your favorite color? Or--do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer? Any colors you just can't stand? What is there about color to dislike? I love pretty much all colors. I prefer vibrant colors though. Pastels are pretty, but I don't use them too much.

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets? I have 2 rotten children and a rotten husband. I also have 2 rotten dogs and one rotten cat. Will trade any or all for yarn. :)

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos? No. Sadly. I do wear fingerless gloves though!

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit? Lately I've been on a sock kick. My favorite project to knit though, was a anthropologie capelet for myself. I love little coverup type sweaters.

13. What are you knitting right now? Tragically hideous socks for a friends mother. Honestly, why don't people ask me to knit pretty things?

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts? Yes. Very much, yes.

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic? Circs and DPN's. I have bamboo and some birch. I love addi's but only have one set so far.

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift? I have a yarn winder. No swift yet. Eventually I'll talk the rotten hubby into making me one. Hopefully before the children put us in a nursing home.

17. How did you learn to knit? Got laid up on a couch for 3 months after surgery. Bought a copy of Stitch N Bitch and some needles and went to it.

18. How old is your oldest UFO? 6 months. I haven't been knitting for long. It's a wrap sweater that I started in Lion Brand homespun before I realized how evil Homespun is.

19. What is your favorite holiday? Christmas and Halloween.

20. Is there anything that you collect? 40's 50's and 60's barware and kitsch. I was born a few decades too late.

21. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have? I'm dying for some of the pretty yarns I keep seeing. Lorna's Laces in the Irving Park colorway. Mmm I love that. I'd love dome of that crazy handspun I've been seeing everywhere too. I'm trying to expand my collection of addi's, and I'm looking for a good cropped 3/4 sleeve cardi pattern in worsted weight that is pretty but simple. I don't have any magazine subscriptions, I usually just buy them as the come out, but I'm considering an IK sub.

22. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn? Lace. I love lace, but I get confused. And lace-weight yarn strikes the fear of God into my heart.

23. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements? yes! and I wear a womens 9.5

24. When is your birthday? 06/01