Tour de Fleece - First 10 Days

Today is a rest day. I am loving TdF so far!

Tour de Fleece - July 9

I spun for about 3 hours today and did about 50 grams of some fiber I dyed with food coloring. Our daughter was being silly with the dolly in the background. LOL

Tour de Fleece - July 8

Today I spun for 2 hours on my spindle. I dyed this fiber with food coloring, and it is several shades of pink. The visible part now is a lighter shade of pink.

Tour de Fleece - July 7

Today I plied 2 ounces of colonial wool. This will be used for a shawl and combined with some green and orange. Love!

Tour de Fleece - July 6

Today I spun for about 6 hours on my SpinOlutions Bee. The bobbin on the right has about 1 ounce of colonial wool. The bobbin on the left has about 50 grams of Knit Picks bare that I dyed with food coloring.

Tour de Fleece - July 5

Today I made progress on both spindles:

I am really loving the TdF! :)

Tour de Fleece - July 4

Today I plied two 1-ounce singles of colonial wool into yarn (left) and spun 1 ounce of colonial fiber (right).

Tour de Fleece - July 3

Today I spun for about an hour and a half on my spindle. I love how this yarn is turning out. The color reminds me of flamingos, so I will probably name it that.

Tour de Fleece - Update

Today I spun 15 minutes on my Trindle, 15 minutes on a generic student spindle, and 1 hour and 45 minutes on my SpinOlutions Bee. It was a great start to my first TdF.

Tour de Fleece

Today starts the Tour de France and also the "Tour de Fleece." From the Ravelry Tour de Fleece group: "The concept is simple, They spin, we spin. A real spinning themed spin-along."

I have 1 wheel and 2 spindles that I will be using for the Tour. My spinning wheel is a SpinOlutions Bee, and her name is Beatrice. She folds down to about the size of a sewing maching for easy portability.

With my Bee, who is named Beatrice, I will be starting off by spinning some colonial wool.

I will be spinning some purple colonial wool with my new Trindle:

And lastly, I will be using a student spindle from my friend, Deb, to spin some Knit Picks bare wool that I dyed with food coloring:

Happy Spinning!

Summer of Socks 2011

It's that time of year again!  Summer of Socks starts tomorrow, June 21, and runs through September 21.  It's all about knitting socks, baby!  The festivities can be found on Ravelry at Summer of Socks 2011.

Speaking of socks, I have finished a couple of pairs recently.  Let's call it the warmup for SOS2011!

This first pair is for my self-imposed sock club (SISC).  This yarn is surprisingly awesome.  It's Debrah Norville's Serenity sock yarn (it's a combination of merino, bamboo, and nylon) in a colorway called Tanzanite.  I did a pair of cuff-down anklets.  Love!

The next pair is from an unknown yarn, but I just love the colors.  I named these Candy Corn.  I did an afterthought heel, which is quickly becoming a favorite of mine.

Let the summertime sock knitting begin!  ;)

Podcasts - TheKnitGirlls and Round the Twist

I have recently started to listen to and watch various knitting/spinning podcasts, so I thought it would be fun to share with you my opinions (good and bad) about some of them.  I will also post about podcasts I don't enjoy, because Your Mileage Mary Vary. 

I am starting off with my two favorites (they are both tied for first place).  If you know of a knitting/spinning or other podcast that you think I would enjoy, please leave a comment.   ;)

TheKnitGirllls
Podcast Type:  Video
Web  Page:  http://www.theknitgirllls.com
Ravelry Group:  http://www.ravelry.com/groups/the-knit-girllls
Hosts:  Laura and Leslie
My Rating:  5 out of 5 bunny paws
My Watching/Listening Status:  I have downloaded all of the episodes, and I am almost caught up on all of the past episodes.  I stalk them for new episodes.
What I Love:  Everything!  I really love the camaraderie between the girls and how much the love to laugh.  I have learned a lot about various yarns from watching this podcast, and I love the book reviews. 
What I Dislike:  Nothing!  Honestly!
Other Comments:  On their webpage, they have an awesome tutorial for an afterthought heel for socks, and it is the best one I have seen online so far.  I recently asked Laura for a book recommendation (since she is a librarian and an avid reader) and loved the book she recommended.  Laura and Leslie both design their own patterns which can be found on Ravelry.

Round the Twist

Podcast Type:  Video
Web  Page:  http://roundthetwistwithcarin.blogspot.com/
Ravelry Group:  http://www.ravelry.com/groups/round-the-twist
Host:  Carin
My Rating:  5 out of 5 bunny paws
My Watching/Listening Status:  I have downloaded and watched all of the episodes, and I stalk her for new episodes.
What I Love:  I love her cute doggie cameos.  I love how excited she gets about her projects.  And, we have the same spinning wheel!  (SpinOlutions Bee)  She is an avid sock knitter, which we have in common.  She also knits very beautiful shawls.
What I Dislike:  Nothing!  Honestly!
Other Comments:  She recently re-did her craft room, and it has inspired me to re-do mine. 

Rainbow Skittles Socks

My second pair of toe-up socks!!!  I am officially addicted to Wendy's gusset toe-up socks.

The yarn is Regia Ringel and the pattern is called Hermione's Everyday Socks by Erica Lueder.  Very simple pattern that really gives great texture.

My next Self-Imposed Sock Club yarn was chosen by my hubby, and he chose....

 It's Debrah Norville's Serenity sock yarn in a colorway called Tanzanite.  I am going to make some simple toe-up socks again since this yarn is so wildly variegated.

Sock Obsession

I have been completely obsessed with knitting socks lately ... even more than usual. 

First, these socks are my very first completed pair of toe-up socks.  I am IN LOVE with them.  The yarn is Trekking, and the construction of the pattern is the toe-up gusset sock pattern from the book "Socks from the Toe Up" by Wendy Johnson.  The cuff pattern is Blueberry Waffle.  I love everything about these socks!

My husband picked the yarn for my next pair of socks for the Self Imposed Sock Club, and he chose some Regia striping rainbow yarn.  YAY!  I can't wait to cast on!

Next, these socks I named Green Lollipop socks.  My husband got me the yarn for Christmas 2009, and he loves the color green and loved green lollipops when he was a kid.  The construction of these socks is the generic cuff-down pattern in "Sensational Knitted Socks" by Charlene Schurch.  The yarn is Wisdom Yarns.

I have two pairs of socks in progress.  First are for the Sock Knitters Anonymous group on Ravelry for the May challenge (beaded socks).  I am recycling a $2 purse from Goodwill that had bangles all over it.  They are so crazy, and I know they will be fun to wear.  The construction is a cuff-down tube with an afterthought heel.  This pair is going to be called Bangle Socks.

Lastly, I have an awesome sock out of these wonderfully bright colors.  I am calling them my Candy Corn socks because they sort of remind me of those colors.  The construction is also a cuff-down tube with an afterthought heel.

Summer of Socks starts on June 21 and ends on September 21.  Basically, we try to knit as many socks as possible and show them off.  I can't wait!

Afghan Sampler Crochet-a-Long

Our local yarn store, Knit 'n Knibble, recently started a Crochet-a-Long using the Leisure Arts booklet entitled 63 Sampler Stitches to Crochet.  I have finished the first two of the 63, and I love them!!!  The yarn is Cascade 220.

This first one is square 5 and the second one is square 1:



I will be using random colors for each square, so it should be wild and crazy.  ;)

It's All About the Toes Today

I finished three socks today, so I have 2.5 pairs of socks to show you ...

First, I finished my Lace Rib socks by Charlene Schurch (from Sensational Knitted Socks).  They are much more lime green than the picture shows.

Then, I finished my vanilla Kiss in the Rain socks. I LOVE this yarn! (Opal)

And lastly, I finished the first sock in a pair that I started ages ago. This is a vanilla sock that I have named Green Lollipops. The yarn is Twin Cities by Wisdom Yarns.

Since I finished so much, I had Joe pick a bag for my Self Imposed Sock Club, and he chose this yarn for me. LOVE!

This pair will be my first pair of toe up socks.  I am going to do the Gusset Heel Basic Socks by Wendy D. Johnson's book "Socks From the Toe Up."  (I have knit a couple of toe up socks but I ripped them out.  This will be my first finished pair.  I want to master toe up as well as I have cuff down.

Brainless Dishcloths

My allergies went insane this weekend, so I was only in the mood to do "brainless" knitting.

I made 4 dishcloths while listening to knitting podcasts. I still need to weave in the ends ...

Self-Imposed Sock Club

Last night I took all of my self-striping yarns and laid them out on the bed. I have enough yarn for 22 pairs of socks!

(Sorry the picture is a little blurry.)

Then I put them all in brown paper bags ....

So, as soon as I finish a pair of vanilla socks, I will have hubby pull a bag out of the pile for me. I can't wait to see what I get to knit! Thanks to the Yarn Harlot for this idea.

Also, I found a Self-Imposed Sock Club group on Ravelry, so of course I had to join. ;)

Places I've Been

visited 20 states (40%)
Create your own visited map of The United States

I need to travel more often!

Knitting Plans

I have been obsessed with knitting socks for about three years now.  I have purchased a bit of sock yarn, and several friends have also donated to my stash.  I do like to KNIT fancy socks, but I prefer to WEAR plain vanilla socks, or at least socks that have little or no patterning on the foot. 

I ALWAYS have a pair of "vanilla" socks on the needles and usually also have a fancier pair going simultaneously (along with my myriad of other WIPs).

The Yarn Harlot has a "Self-Imposed Sock Club," and I think this is a brilliant idea.
http://www.yarnharlot.ca/blog/archives/2010_01.html

She took 12 baggies and placed in them 12 balls/hanks of sock yarn.  At the start of each month she pulls out a bag randomly and knits that pair of socks.

I am going to do something similar, but I will use all of my self-striping yarn that I LOVE and put them in brown paper bags.  As I finish each vanilla sock, I will pull out a bag (randomly) and knit whichever yarn is in the bag.  This will be such fun!

I will take a pictures of the process when I do this (over the next few days).  I can't wait to see what I pull out first.

Another thing I will do is put some WIPs in the bags and force myself to finish them as I pull them out.  I currently have 2 pairs of socks that are in progress (barely started) that I can do that with.

Last night I started my first sweater.  It's the Ano sweater by Berroco.
http://www.berroco.com/292.297/296/296_ano_pv.html

I won the sweater kit last summer as a door prize at the Knit 'n Knibble birthday bash.  I would never have picked this color, but it is really growing on me as I knit it.  The yarn is a little splitty, so I have to keep an eye on my stitches.  This will be my first sweater, and I know I am going to learn a lot.

Here's my progress from last night: