Has it really been amost 2 weeks?

Goodness, I had not realized that I had been so remiss in posting. I swore it was just a couple of days ago... really... Just shows how fast time is flying, I guess.

The first weekend in October, Bree and I took a roadtrip to Gordyville, IL (think Rantoul), it is about 2.5 hours from us. Gordyville is a horse arena/show barn place. Bree has shown there before when they hosted a big Appaloosa show each spring. The IL State NBHA show was being held there.

We knew 2 people who were running in it and this is the Association that Bree will be running in next year, so we thought it would be good for her to watch.

It was a big show (for what we're accustomed to)- 270 open participants and 50ish youth. There is one girl, Ashley, who was finishing up her youth career and is (and I'm not sure of the actual stats) the No 1 youth in the country that just blew everyone away. She ran a 13.7 SECOND pattern. No one in either the open or youth was within a half second of her. It was just amazing.

The other good part of going was we got to hook up with Miss Paige, Miss JoD and we met Miss Lori and her BF, Darren - who was participating - It was so nice to catch up with everyone and kick back, laugh, talk and just relax!

Lori had brought some wine that she had been talking about with a 'chicken' on the label, so we all had to try it to see if it was 'all that'. I'm not a drinker, as most of you reading this know, and it was ok. But, we had to prove we drank 'chicken wine' - so here's the photo that Bree took with Paige's camera!

On other news, of course, I've been knitting and spinning. I have finished another Christmas present, have 2 more on needles and spun some lucious deep blue/purple varigated Baby Alpaca and Merino. It was 7.6 oz (from The Fold) and it is so rich of a color! As usual, I have no plans for it, I just like to spin!

The weather has just not cooperated for doing much. Bill and Bree put up the Halloween decorations this past Sunday. If we ever get a day without rain or dreary, I will take a photo. I joked that they probably should have put up the Christmas decorations considering this weather!

Big event this coming weekend... A landmark... More on that later!

It is still September, right?

I swore when I looked at the calendar that it was still September! You wouldn't perhaps guess it from our weather.

This feels like a chilly, windy, dreary, late November day. It got down to 45 degrees last night. Yesterday, by lunchtime, my nose was running (while in the house) and the tips of my fingers were cold enough that it made spinning difficult. (Spinning was the PERFECT thing to do on a cold dreary day) - Playing with the fiber made me warm and fuzzy inside! The thermostat said 66.

Now, these days, I am ALWAYS warm. I think it is the stage in my life where instead of wearing a sweatshirt and sweatpants in the house in the summer while the air conditioning is on, I am in shorts and a tshirt and STILL warm - this was the first summer that I don't think I even pulled them out of the closet. I was surprised that I was cold yesterday. Maybe, it was the dampness getting to me - as we had a roaring storm go thru Sunday night. So, I broke down and warmed the house up to 70 (so I could spin, of course) then turned it back down.

So, I have been spinning! I finished Joy's fiber - I think it turned out so pretty! I will see her Wednesday to give it to her. It is a bit more 'green' that shows in this picture (I have noticed that my camera does not photograph dark greens well - wonder why that is)

And a closeup:

I am now working on some absolutely lucious, as in, want to roll around in, fiber - it is a blend of Alpaca and silk - It is so soft and airy. I am spinning it to be more of a dk / sport weight than a worsted weight so I can make a more lacey decorative scarf. I 'may' have a pattern in mind - but, not 100% sure on it yet. I purchased 3 ounces of each color and am going to ply one strand of each color together - should give me a nice, heathered type look (I hope) - Here's a pic of the fiber before spinning: I have the cream already spun and am a tad past half way thru the brown. It would be so nice to finish this today! (As I look around the house thinking what can I put off - cleaning wise - in order to finish spinning this up - LOL).

I have multiple knitting projects going which I don't normally do and don't like as it preys on my mind that I should be working on 'x' and not 'y' - but, in all fairness, I had to order a skein of yarn to finish the one - could not find the color locally. And, I need an opinion from the knitters in our group on how to finish another (which I'll hopefully get tomorrow night) - and then of course, I have a sock going - (I am allowed 2 per month - and this is my 2nd for September :) ) And a bigger, ongoing, Christmas present project that I am just working on steadily as it will take me a bit to complete - but I am 30% complete on it - so am actually happy with that.

The wheel on the wheel goes round and round...

Ok, so I changed the words to this kiddie song a little bit, but, it is true... The wheel on my spinning wheel goes round and round. I know I've said it before, but, I just so enjoy spinning! It is therapeutic in its own way, different from knitting, but so relaxing all the same.

I also think it is contagious and Kate took some spinning lessons and is building her addiction and Rachel caught the bug and has even purchased a wheel which should be arriving in the very near future! I think that makes four of us now that have wheels - I forsee one of our 'knit nights' turning into a spinning night!

To get caught up from my last post back in April (I know, bad me) - here's what I've accomplished! I have even actually SOLD some of my handspun - how cool is that!!!

I just realized that the last one I posted was handspun number four and I am now on Handspun number 17 - So, I won't post them all - just a few of my favorites!

This is a nice, soft green Merino/Silk (80/20) that I spun for our Christmas in July swap for my person. It was so easy to work with and is soft, soft, soft!

The next one was my 12th handspun, it is a SW Merino by Julie Spins which would be great for mittens, hat, something along those lines as it is a washable wool! I love the 'woodsey' color!

The last for now is a neat turquoisey blue with a touch of black. It is a Rambouillet roving by Julie Spins called 'Stormy' and I never realized that Rambouillet spins up so soft - I thought it was a shade coarser, and I was pleasantly surprised. I will definitely purchase more of this wool! The color is rich and it is easy to spin! This yarn was used for a scarf for my Mom - It's a perfect color for her and it is nice to know that it was handmade from start to finish!


There are many more photos and spinning finished objects - you can see them here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/14597896@N02/sets/72157615046367463 - (why I cannot get links to work in my blog is beyond me)

Oh, and I purchased a SECOND wheel in June... The Lendrum DT! So, now I have 2 projects on wheels at once which is so fun... I just have to figure out how to 'power' them both at the same time. Kind of like riding 2 bicycles or 2 horses at the same time - yeup.. gonna figure it out!

Still waiting on No 2 to get into the trap!

Well, rat with a tail no 2 - seems to be a 'wascally wabbit' - um.. oops - wrong cartoon.

We are still waiting. NOT patiently I might add. I still hear 'it' and it still wakes me up. I'm getting to be a very cranky person. (so, what's new, I know)!

we spoke to the Mr Animal Tracker - and if by the end of the weekend, we still have not caught 'it' - then we will switch to a walnut in the trap - we've been told that they cannot pass up a walnut - must be like a catnip thing. I don't care if we have to put filet mignon in the trap. I want to sleep past 5am. Really I do.

I've been knitting and spinning as usual, trying to get into some semblance of a routine now that Bree is back in school. She just finished the first full week. She's gotten into the groove and is just cruising along.

Next week it is my turn to get into a groove! We've got some fun things happening this weekend, so hopefully by Monday, I'll have some pics to share! (if not pics, then good and also funny stories!)

Current spinning and knitting project!

To keep my sanity... Especially with Bree's Civil War project due 1/2 today and rest tomorrow -

I've been spinning a wool called Targhee - this is an awesome fiber - I see lots more of it in my future! This is bobbin 1 with 1/2 of the 4oz of wool. I am about 3/4ths finished with the 2nd bobbin and then I'll be plying them together. I like this so much and it is turning out so nice (at least as a single) that I'm hoping after plying I'll like equally as much and I'm thinking of making fingerless mitts with it!



















I've been also working on a second sock pattern from Cookie A's new book, called Angee - Glynis is finished and gifted to Val. This is an easy-peasy pattern and I'm using Sundara yarn, in the color "Be Home Late" - a light purple with some blue/gray in it! It's turning out wonderful - very stretchy pattern - If I knew what I know now, I'd use US 1's instead of 1.5's... I love it though!
















All I have left is 18 rows of the toe to do on sock #2!


It will be back to my Northwest Celtic Jacket upon completion as Val has finished her sleeves - so I need to get caught up to her so we can steek and complete - I haven't even started my sleeves yet so I need to hop to!

The weather is supposed to be gorgeous by the weekend so, I'm sure we'll be outside alot!

Lots of knitting and spinning!

I haven't blogged lately - I think about it- get distracted and don't get back to it - but, I'll have several in a row, I'm sure -

An easy one, of course, is all the knitting and spinning to get caught up on!

I don't even remember where to begin. Mom's birthday was March 17th - so I made her:

It's a pin cushion, wood sunflower box - a kit I got at The Fold in Marengo by CiDDesigns - it's cute and uses scrap sock yarn!

Then I also made her this - inspired by Jen (Knitting Like Crazy) - who made one and I thought it was awesome!

I also made Bree this quick scarf (all the kids are wearing what I call the 'indoor' scarves!)

Then, since I hadn't knit her socks lately - I had found this conjoined creations flat feet tye-dyed yarn at Gene Ann's in Barrington just her color way - the pattern is Twisted Tweed - As usual, they are almost knee socks and I felt like they would never get finished (plus I ended up redoing them 3 or 4 times so they would fit)

Then, I started these socks from Cookie A's new book called Glynis - I am using a super wonderful, fantastic, phenomenal yarn from Zen Garden's Harmony Club called "Be Mine" or as I like to refer to it as Chocolate Covered Cherries - It is merino, cashemere and nylon - 450 yards... And I ran out of yarn with 20 rows left on the 2nd sock - how in the heck do I use up 450 yards? I dunno. But, I know Val has some of this and I'm going to beg, bribe and offer up some other yarn to get enough to finish! They're gorgeous!

I've also been taking regular lessons at The Fold on my Ladybug Spinning Wheel - I know have completed a couple of things - I have realized I need to spin thicker! (2 ply sock weight isn't going to do much - as you need 3 ply for socks) - But, the first is corriedale wool in two tone browns (med and light)

And the 2nd is a two color polworth wool - one a rust/burgundy which was a beast to spin with as there was alot of vegetation and 'nubs' in it - and an awesome blue-jean blue that spun like a dream! It's too fine by itself - I will need to double it or run something with it to knit - but, I am, if nothing else, consistent! haha - I also learned NOT to ply at night with dark colors - you cannot see the amount of twist you're plying - and my first skein is uneven - but, ok, I learned. I have a ton of yardage though (4 oz of each color) -




While at The Fold last week, I came home with about 20 different kinds of wools and other fibers at sample amounts to get a feel for spinning other fibers so I know what they're like if I want to purchase in qty! I think I'll make a notebook with my samples and notes about spinning them - I'm looking forward to the BFL, Ingeo (Corn), the blends and all the different breeds of sheep wool!

I think that's the result since my last blog post - but, I'm sure I'm missing something - more to come!

My new toy!

This past week, I received a late Christmas present, an early birthday present and even earlier Christmas (this year's Christmas) present.

I am now the owner of a Schacht Ladybug Spinning Wheel! It is all set up and ready to go - I just need to get some 'practice' fiber to spin with which will hopefully occur this week!




In the meantime, I am trying to finish up some of my knitting list projects as I know this will cut in on my knitting time - or I'm going to petition for longer days to be able to do both equally!

I wasn't going to purchase a wheel, but came across this deal and even Bill agreed it was just too too good of a deal to pass up!

I'm going to be scheduling some spinning classes for both Bree and I as she has decided to forge her own 'yarn-making' business! Such an Entrepreneur!

Stay tuned for progress!

Ok, Someone talk some sense into me!!!

As I posted below, while at The Fold on Thursday, I was so serious about thinking about deciding on getting a spinning wheel. I've been looking online, emailing with some folks about ideas and the like.

Then today, in my New Year notebook (started a new one to kick off 2009), I started listing the things I need/want to knit. Things I already have yarn for. Things I already have 'planned' for gifts coming up in the next 3 months. Things I have patterns for. I am up to 10. And ONLY ONE of these is socks.

So, I shouldn't even be daydreaming about spinning. My list is extensive (well, kind of simplistic, but a project or two - like the jacket I posted about are complex). But, I am STILL daydreaming about spinning. What is it about the mystique of spinning that has me captured? I honestly do not know. Could it be something new? Perhaps the idea of making something from beginning to end (as in spin the yarn, dye it then knit it and finally gift it)? Is it because it is the natural progression of a knitter / fiber addict? Is it because it is just something different - craft wise - for me to add to my forte'? Do I REALLY need another thing to add to my forte?

I wish I could rent a wheel for say 2 weeks. Let me play, see if it is really something I want to do. If it is, then fine. If not, then I get this all out of my system.

I like the things on my KNIT TO DO list. They will be fun, different and challenging projects (ok, some).

I need to start thinking of the balance of the year and starting the gifts I need to complete NOW.

So, I shouldn't think any further about spinning...

Yea, right.

I went for a little drive today...

I went for a little drive/adventure today to a town called Big Rock which is a half hour drive (west of Naperville) to a shop called "Esther's Place" - not exactly a yarn store, but they do have yarn.

It is a very unique shop with a very neat idea. A group of families created a Co-Op got a grant from the USDA and created an IL "Animal Fiber" Co-op. They raise all different breeds of sheep (I learned about almost 10 of these breeds today) along with Rabbit fiber (Angora, Fuzzy Lops), some Alpaca and they even had this EXTREMELY lucious Buffalo fiber.

The mission is to increase education about ILLINOIS grown animal fiber and how it is "manufactured" from the raising of the animal, to shearing, taking from raw fiber to roving, then to spinning and finally used in a variety of creative disciplines (dry and wet felting, knitting, crocheting, weaving, etc..)

I ventured to this store as I saw on their website that they have spinning classes and figured that they would know of someone to spin the wonderful Alpaca I received thru the "Fight The Battle Auction".

Well, after talking for over 2 hours with Donna (owner) and her wonderfully creative and talented daughter, Natasha, it looks like this fall I will be taking a spinning class! They offer a 6 week course on spinning whereby you go once a week and then included in the class fee is the oppportunity to take home the spinning wheel to practice and do more spinning at home - how cool is that?

They also offer loom weaving and the roving used as well as fabric is out of this world!

The shop is located in an old home with the first floor housing all the fiber and classrooms and the second floor is set up for a bed and breakfast - 3 bedrooms ALL decorated with gorgeous antiques and beautiful looms and spinning wheels. Two bathrooms also populate the upstairs. I could definitely see a group of yarn/fiber enthusiasts sneaking away from the world for a weekend and "fibering" non-stop!

The absolutely scrumptious roving/yarn, books, knowledge, wonderfully helpful folks definitely makes this a "MUST SEE" for anyone in or around the Chicagoland area - even if you're just visiting.

They were part of the Fiber Festival at Catigny as well as the Fiber Fetival in Crystal Lake earlier this summer.

I'm going to take a day (4 to 6 hours) according to their brochure and do a loom weave project of like a bath mat or such - I'm quite inspired at the moment (gee, can you tell).

Here's a link to their website with all their information: http://www.esthersplacefibers.com/

It was an awesome afternoon and I'm so glad I went!