Spin.Knit.Kids.School.Repeat

Emvious Photography: Jax's First Emergency Room Trip

Check out Jax's trip on my Photography Blog!

Well, since I've been MIA for a bit I should probably update what I've done lately:

May:

I finished my MIL's scarf/stole/shawl thingy.  I used 2 skeins of Sunshine Yarns Classic Sock yarn in Mulberry Spice and Sweet Clementine. (-2)

I was asked to weave a scarf for a friend after she'd seen one I'd done in the same yarn. Woven using Sunshine Yarns Classic Sock in New Moon Alice.



I spun this yarn and knit a Haruni:
Spun from 2 Sunshine Yarns SW Merino Rovings.  Un-Birthday Party and Patronus.  I spun these on the new lace flyer I got and ended up with around 880 yards of 2 ply fingering yarn. (-2 +1-.5 = +1/2)


Picture of the yarn preknitting:


I spun this yarn for a friend.  Sunshine Yarns SW Merino in Blood Red, spun into a 2 ply sport weight 300 yards.  She made this into a gorgeous shawl.



In June I finished:
Char's Birthday Boheme.  Made with Sunshine Yarns Worsted in Ever After.
The pattern is written for sport weight, with sizes up to 18 months.  I was able to modify using some tips from other project pages to make a 4t using worsted weight yarn.  She is very happy with it.  (Please don't pay any attention to the mess in the background!  The kids' toybox was confiscated and redeposited in the middle of my office floor.)  Buttons are by BlueManateeButtons on Etsy.  (-2)

In June I also started 2 pairs of socks...brilliant me made each on a set of DPNs instead of my usual 2 at a time using magic loop knitting.  So I  have 1 of each.

Skew:  Sunshine Yarns Classic Sock in Alice (WIP 1)

Rivendell: Sunshine Yarns Classic Sock in Forest Mist. (WIP 1)

And spun this yarn:  Sunshine Yarns SW Merino, Potronus, 2 ply light fingering, 500 yards.

Yesterday was the mystery challenge.  One of those do as much as you can in 1 day sort of things.
One person from each house and year is chosen to participate.  I was that person for the Slytherin 4th years.

I spun the Sunshine Yarns Tonks from the earlier post and knit it into this little baby hat:

Then I spun some yarn for a present, the Gaia's Colours top I mentioned before:
And then I knit up some little baby mittens to go to a friend:

Well, it's being posted late but I did spin on Days 3 & 4. 

Day 3:
Bonkers: Funky Greens (Merino/Tencle blend) into a 2 ply worsted/bulky yarn

Day 4:
Spinning today coincided with the Harry Potter Knitting/Crocheting House Cup Quidditch Mystery Challenge that I was chosen to participate in for Slytherin 4th years.

Here's the spinning that was done for the projects:
Gaia's Colours Fibre Arts: Samovila Top (50 Merino/50Tencel) in Pollack, 2 ply worsted yarn

Sunshine Yarns SW Merino in Tonks spun into a crazy thick and thin

Well, it doesn't look like much yet, but 2/3 of triangle is finished!

The Tour de Fleece is a project on Ravelry coinciding with the Tour de France for spinners. 

Here is my Day 1 spinning:
1/3 of Love Triangle

Spring quarter finished up a few weeks ago and I've got 1 more week before the Summer quarter starts.  So I'm getting caught up some customs spinning jobs, some weaving jobs, and house keeping.  Spring cleaning was taking forever with classes still going.  But now, I'm down to 2 rooms to clean out.  Alot of what is left is still clothes and stuff that needs to get sorted out for Goodwill or to go to friends (or keep - there is no way Goodwill is getting my handknits...I'll eventually have grandkids!).

May kinda took me by surprise it was just starting and now it's already gone!

We're heading into wk 9 of the quarter at school.  3 left until Summer break, it's only 3 weeks, but it's a big break for us!  Let's just say I can't wait!  I'm so ready to be done with this quarter so I can actually feel like I'm accomplishing something again.  Well I guess that's only true for half of my classes. 

Over the last week I have started feeling like I'm making some progress though. So it's not as bad as it was a couple weeks ago when I was drowning!

So let me think on what was accomplished this month craftiness wise and I'll get to that later tonight.

Alright, I've put it off long enough...


Yarn In includes purchases and trades that came in.
Yarn Out includes finished objects, yarn I sold or traded out.
Limbo Yarn includes yarn that is currently being used.

So our starting total was: 120 skeins respectively
January = 132 skeins
February = 119
March =  127

Yarn In: 

For the Store: 
10 rovings arrived for the Jacob's Fan club spinning!  (9 of these have left already!) 4 batts and one custom spinning order also arrived.  Weaving: 3 skeins arrived for 2 different orders.

For Me:
1 = trades/gifted
8 = my purchases (3 were destash facilitation)
3 = Clubs/Prior Purchases/Customs (Sunshine Yarn's Earth Day Kit/ FFtC Fangtasia x2)
3 = Blankie Scraps/Minis (sets) - these don't really count toward my total, but while I'm at it...

Yarn Out:
26 = Finished Objects
(MIL's scarf as of yesterday =2/ Unbirthday Hat =1/ Monkeys = 1/ Doomsday Bag =21)
9 = Sold / Traded / Gifted
5 = Sent out for blankie swaps

Limbo Yarn:
- 7 are the Wicked Sweater
- 2 are Anemoi Mittens
- 2 are 2 pairs of socks
- 1 Montego Bay Scarf
- 1 Butterbeer Citron
- 1 Owlings


End total: 127 + (-38+12) = 99  (I'm under 100!!!  Wait maybe I need to go recount! And destash for what is coming in!)

Here's the take:
Arriving with my roving order for the JFC spinning:
Bella, Edward, Jacob and Emmett (< he was part of the custom order) all in Sunshine Yarns Classic Sock. Birthday $$ from the folks spent well!

My Destash Facilitation:
More Sunshine:  Crookshanks in Twist, and O.W.L.'s & Wolfsong in Classic


Blankie Minis:

Other Arrivals:

Here's a kinda slouchy beanie that I've had hiding out in my purse being worked on here and there.  "Unbirthday" by Sunshine Yarns, a colorway of which I don't know if I'll ever have enough!

I plan on eventually writing up the notes on this project, once I actually have time to sit still long enough with it in my hands to do it.

Wow, if that came up in a search I'm sure I'd get some "what the ____" 's !

Anyways, the "Like A (Monkey) Virgin" socks were finished last month!  A record 12 days of knitting, with school taking time away, these are my fastest socks yet!  And I love them!  They fit wonderfully, the colors are great, the yarn is great...(wait, how could I not love the yarn...it's Sunshine Yarms!)

Here they are:

So you want to spin...I can help a bit as long as it's on a wheel.  Spindling was not for me!  I have uber-respect for those who can do it, it just wasn't working for me.

So this is what you got when your roving showed up:

Start splitting the roving.  You can be as thick or thin as you want dependent on your desired finished product. This should start out pretty easy at first.  The roving will split easily in spots where it 'wants' to split.
Now you are ready to spin.
Fray the end of your lead on piece a bit then overlap the start off the fiber and the lead.  Let the twist take.  As you build up some twist, pull small amount out from the fiber end of the piece you are working on and then let the twist slip up this part.  This is drafting!
Keep this pattern up. Get some twist gathered up, slip a little of the fiber out, let the twist travel up, and let the bobbin take in the spun yarn.  You're spinning!

Now when you get about 6 inches from the end of your current piece you need to get a second piece ready to go.  Pull a bit of the fiber out of the next piece and lay it against the end of your previous piece.
Start spinning again and let the twist take in the new piece while continuing the drafting process.  Then you just keep going.

School has been a time hog lately!  I barely have time to do anything outside of the large format, lighting, and darkroom classes I'm taking right now.  I've been spinning away as well, so very little knitting time has occurred.  BUT...I do have a few udates to make as well as an info post for piing coming up soon!

Yup that's right.  April 1st we had snow and hail, so I cast on another pair of socks!  I cast on Cookie A.'s Monkey pattern.  It's a well loved pattern that I never even thought of making, since there are only 11,500(ish) pairs out there according to the Ravelry pattern pages. The pattern is free, published in Knitty.

Plus the April Sock Knitter's Anonymous group on Ravelry is having their Cookie A. month this month and we decided to have a side knit-a-long for "Monkey Virgins."  Only those who have never knit a pair of Monkeys qualify for the SKA Sockdown Challenge with Monkeys.

After scowering pictures of FO's on the project page I thought I wanted a mostly solid color, but then I found the perfect yarn and it just sort of clicked!

My "Like A (Monkey) Virgin" socks have been started! They are being knit in Sunshine Yarns Classic Sock in Red Queen.

The March instillation of the dreaded tally for 2010! 

Yarn In includes purchases and trades that came in.
Yarn Out includes finished objects, yarn I sold or traded out.
Limbo Yarn includes yarn that is currently being used.

So our starting total was: 120 skeins respectively
January = 132 skeins
February = 119
March =  127

Yarn In:
2 Rovings and one skein arrived that were purchased in February
1 = trades/gifted
15 = my purchases
(Plus 1 kit...but it's my birthday present, does it still count?)

Yarn Out:
3 = Finished Objects
6 = Sold / Traded / Gifted

Limbo Yarn:

- 21 of those are the Doomsday Bag
- 7 are the Wicked Sweater
- 2 are 2 pairs of socks
- 1 Montego Bay Scarf
- 1 Un-Birthday Hat
- 1 Butterbeer Citron
- 1 Owlings


End total: 119 (-9+17) =  127

Here's what it comes out to:

This was a gift in a swap from the dyer herself: Culture Pop! Self Striping Sock in Volterra:

Then we come to my own downfall:
Storied Yarns Merino Lace in Rose Hathaway, destined to become a lace shawl for my SIL's birthday in June:
And my Sunshine:
Mulberry Spice Classic:
And 2 skeins of Chocolate Plum Sunsilk:

 It's finished!  It's finally finished!  One knitolution officially completed!  I have conquered colorwork, steeking, and seaming!  Not to mention my first i-cord edging!

For more pics and notes check out my Ravelry Project page!

results in this:

And a close up:
Now all that is left to knit is the flap.  (2500 of 7000 stitches of it is done so far!)
This needs to be finished by Mar. 31st, @ midnight.

The March instillation of the dreaded tally for 2010! 

Yarn In includes purchases and trades that came in.
Yarn Out includes finished objects, yarn I sold or traded out.
Limbo Yarn includes yarn that is currently being used.

So our starting total was: 120 skeins respectively
January = 132 skeins
February = 119
March = 

Yarn In:
2 Rovings and one skein arrived that were purchased in February
0 = trades/gifted
11 = my purchases
(Plus 1 kit...but it's my birthday present, does it still count?)

Yarn Out:
0 = Finished Objects
5 = Sold / Traded / Gifted

Limbo Yarn:

- 21 of those are the Doomsday Bag
- 7 are the Wicked Sweater
- 2 are 2 pairs of socks
- 1 Montego Bay Scarf
- 1 Un-Birthday Hat
- 1 Butterbeer Citron
- 1 Owlings

End total: 119 (-5+11) =  125


Purchases:

February's Purchases that came in March:
Blue Moon Fiber Arts, Socks that Rawk Mediumweight in Narikama.

  
CJ Kopec Creations Honey Bear & Lake House Merino/Tencel Blends

And the Feb 2010 Sunshine Yarns Harry Potter Club Shipment, Shapeshifter.

For March:
I got 2 skeins of Berroco Luster at the LYS I just found. I've been wanting to try this yarn for a while now and could never find it without having to order it.
Sunshine Yarns (as always!)  Mad Hatter Classic Sock:
Red Queen Classic: