I Made Some Yarn
I spun a bunch of yarn this week. My client (holla Mary) supplied various roving, locks, bits of yarn and beads- I put it together for her. I spun singles and added about 6 feet of various yarn bits throughout the yarn. I just did a very simple ply and then added the beads after I spun it. The beads were a little lonely so I added some of those felty things too- I usually add them when I ams spinning but this time I added them with a little bit of jewelry wire and added little glass and seed beads. It’s super blingy yarn!
Entrelac- You Kinda Kicked My Ass
I taught myself Enteric this week. I have been courious about trying it for years. I am knitting a bunch of baby stuff and thought it would be fun to make some fancy schmancy burp cloths. I used some self stripping Sugar and Cream yarn. I had fun with the process. I used an old article from Spring 2007 Interweave that explained how to do it. I had some success. Ironically the first burp cloth came out great- the second one is totally wonky. I didn’t mind the picking up stitches part – but I had a really hard time figuring out how to do the side triangles. I think I may have another burp cloth in me and then maybe a pair of socks with an Etrelac cuff.
I Am Capable of um, Learning
I have been trying to really challenge myself with my knitting. As I said I went through a bit of a slump and am fighting my way back. I have had so much on my mind that I decided I really needed to find something more challenging to re-engage me with my knitting. I dear say- it has been working! My first project was an intarsia sweater 
the pattern is from Sheep Shop and the yarn is Cascade Eco Wool which was really nice to work with. This has been my most sucessful sweater to date- it fits well, went quickly and was really fun to work on.
I had also bought some lace from KnitPicks a million years ago. I was trying to use up some of my giant and rapidly growing stash- so I opted for a more traditional lace pattern. I am knitting the Swallowtail Shawl . I am super dyslexic and have been avoiding knitting charts for years. My friend suggested that I color code the charts- and it has been working great!
The Suckiest Blogger of the Year
Well its been 5 months since my last blog post. I guess we did make it across the country. We are settled in here. I haven’t been blogging very much. The adjustment from North Carolina to Portland was a but rougher than I expected, emotionally speaking. I haven’t been in such the mood to share. I have been knitting tons, but not spinning much. Actually it has been like my wheels are like high school ex boyfriends (not that I had many of those). I see them everyday. I nod at them, and then pretend like I don’t see them staring. A couple of things have happened. I took a sewing class over the summer and have been loving making stuff. Mostly I have made bags but have moved on to some baby stuff for my friend Gigi. Here are a few photos of the stuff I have sewn:
This is my donkey bag- it reminds me of Bella
I made an organizer for my sewing stuff
A little backpack to use when I take Bella on loooonnngg walks
I also have been knitting tons of stuff and FINALLY started spinning again! Hurrah!
