LICraftgals spot

A blue ribbon for the lady

2009-10-05T08:35:00.000-07:00

So every year around this time is the Long Island Fair at Bethpage Restoration Village. And every year I want to enter some things in it, but do I??? No!! I did about 3 years ago and then finally again this year. So I just made the entry deadline by the skin of my teeth, I actually had to go there to hand in the paper.

I entered 4 things, my wildberry sweater, my medallion tote, a pair of socks and the lady Elenore shawl. The wildberry sweater is really only exceptional in the fact that is it my hand spun yarn really, the pattern is not a difficult one. The medallion tote is a beauty, the socks done ok and quite a boring pattern, and a few mistakes in them. I threw them into the fair kind of as an afterthought. The lady Elenore is quite stunning but an easy peasy knit! It is entrelac and the yarn Noro does all the work but all in all it is quite pretty.

Well the sweater no prize, the tote nothing there either. The socks, 3rd prize, go figure. And the shawl 1st!! Hubby was so proud he took a cell phone pic...

I have to say I was very happy to see that ribbon!! Last time I entered I took a blue ribbon for an afghan I made. I really loved seeing everyones beautiful work. There was some incredible things there. Something about that place I just find very peaceful. The fair this year was quite crowded and even though it was quite a bit more commercial than it used to be I still love it.

Art or yarn? How about both

2009-08-12T11:18:00.000-07:00

So this past weekend I had a workshop for spinning. And let me just say it was incredible!! The things I learned were just amazing. Jacey Boggs from http://www.insubordiknit.com/ was teaching and she is an excellent teacher. Her way of teaching is to listen, then watch, then do. Then if need be ask questions and watch again. I really did learn a lot and had a blast doing it. I met some really nice people too! Here are some of the yarns I did....

We did many types of yarns, coils, beehives, cocoons, auto wrap, core wrap, super coils(my fav), integrated objects, and Incorporated objects, and knots and twists and a few other things. The place was in NYC right in the heart of the South Street Seaport. The building was beautiful and the view was incredible!!!

The Brooklyn Bridge was right there and quite lovely! All in all it was a great weekend and full of fun. I highly recommend taking one of her workshops if you get the chance.

Summer spinning

2009-07-13T08:04:00.000-07:00

So yesterday a bunch of us from the Sunday knitting group met here at my house for some outdoor spinning/knitting and swimming. It was really quite nice, the weather was wonderful and we sat in the shade and just enjoyed it being summer. Then of course some of us went in the pool to cool off after working up a sweat LOL And of course we ate!! Jennifer brought some great corn dip and some outragous brownies, I have to get her recipes!! Liz made some wonderful bannana bread, so yummy!! And of course chips, cookies, cakes, fruits and nuts. Really it was alot of food. Anyway this is us in the backyard spinning/knitting and just having fun...

And of course there is Luke right in the middle to protect us all. What a sweetie he is. Yes all in all it was quite nice. But not all of us from the group were here, don't ask, so that was a bit of a bummer. But next time... Better planning and less confusion

2009-07-11T10:02:00.000-07:00

Wow over a month since my last post, shame on me!!! But I have been very busy this past month. I finished my Bristow sweater, done in my wildberry hand spun. Sorry no pics, have to get someone to take some, maybe tomorrow. And lots of spinning!!! I am doing the tour de fleece on Team Suck Less on Ravelry. Yesterday Lisa, aka TsockTsarina, and I spun our mile. At least I think mine is a mile, if not exactly the extremely close to it!! We spun for almost 9 hours, with breaks but still that's alot of spinning. But it was beautiful out and all in all an very nice day. The buddy system really is great, we kept each other going and entertained. That was when Luke, her cocker spaniel, wasn't entertaining us!! What a wonderful dog!! He is really a sweetie and very well behaved I might add. In fact here he is.... He was guarding the door way to the sun room so no one could get to Lisa and I. Namely my hubby, he was making sure no one disturbed us!!

He was so good all day, just watching us spin, must have been very boring for him. And here is my spinning for the day. Its a wool silk blend and it is about 44 wpi, that is the thinnest I have ever spun.

Over all I am quite happy with it. The colors are just like a peacocks tail feathers. I have a pound of this stuff soooo, I will be spinning for a while!! That is all for now, back to spinning. Oh and this is what I did for the beginning of the TDF
That is a mohair blend, not sure of the yardage or the wpi but that is 4 ply baby!!! Oh yes I am sucking less at spinning!!

Rainy days and dye days....

2009-06-05T11:01:00.000-07:00

So today is raining all day and cold and clammy. So there was no going out east like we planned or work in the yard so what to do?? Well this..

A really good day to wash the fleece I have sitting around and start dyeing it. Those are the dye pots on my stove and there are my natural dye products on the table. And there is the fleece some washed and some mordanted. The "brown" fleece is mordanted in iron, the other fleece is mordanted in blue vitriol and the other is just washed in the sink. There are 3 different blends of fleece just waiting to be dyed. So I will keep you all posted. Oh by the way I am dyeing with Brazil wood, alkenet, cochineal bugs, and maybe some madder and Osage orange, depending on the time factor.

Oh and this too...

Homemade yogurt!! Just love the stuff!!!

Bloomin Yarn

2009-06-04T08:14:00.000-07:00

Well I thought it was fingering weight!! You see I spun up 8oz of this wonderful fiber called black magic woman from Enchantedknoll to make a shawl/scarf. I did spin it quite thin and did a 2 ply, then after setting the twist and letting it dry.... Poof it bloomed into sport weight yarn!! Being a fairly new spinner this has never happened to me before but I have heard of that happening. For whatever reason, I have bloomed yarn. I am sure it has something to do with how I spun it, and I think I learned something here. In fact when I plied it I had to re-ply it again because the twist was way to loose. But anyway I still love it and am still going to do the Ironwrought scarf/shawl with it. Look how sparkly it is... I love the way this spun it, nice and easy and with very little fuss, just had to make sure there was a towel on my lap to catch all the threads though. So this is sitting waiting for me to get started, just have to finish a few things first, like my sweater, 2 other shawls, and socks!!! Just not enough time to do everything I want to do.

Getting the dye pots out of hibernation

2009-06-02T22:57:00.000-07:00

Wow June already!!! Can't believe it is June, but every year goes faster and faster. Anyway its just about time for the dye pots to come out of hibernation. The flowers will be blooming soon and the indigo vat is on its way!! I am looking into undyed yarns for just this reason, also looking to get more fleece. I want to try some experiments with the fleece that I have been thinking about.
So now I have to brush up on my mordant and dye recipes and look for new ones to play with. I have a few things in mind for a couple of projects, so we shall see. Also I have some stuff I want to overdye for some things I want to do this winter. I have a feeling I will be doing alot of dyeing this summer.
I also am taking a spinning workshop in August!! Yippee, its right here in NYC, Insubordiknits is doing a 2 day workshop on art yarn. I have been looking to take classes for that but couldn't find any around here. And her workshop is really reasonable too. So I am looking forward to that. And if I can hurry up and get some fiber dyed I can use my own dyed fibers, maybe I can do some blending on the drum carder as well. I just have to many things I want to do and not enough time. I really need to quit my job LOL
So off to read some dye recipes.

A really great day

2009-05-31T07:56:00.000-07:00

So yesterday was the Amityville Fair, the historical society has one every year. And like last year a bunch of us from the http://www.ravelry.com/discuss/long-island-knitters/50401/1-25
West Babylon/Panera knitters, went and hung out for the day. This year again we just hung out, well we also did some knitting/crocheting/spinning too!!
It seems that we were quite a show, people were just fascinated by the spinning. Grown men just stood there with there not quite sure what to make of it all. There were pictures taken and lots of question asked and answered. Children were really drawn to us, they just had to know what was going on. And people were very impressed that we all knit/crochet too. It seems that not alot of people knit/crochet they say, hmmmmm...... I don't know I think there are many knitters/crocheters around, people aren't looking in the right places.
But yesterday was the perfect weather, not to hot not to chilly and just a slight breeze. We sat under a wonderful cherry tree and had a grand time for ourselves. A few of us took a nice walk to get lunch for the group, what a lovely village.
I have to say our group is quite terrific!!! I know I may be a bit prejudice but really we are a great group. We laugh alot, and really have a great time when we get together. You see I have been to a few groups that were not so friendly, they don't really make you feel welcome. I have felt like I was intruding on a private club. Us, the more the merrier, come on down and pull up a chair!!! So if you are ever in West Babylon on a Sunday from 1:00 on, come to Paneras on Montauk highway across from Kmart. We will be there, you will be able to spot us, we are right in the front section to the left right behind the coffee station, plus you will hear us for sure!!
So thank you Rena for inviting us to the fair, we had the most wonderful day. And next year for sure we will be there again, because now it's something we look forward to!!
Of course I have no pictures, because I forgot my camera at home. Sorry about that.

It took longer than I thought!!

2009-05-25T11:17:00.000-07:00

So I started this Revontuli shawl in the beginning of May thinking I would have it done in a week. Yeah right, it seems that the yard work got in the way. When it was not raining I was in the yard. I had much to do, cleaning, planting and such. Hubby and I have made a lot of work for ourselves, but we do love it. Anyway I digress, so finally my shawl is done, much later than I thought. But here it is....

I love this pattern, quite easy after I got over my brain freeze!! I am going to do another in other colors. My hubby said it looks like dragon wings, I think he's right.

Also I am still trying to knit my sweater in the wildberry hand spun, just about there. And I have the peacock feathers shawl on the needles too. Almost done spinning Black Magic Woman for a rectangular shawl. But in between knitting there is lots of yard work and of course housework, and lets not forget just plain old work!! So there will be less knitting but that's OK, I love working in the yard. Oh and soon there will be dyeing, the indigo vat is in the works again this year.

So hope you all had a nice Memorial Day weekend and onto summer!!! My Memorial weekend was quite nice. My brother and his family came to my house for a BBQ! I know that's not really breaking news, but considering we had not spoken for 27 years and just recently reunited, its something special to me. His family is terrific, the kids (grown ups) are great and his 2 grand-daughters are so sweet. I have to say my sister-in-law Maria is one special lady. She stuck by him and got his butt turned around and straightened out. So my son got to meet his cousins and aunt and uncle for the first time. It was funny to see my brothers face when he saw my son, you see my son looks a lot like him. Ever since he was small I always said he, my son, looked a lot like my brother. And his younger grand-daughter is quite a bit like me, oh Karma!!

So off to start my summer. Hope you all are having fun!!

Yes another Febuary Lady Sweater

2009-05-07T09:20:00.000-07:00

Yep here is another one...

Done in Dream in Color, classy, Some Summer Sky. Really love the yarn, it works up great and not pilly. This sweater is really an easy knit and goes pretty quick.

And now for a for a shawl....

Revontuli, done in Kauni EQ rainbow. This was a bit tricky to figure out in the beginning, but once I did it is going relatively quick, but the rows are getting longer now. I can't wait to see this done up. In fact I am off to do some more right now.

I have a few more projects going but another time for those. I frogged my Peacock feathers shawl and have started over. I had a little over 100 rows done, but there was a slight mistake in it and it bothered me. In fact I let it sit for over a year till I finally realised the only way I was going to keep going on it was to frog and start over. Yep, the little mistake bothered me that much, no one else would have seen it probably, but I would have known it was there. Just the fact that I would not work on it says it all. But first I must finish my rainbow shawl.

Happy knitting!!!

Back to business

2009-04-27T06:29:00.000-07:00

So now that my son is back home I can get back to business!! What do I mean by that, well lets see....
First off yard work, there is lots of it!! It seems like last year we really didnt do a lot. And then in August when my son left we did NOTHING. The bare minimum was done and that was it, you know just so it looked neat and tidy. But this year we are getting back to the business of making the yard look beautiful. We, hubby and I, always loved the yard and loved making it look beautiful. All my neighbors always commented how beautiful it was. Even my hubbys uncle who is a landscaper used to say our yard was something else!! So with lots of hard work, which we are doing ourselves, and patience it should all come together soon.
Also on the agenda is.... I am opening my ebay store finally and then my Etsy store too!!!. I have been wanting to do this for a while now. It will be hand-knit bags, hand-spun yarn, hand dyed yarn and sterling silver jewelry. I really need to get this moving. I have quite a few ideas rolling around in my head and just need to get them out and done.
Well I am off to get busy, lots to do!! And on top of it all I work 5 nights a week. So its a bit hectic right now but its all good.
Happy spring everyone!!!

Easter dinner, ala vending machine!!

2009-04-14T06:13:00.000-07:00

Last week I was planning a nice 4 day trip to visit my son in Tennessee for Easter. Well last Wednesday he called and said "Mom,I am having a bad day" in the voice that makes every mothers heart stop. Very LONG story short, the visit is now a go down and get him and his stuff and his car and come back home. Simple right?? WRONG!!!! The car had broken down and now has to be fixed, and fast, and please make sure to tell the mechanic that it has to go 800 miles when its done. OK so that was done on Thursday and the mechanic said it would have no problem going the distance. Now to get there and get him and all his stuff and fit it into 2 cars and get home. Oh and did I mention he has a 50" TV???? And 6 guitars, an electronic drum set, an amp and of course clothes and other stuff!!!
So Friday we head out and for some reason we were not supposed to make that trip that day. Everything went wrong, my navigation was retarded and got us completely off track, I mean really whacked out!!! Then after stopping and have new directions printed out, and having to go a completely different way than the last time, we started off again. But we were in New Jersey and we needed to turn around, good luck!!! Can't make lefts in Jersey!!! I am not kidding you can only turn in certain places, very strange. So there I am trying to find someplace to go to turn, and boom!!! My back passenger tire blows out!!! Thankfully I was only going about 20mph, so I quick turned into the parking lot and promptly got hysterical!!!
Called AAA they came and put my spare on, which thankfully is a full size spare and not a doughnut. I told hubby that's it we are going home and will start again tomorrow!!! When we got home he took the car to our mechanic, who he called and told him to get us 2 tires, and had them put on the car. My mechanic was floored, he had just checked the tires that week because he knew we were taking a road trip. It turns out a lead balancer from a mack truck somehow went into the side of my tire and blew it out, when Jay, my mechanic, took the tire off it was still in there!!!
Then later my son calls and says, good thing we didn't come that day. Tornado's all over the area we would have been in!!!
So Saturday we started out and thankfully all went well, followed AAA directions this time, and got there by 7:00. The "apartment" my son was staying in was in downtown Knoxville. The area is just outrageous!! Love the area!! The apartment, not so much. While it could have been fixed up to be great it wasn't. His friend who's apartment it was, but he was living with his girlfriend, left it a bit of a mess. And my son had no furniture so there was only a futon mattress on the floor. I must say I saw this and my heart broke, he was living in a 2 bedroom place with all new furniture and it as beautiful. He and his girlfriend broke up and decided to just live as room mates until the lease was up in August or at least until he finished school in May. But she decided to throw a tantrum and when she didn't get her way, she told him to leave. He thinking he had an "apartment" to go to said fine. But she did not know he had a place to stay and didn't care where he was going to end up. So for all she knew he had no place to go and still told him to leave, nice right???
Anyway after spending the night on the floor, off we went on Easter Sunday. Got to Pennsylvania and spent the night there, in a great hotel I might add. And came home on Monday!! So now thank God he is home safe and sound and we all made it!!
I have to say, making an 800 mile trip with 2 cars, one following the other is a bit nerve wracking!!! And I am NOT GOOD with road trips to begin with!!! I mean to go 4 or 5 hours away, no problem, but really 12 hours???? So this will go down in the books for us and the craziest Easter yet, and believe me I have had some crazy Easters.
Oh and Easter dinner, lets see....we got dinner from the hotel vending machine, not kidding!!! The hotel room had a complete kitchen in it, so I got a can of ravioli, hubby got a can of soup, and son got 2 easy macs!! By then we were so shot we didn't care what we ate. Heated everything up in the microwave and viola!! But the main thing we were all together and safe and not to far from home!!!!
So the real Easter dinner will be next week!! I will make us something really special. So now if you all will excuse me, I have to go have a complete meltdown!!!

A quick update

2009-04-07T22:44:00.000-07:00

It seems I have been so busy lately, doing what? The hell if I know, but anyway here's a quick update.
First off the Feb. Lady sweater is finally done, pics to come soon. The handspun cardigan, still going, almost done with the front. Back is done, now to the sleeves, then to put it all together.
I started another shawl called Night song, really pretty. Doing it with sea silk in peacock, the same as its done here http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/gail-aka-nightsongs.
I am also doing the Japanese vine shawl too in Blue moon Geisha yarn, this is a rectangular shawl. And as usual I have socks on the needles and of course, crocheting an afghan as well.
Spinning.....still working on the black magic woman, have a shawl in mind for that once its done.
On the home front, lets see... Son is single again and living on his own for now. Still in Tennessee and loving being single I might add. Once school is done who knows what will be, he may be going to Ohio to do some recording with his band, here is the link for the my space http://www.myspace.com/ForeverTheGentleman. It seems a record label is quite interested in them. He is supposed to be coming home in July, but I will believe it when I see it. Don't ask me how, but for some reason my son is a traveler. Don't know where he gets it from neither me or his father like being away from home to long. Go figure, but good for him. But we will be going to see him for Easter. And he says he wants to cook Easter dinner for us. He can cook that I know, but he won't tell me what he has in mind. Whatever it is, that's fine. I am just glad we will be together.
And that's about it here, just the usual work and stuff to go along with everything else. I am hoping for a peaceful spring and summer and lots of knitting/crocheting/spinning and dyeing. I have something in the works and still trying to pull it together. Hopefully by the summer it should be ready to go. And that is all I am saying on the matter.
Happy Easter to you all and Happy Passover too!!!! Whatever you celebrate have a wonderful holiday everyone!!!

A little of this and that

2009-03-28T09:34:00.000-07:00

Trying to get some things finished to start new things... Let's see I am almost done with FebruaryLady sweater...Done in Dream in Color Classy Some Summer Sky.

And spinning up some Black Magic Woman from http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=58716 . Her stuff is just amazing!! I have plans for this when its yarn!!!

This stuff spins like a dream and it is just so pretty!! One of the girls, Amy, from my Sunday knitting group made a shawl from this and I just had to have it. I have 8 oz of wonderful fiber to spin up and then knit.

Also I am knitting a cardigan from my wildberry.

I am not showing picture though, you will have to wait until its finished. But I am very happy with this as yarn and how its knitting up!! The colors are just amazing on this, its blue,green, purple all in one!! This picture of the yarn does NOT do it justice, the colors just are not popping in the picture. The sweater I am doing is this http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEwinter05/PATTbristow.html. The cables are showing up quite nicely too! I was not sure if they would with the dark color, but they are. So anyway that's about it for now. Hopefully next time I will have finished the cardigan and have pictures.

Quite Amusing

2009-03-14T09:37:00.000-07:00

Yes I also did the Amused sweater from Knitty, it seems to be quite popular. Anyway I did it in Dream in Color Classy in Giant Peach. The yarn is wonderful I must say. Great to work with and just nice all around. Plus it's super wash so that makes it even more wonderful. So here is my version of it.

It is not quite so orange but the color is close. I did a smaller ribbing on the bottom, only a couple of inches not as much as the pattern and also joined it higher up than the pattern. But yes this is an easy knit and just love it!!!

Not enough time...

2009-03-08T15:23:00.000-07:00

You know when you think there will always be time for .... whatever it is your thinking??? Well sometimes time runs out. When I came home today from being with my knitting buddies I found out a very dear friend passed away.
You see my friend Hope moved upstate a while ago and kept saying for me and hubby to come up and visit. Well we never got there but said this summer for sure we were going to get there. But time ran out, Hope had a massive heart attack and passed away yesterday.
I met her at the Massapequa Diner way back in the early 80's, we were both waitresses and lived a few blocks from each other it turned out. Well we became fast friends and did so much together. In fact she was with me when I went for my blood test to see if I was pregnant. We were always there for each other and through thick and thin.
She left waitressing and worked for the Red Cross, taking blood and then went into nursing. I believe she was what they call a nurses aid for private home care. I always gave her so much credit, she overcame all and any obstacles life handed her.
I will miss her very much, but I am glad for all the wonderful memories I have. So Hope, I love you and will never forget you. Be at peace my dear friend.
So to everyone I say, no there is not always time. Sometimes it runs out, so do the things you want to do and be with the people you want to be with. The rest will fall into place somehow, it always does. So if you want to go do something or see a friend don't let housework, yardwork , or something else that can wait get in the way. Because you just never know.

78 Coupe Deville

2009-03-07T11:09:00.000-08:00

For some reason that's what I think of when I made this batt on my drum carder, George, that's his name. Why you ask, its simple really. When hubby and I were first married we were going to by this car, a 78 Coupe Deville. Oh how I wanted that car, it was black with a sky blue interior. The seats were baby blue velour and the combo has always stuck in my mind. So when I was

playing with the fibers I had I made up this....Images are thumbnails and click able for close up.

It looks much more blue spun up than in the batt. And of course being a "Caddy" I added a bit of glitz to the batt. But just a bit, not to overdo it. So I made 1oz of this just to practice and use my drum carder and I think I need to make more. I have plenty of fiber, its some super wash I bought to practice spinning on and still have lots left. I think this needs to be a scarf for hubby.

Oh by the way we did not buy the car because my mechanic at the time said it needed work and was not sound. But I never found another one like it or forgot it!!! So here's my tribute to a most beautiful car that was never forgotten!!!

Rice Pudding, easy peasy recipe!!!

2009-02-23T09:01:00.000-08:00

So I made some rice pudding and it's an easy recipe and a few people wanted it, so here it is....

1 cup Carolina rice, yes it has to be Carolina.
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 gallon of milk
2 cinnamon sticks more if you like it REALLY cinnamonny I use 3
1 stick margarine or butter
Put these ingredients in pot and cook for about 45 minutes, while stirring, till THICK.

In separate bowl mix
1 pint heavy cream
1 tsp (more if you like) vanilla
1 egg

After pudding is cooked add this mixture and cook for an additional 15 minutes. Also at this point I add raisins. Raisins are just if you want them. I add just about a handful. Put in large bowl or foil pan, at this point I take out cinnamon sticks and sprinkle cinnamon on top. Let air cool for a few hours and then put in fridge, serve when cold or warm if you want.
Like I said easy peasy!! Enjoy!!!

Where oh where are my blog posts??

2009-02-17T21:50:00.000-08:00

So I am still trying to get my blog posts to show up on Ravelry and no luck!! Just got a new feed from Casey so lets hope it works. This is really quite annoying!
Anyway still spinning and knitting, and now I have some fleece!!! Yeah!! Some lovely BFL/Romney and even though its a bit dirty on the edges, it spins up quite nicely. I am spinning from the lock after brushing the tips and fluffing it up some. So after I get some spun up I will ply and then clean the skein and see what I get. My friend Lisa aka TsockTsarina, spun some up and its lovely. There is more fleece coming too!! All together its about 5 1/2 lbs of the stuff! Oh the dye pots will be going this year for sure!!
And I am still spinning my Wildberry, boy I have a lot of that stuff!!! I have to say that yarn is just incredible!! I am just loving the colors of that, and I am glad I did 3 ply, it just makes a perfect yarn. I am thinking I will have enough for a lovely sweater, something with cables! Just have to finish spinning it first.
Oh I got my drum carder!!! It's a Strauch Petite and its wonderful!!! I was lucky enough to find Janet from http://www.the-wheel-thing.com/ and she let me put it on lay a way!! I got it Friday and it is such fun!! Haven't really played to much with it but I cant wait to start blending fibers, colors and some glitz too!!
Soon there will be some pics of things but right now its late and I am just to tired to play with the camera.
So here's to having my blog posts show up I hope and lots of carding, spinning and knitting/crocheting.

S is also for Spinning...

2009-02-06T11:23:00.001-08:00

So aside from my knitting, I have been spinning some yarn. Images are clickable for closeups.

The first batch is some colonial mix called Wildberry. I have been spinning this for a long time and have decided to do a 3 ply and glad I did. The colors are just so subtle and wonderful. I still have quite a bit of this to spin up but hopefully by the time I am done there will be plenty for a lovely cabled sweater.

Second batch is some Seawool mix I got at Rhinebeck from http://www.yarnsforever.blogspot.com/, she has the best rovings and yarns!! This is 70% wool 30% seacell. Spins like a dream and I did a very chunky overworked Navajo ply. Wanted something big, bulky and funky. It will be a cowl.

The third batch is a combo of BFL and merino from 2 different rovings. One was from MDSW and the other was a gift from a swap. Not sure what the yardage is or what its going to be but it will be something. So that's some of my spinning escapades. Now I must run, some wildberry is calling me!!

S is for......

2009-02-01T14:47:00.000-08:00

Scarf, sweater and socks!!! In other words some FO's.

All are thumbnails and clickable for closer viewing. First the scarf, the basic 1x1 rib in Noro and I love the color changes. This is easy and mindless and warm!! Its the new Noro Tayio, cotton, silk, wool and nylon. Great yarn!!

Second my Wisteria sweater. Easy knit and the yarn is Araicania nature wools, I believe that's right. The pics really don't do this justice, it looks better in person. It's quite warm and comfy to wear too!! Washes nice but does pill a bit, I am hoping that stops.

As for the socks, the yarn is Neo from http://holidayyarns.com/index.html. I just love this yarn!!! It knits like a dream and wears incredible!!! The colors are so delicious, I really need more of this stuff!! I just did a simple sock to show off the yarn and am extremely happy with it. I learned 3 things on this sock, Turkish toe cast on thanks to http://www.tsocktsarina.com/blog/, Lisa swears by this and if it's good enough for her than it's good enough for me!! Then the short row heel, again thanks Lisa for showing me that one!! And last but not least the E-Z sewn bind off, great for stretchy bind offs for toe up socks. So this was a good learning experience as well and a great pair of socks at the end of it!!

So that's 3 of my FO's in knitting. I have some yarn that was spun up but that comes later, after all that is under Y for yarn, hee hee!!

And very soon there will be the tale of the fiber-napping and its safe return, but if you want to know all about it go here http://www.ravelry.com/discuss/long-island-knitters/50401/3001-3025, this starts at post 3002 and goes on. Funny funny stuff!!!

Finally got to a spinning guild meeting!

2009-01-21T20:50:00.000-08:00

So I finally got to go to the spinning guild meeting. I work on Wednesdays so I never got there, but this month I took the night off. I am glad I went too, I learned quite a few things and there may be a workshop I can go to as well. But let me just say, winter is not the time to sit in a barn!!! Even if it has walls and such!! Man it was just cold in there, even with the heat on.

But I did get to see my spinning teacher Tabitha again, haven't seen her in a long time. And I got to buy some wonderful "kitchen sink" roving too!! Its greys, blacks, browns and just sooooo soft and wonderful.

I also finished spinning my sea wool from creatively dyed, I bought that in Rhinebeck. So hopefully I can do the Navajo plying and get that twist set and be ready to knit it up by Sunday. I am thinking either cowl or scarf for that. The colors are just great.

I also know I have to post pics of things that are finished, sorry! I have just been really busy and keep forgetting to do that, but I hope this week!

Friday I have the knitting guild and for that I am on coffee duty and teaching a class. So hopefully that goes well. I am teaching an entrelac scarf, it seems that everyone thinks entrelac is really hard. Funny I thought the same thing until I did it, then I realised its not hard at all. In fact I did a stole of entrelac and it is one of my favorite knitted pieces. The yarn is Noro and that yarn does all the striping for you, just LOVE Noro, any Noro.
So that's about it for now. I shall be blogging again this weekend with pictures I hope!

Just a quick update

2009-01-15T10:01:00.000-08:00

So here it is 2009 and my first blog entry. Anyway just a quick update:
First off its snowing and looks really pretty. Not much snow this year so far and that's OK!! I have to post some FO pics, maybe tomorrow or Sunday. I did get my Wisteria sweater done and my socks are just about there. Also I have a scarf just about half way there. So lots of knitting and crocheting going on. On the spinning front, I have some yarn done in some pretty blue/lavenders and that has to get posted, just finished doing some sea wool and plied that. That has to have the twist set and dried then posted. I still have more sea wool to spin just not sure if I want to Navajo ply it like I did the last batch.
Son is still in Tennessee and so far so good. I also have 2 grand bunnies!!! Gatsby and Belle, 2 lop ear babies!! Lets hope it stays at 2!!
On a sad note my cat of 18 years has passed away. Her name was Taz and she died Thursday night in her sleep. She really did have a good run though, quite a few times we thought she wasn't going to make it through the night. And about 10 years ago she drank some anti-freeze so we thought that was it, she was really sick, but she rallied back and gave us more time. So rest in peace Tazzie we will miss you.
As for the rest well nothing much going on, winter you know. Just working and knitting/crocheting/spinning.
I will try to post more often this year and be a bit more consistent. Now if I could just get my link for Ravelry to work to show the posts!! I have tried everything and just cant get it. I cannot figure out what I am doing wrong, but I know its something.
So till next time....Be well

A most excellent night!!

2008-12-30T07:27:00.000-08:00

On Friday my hubby said on Sunday after the KLO not to make plans we were going out. Oh by the way, the KLO is my Sunday knitting group at Panera's. It stands for Knitting Liberation Organization, hubby gave us that name. Anyway so at about 5:00 on Sunday, we head out, where don't know. So we are driving east and just keep on going and going. Where do we end up?? Here ... pics are thumbnails and clickable for a better view.

He took me to see the Montauk light house all decorated for the first time for Xmas!!! It was just stunning!! A sight that I will never forget and always be in awe of. You see we love Montauk and we go there a lot. In fact we spent our honeymoon there, 26+ years ago.

And on the way we saw such lovely decorations and lights. The one house, blurry picture, was all lit up in clear lights and just incredible! And of course the windmills in their Xmas finery. The little towns and villages along the way were quite lovely as well. Also it was a very nice warm night so that helped too.

Then after seeing this wonderful sight we were off to dinner. And were did we eat?? At the same place we ate on our honeymoon!!! I believe its called Shang Wongs?! In the heart of Montauk, its a bar on one side and restaurant on the other. In fact we sat in the same booth!!! The place looks the same and the food is very good.

So thank you babe for a most excellent night!! I have to say that was one of the best nights I can remember. Although there have been many great times along the way this past 27 years, this is in the top 5 for sure!!! So for anyone who can get there before they take down the lights, do go. I am sure you will find it is worth the trip, I know we did.

Oh by the way the pictures were taken with a cell phone because he didn't want me to get suspicious so we didn't take my digital camera. That is why that one picture has the cingular symbol, its a reflection off the window LOL

A time for change

2008-12-27T23:19:00.000-08:00

First off, Happy Holidays to all!! No matter what you celebrate I hope it was wonderful and joyous. I for one had a wonderful Christmas and am planning a quiet New Year with some friends. Nothing fancy just some snacks and Yahtzee!!
And for this new year I will try to be a better blogger and even if I have no pictures a paragraph or two at least once a week. I have been very bad at keeping the blog updated this year. I really must get with the program.
Also for this year I am really stepping back from the craziness of everything. I mean really we as a society are just out of control!!! We have become such selfish greedy people that nothing is good enough anymore. I mean really how much bigger, better or more do we need??! When that poor man got trampled at Walmart on black Friday I was just sick. To trample someone to get to what, a TV or a game, what is that important?! So this year my family and I really concentrated on what was important, being together and having family time. I made sure I enjoyed the Christmas decorations and the baking. Usually its hurry up and just get the house done, and start the baking, lets go!! But this year every day the tree was lit and so was my village. I really enjoyed looking at them this year, usually I hardly turn them on at all. So this year is a year of stepping back and taking stock and just being satisfied with what I have. I think we need to go back to what is important and to less is more. I mean really, do our children really need all those video games, what happened to books and board games?? And since when does a 10 year old need a cell phone?!! And no I do not need another pair of shoes, or another purse, and my husband does not need a 52" t.v. After all he doesn't watch the 22" one he has, so why do I have to have a huge t.v. in my house that no one will watch?? And my car is 8 years old but works great and I love it, hubby's car is 13 years old and so far so good, but will need to be replaced soon. And if I know him it will be a good used car, not brand new, he wont take that kind of loss on a car. And thank goodness!! After all if it works and gets me where I need to be, than its great, I don't care that its not new. So rather than go into debt for material things I think this year I will do with what I have. If I don't have the money for something than I will wait until I do or just do without. So for all those that need to keep up with the Jones's go for it, I for one am backing away, I will just go at my own pace and be happy for health and family and good friends.
OK off my soap box now, but I was just really bugged by this stuff this year.
So to all have a very Happy New Year and may it be filled with peace, love and health. And lots of laughter, family, friends and wonder!!

Finally its done!!

2008-09-07T21:07:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it took me so long to do this but it did. I started this in May when I got back from MDSW and just now finished it!! I just got caught up in other things and then had very little time to knit. But after seeing this in 2007 at MDSW I new when I went there this past May I had to have it. Its from http://www.tessyarns.com/ It's the windowpane tank in micro ribbon. I am very happy how this turned out I have to say.

The pictures do not do this justice at all. The colors are really very vibrant and just beautiful. So finally I finished it with the help from my Sunday knitting group!! Thanks Lisa, Helen, Melanie, and Rena!!! For the help, the encouragement and just being there!! I don't know what I would do without my Sunday knitting pals. There are a lot more of us but that's who was there today. In fact this is who we are http://www.ravelry.com/discuss/long-island-knitters/50401/1-25 This group is as my friend and co-worker Frank would say... The Bomb-Diggity!!! Besides knitting/spinning/crocheting/or tatting, I have learned a lot!! This is a VERY intelligent group and quite honestly, there are times I am quite confused! Other times we discuss embalming fluid, dry ice and one legged Nazis, go figure!!
So thanks again and I shall be wearing it on Sunday for all to see.

It's BLUETIFUL!!

2008-08-20T20:17:00.000-07:00

So I re-dipped my fibers in the indigo vat and I just love the colors!!! The pictures don't do the color justice, they are really darker and richer than they show. But here they are...
So the top is superwash merino and it shaded so perfectly, can't wait to spin that up. Next is Lisa's BFL, she spun that up and when she heard I was going to play in the indigo vat she handed me the skein and said here try this, so I did and I am glad to say she likes it!!! The next one is cormo and it is dark like the BFL and just beautiful, or should I say Bluetiful!! The yarn in the next picture is knitpicks lace weight, oh that is just the perfect shade of blue. I am going to do another skein of that and see if I can match it. So that's what I have been up to. I have some more superwash in the vat now and am planning to throw my yellow dyed samples or at least some of the samples in to the vat and see what happens. This has been a blast!!

To dye or not to dye, natrually that is!

2008-08-17T16:18:00.000-07:00

So I am trying my hand at natural dyeing and I have to say I am learning a lot!! Dyeing naturally with flowers and such you don't always get what you think. Also I did an ALL natural indigo vat and what an experience that was. For those of you who are not familiar with it you have to use stale urine for the fermentation of the vat to get the indigo going. So fat I have this to show for it.

I will be re-dipping these at least once more but so far I like what I see. The colors are like a washed denim. Very interesting this sig vat. The last picture on the bottom right is some BFL that my friend Lisa, the Tsocksarina, http://www.tsocktsarina.com/blog/, gave me to throw in there. She spun the yarn herself!!

Anyway as you can see there is quite a bit of shading so to speak and I like it.

Also in my dyeing experiments was marigolds. And this is what I have. A very BRIGHT yellow. The one is coopworth, a bit brighter than the other which is superwash merino.

The dye liquid was really very pale but once I put the roving in it got very bright. In fact when

marigolds where in the sun it looked like there was no color at all in the water, surprise!!! So now I know, yellow, marigolds with Alum mordant=very bright and pretty!!!

So that's my dyeing experiments so far. On the home front, my son moved to Tennessee, but that's a whole blog post in itself and I am not ready for that yet. I am still having some difficulty with my only child leaving the nest and so far to boot!!! But he is happy and his girlfriend is an absolute doll!! So we are lucky to have her as part of the family.

So happy knitting/spinning/crocheting/dyeing or whatever it is you do!!! Till next time.

Some things are not what you expect!!

2008-06-29T12:08:00.001-07:00

From this......The lovely lavender geraniums that I have all over to this.....
The color started out a nice hot pink in the beginning and then went to this. I would say its a burn orange in liquid form. So I put some roving in some small jars that I had pre mordant with alum and cream of tarter and what did I get????

I would describe the colors as golden honey, the darker one which was coopworth roving and the lighter one as blonde mink. That roving was merino superwash. Both started out natural. The lighter one is shaded quite a bit, not sure if you can see it really in the pictures but its there. I have to say I LOVE both colors but certainly not what I thought I would get from lavender geraniums. But that's the beauty of natural dyeing you just never know. And the dyeing was done solar!! The mordant was done on the stove though. I have many of these plants so I think I am going to do a very large dye pot of this in the near future. I really have to get much more and much larger dye pots. This dyeing is just way toooooooo much fun!!
On a funny note.. My poor DH the other day says to me ....You know when I came home from work I opened the fridge and freaked out. Why i asked?? I was at work when he came home. Because he said, I saw this big bowl and it was red inside and I had to open it to see what was in there. I looked at him kind of strangely and said why, its just cut up watermelon. Then he says yeah I saw but I thought it was .... YARN!! I thought you had one of your concoctions in the fridge!!! LOL Can you imagine??? That's bad when your family is expecting to see a dye concoction and yarn in the fridge and it wouldn't surprise them!! But they encourage my fiber adventures and never give me a hard time about it.
Right now I have worsted weight in logwood purple with tin mordant on the stove cooling and then in a few days I will add the indigo to the urine vat. My DH was nice enough to contribute every morning to help the cause, though he thinks that's a bit nasty as he says. And I have some small jars of roving the was pre mordanted in alum/cream of tarter in marigold dye liquid. The marigolds gave of a weak yellow so we shall see. The sage yuck threw it out, the primrose really the same as the marigold, the stella di orio lily not so good and the creopsis an orange but then again who knows. I have tiger lily in a jar and its a lovely orange, and my red lily's cant remember the name of them and that is a strange color. Kind of red orange. I am still collecting flowers for the lily dyes and leaving them in the sun, we shall see. So that is my dyeing adventures so far.
Have to go, the dye pots are calling me!!!

Fresh brewed yarn!!

2008-06-20T10:04:00.000-07:00

Just some pictures of the coffee yarn and the jars. The coffee yarn I am quite happy with. One skien I forgot to moisten first and its a bit lighter, but I still like it. The jars are almost there, just a few more days I think.

So far so good!

2008-06-19T21:15:00.000-07:00

So I still have my jars in the sun and have added a couple more, geraniums and a type of lily. Stella D'Orio Lily to be exact and the colors are coming. But the weather here has not been super so its slow going. The dandelion root did nothing so I dumped that to make room for more lilies soon to bloom. I also put some sage in a jar but so far I am less than thrilled with it, we shall see. The geraniums are great, such a great color, and I mixed my lavendar and hot pink flowers together. I really need to start boiling this stuff too.
The indigo vat...well still collecting so far and then after that sits for a bit I will add the indigo, I think by next week I should be ready. We shall see what happens there.
I am going to order some more natural dyes too, and some mordants. I have been checking the Ravelry boards and seeing what everyone is doing and getting lots of ideas.
In fact I dyed some yarn with my left over coffee and it came out so pretty. I have it drying right now but pics to come. As I said so far so good. It is a learning process and I am learning a lot. The Ravelry board is a great source for information. In fact I have to order 2 books on dyeing. These 2 books seem to be what most are recomending so thats what I will get. I must say I am getting tons of pleasure from doing the natural and solar dyeing. Its just something I am enjoying learning about and playing with.
Well I will let you all know what happens with my experiments.

And so it begins.....

2008-06-17T11:16:00.000-07:00

So I have wanting to try my hand at dyeing. And so after checking many blogs and reading as much as I can find on-line about it, I haven't gotten any books yet, I have started!! In my backyard is a VERY sunny spot, it stays that way all day so that is where my solar dye jars are now sitting. And also much to my husbands dismay is my indigo vat, my urine indigo dye vat that is! Yes I am going to try to do a urine dye vat, why??? Why not?? I am all for natural and the old ways and that is a natural as it gets folks! Hubby is doing his bit by donating the morning pee, but other than that says its disgusting. What does he know LOL Any way I have my jars with creopsis, marigold, evening primrose and dandelion root sitting there. Of course today is not very sunny, it figures. But tomorrow the rest of the week looks good so I should have some results soon.
The creopsis started turning right away, not sure about the rest of them. Also on the stove is a pot of yarn and fiber in Alum to get mordanted!! So hopefully soon I will be able to do some great dyeing. I must thank everyone for answering all my many questions and helping me get started. Oh and here are some pictures of my jars and my "vat".

Now I see what all the fuss is about!!

2008-05-20T09:20:00.000-07:00

So I bought some BFL, blue faced leicester that was hand dyed from flying fibers at MDSW. I just finally got around to spinning it and yes now I see what all the fuss is about. It spins like a dream and I just love the colors!! Also its as soft as can be. I was thinking socks, but now maybe some fancy scarf or shawlette!! The colors are just to wonderful to hide I think. But who knows, maybe socks. If anyone has any ideas please feel free to let me know. Its 4 oz and I am spinning very thin and will make it 2 ply. So I should get about 500yds I am thinking, maybe a bit more. Here are the colors, pretty neat huh? I am pretty sure these are clickable thumbnails to get a better look at the colors also.

I still have TONS of other fiber to spin up too, but this one just called to me. I have a pound of wool/silk that is going to be a sweater if I ever get to it. And I am doing my windowpane tank with the microfiber ribbon I bought from Tess yarns.

Hopefully I will be finished spinning this soon, then to ply it and see what it looks like!! So off to my wheel.

Oh how I love MDSW!!!!!

2008-05-05T10:34:00.000-07:00

Well we made it there and back and in one piece with lots of goodies!!! I went with 2 friends, Lynn and Karen. Karen owns the Village Knitter http://www.villageknitter.com/ . Well we stayed at the Sheraton where the Ravelry party http://www.ravelry.com/, that was lots of fun!!
Great give aways and overall very nice. So I made out like a bandit!! I spent my alloted monies with 28 dollars left over!! But look at the haul!!!!!!!! Most of the pics are thumbnails to get a better view just click on them. The white fluffy fiber can be seen much better close up!! So can the rovings and fibers..

So after thinking about it for a year I went to Tess Yarns and got the Window pane pattern and ribbon yarn for it. I must say her yarns are great but the girl has a serious attitude problem. She acts like everyone is bothering her!!! I also got some sock yarn from her, the pink/purple/yellow and grey skeins and am waiting for the entrelac pattern. The white angora/sparkle I just couldn't resist, it will be a shawl/wrap and its from Mohair in Motion. She had some great stuff. Also lots of fiber, the purple/teal/blue is wool and silk from http://www.spinnershills.com/page1.html I was going to only get 8oz but had to get a pound. The white/green is Alpaca/merino/mohair from All Strings Considered, great stuff. Plus I got some wenslydale and BFL braids from flying fibers and some Cormo and kid mohair from ??? I know I have the card. The pink/white/green braid is merino/silk from Cloverhill farms. And some silk hankies, some Mountain colors yarn and some jojoland yarn with the dragon shawl pattern. Some Tillie Thomas who we met and is just a great person. and lets see, some hand carders and some baby alpaca and some angora/alpaca roving and some Finn top roving and of course the kettle corn, and eclairs came home with me too!!!
The Ravelry meet up was really crowded but I did get my button with my avatar sticker. The
Ravelry party was really nice and I won some wool wash/rinse!!! The give aways were just incredible 70 in all I believe. The Sheraton was a great hotel and most definitely will be going back there next year. The weather held up and we had 2 beautiful days!!! Sunshine and warmth. We hit no traffic going there, getting to and from the festival both days and really no traffic on the way home. Just a little in Staten Island of course and some on the VNB into the Belt parkway. But really not bad.
However the one glich... Garmin!!! I have a retarded Garmin!!! She took us to Maryland via Baltimore!!! I mean THROUGH Baltimore!!! Don't ask me why but when it said to get off 95 after getting back on from the rest stop we did. Why??? Don't know because we really knew better but we figured it knew what it was doing. WRONG!!!!! But we got to see some really interesting sights!!! Some parts are really nice and others well...... At one point every other building was a BAR!!! It was a bit funny, we were going to stop at.... are you ready for this??? SKEETERS Pub!!!! There really is a Skeeters Pub, but no we weren't going to stop. And then on the way to the resteraunt we wound up on this road that is just insane!!! Very narrow and winding. Then in the middle of the woods on this road is a stream and an abandoned "mill" I think it was a mill and there it was..... the Tallahatchie Bridge!!! Well that's what it looked like to us anyway. I mean really kids fishing in this stream and this bridge in the middle of no where. I was something out of a movie I tell ya!!! But I think that "road" was one of the prettiest I have ever seen and am glad we wound up on it. The restaurant was very nice, quite large too, yes we finally did get there.
Saturday the festival was mobbed!!! And why would people wait on line for an hour for a t-shirt is just beyond me!!! I wont waste my shopping time for a t-shirt. But we did get some wonderful stuff that you just cant find here, like the fiber and some of the yarns. There was a lot of local and small farmers that sold things they spun, dyed, or both. So I am set for quite a while LOL So hope everyone who went had just as good a time as us and if you didn't go I really think every knitter/crocheter/spinner/fiber person should go at least once!! It is not to be believed. Well off to work now YUCK!! But tomorrow I have all my goodness to play with!!!

Wow a month gone by!!

2008-03-21T07:25:00.000-07:00

I know its been a while since I last blogged, but I just couldn't get to it. In fact this will be a quick blog and then off to bake for Easter. You see first I had that awful flu that was going around and it just plain kicked my ass!!! I was just to tired to do anything but work for about 2 weeks. Then I had to hurry up and start to get ready for Easter. You see I host Easter so I had to do a lot!!
I make my own chocolate and Jellybean pies and that takes at least 1 whole day if not 2. Then of course the shopping for the candy and Easter stuff for the kiddies! Have to get the little toys like bubbles, chalk and stuff for the Easter baskets or in this case Easter pails!!
Lets see..... what else, oh yeah I now work 5 nights not 4 but its because I am now a hostess/cashier 3 nights a week and only waitress 2 nights. So while its easier and better for me it is a day off I lose.
So its been a bit nuts around here and a month just FLEW by to fast!!! Oh and my son got his drivers license and put his car on the road at the ripe old age of 20. I am now a complete wreck!!! And he is moving in August, to Tennessee!!!! He is going to go to school down there, so him and his girlfriend, Kate, who is a complete doll, got a nice townhouse to rent. I am just not ready for this! I really am glad he is going to school but it will be strange around here without him around. So his birthday is Aug. 11th and they are leaving Aug.12th!!!
So anyway that's about it around here, I am sure there is more but I just cant remember it LOL. So Everyone have a great Easter!!! I will be posting again soon with pics!!

A room with a view!

2008-02-22T09:34:00.000-08:00

So hubby and I wanted a sun room and had one added on the house this past fall. Well I must say even though its not quite done I still love that room. Especially on days like this...

Images are thumbnails and clickable for a close up view of the snow !!!
So Finally some snow this winter!! It looks soooo pretty but I am glad we didn't get a lot this year. But to sit in the sun room and see the snow falling was really wonderful. And the view is really pretty, so clean and white. And I have a large backyard so its really something when it looks like this. But the rain is supposed to come so it will probably be gone by tomorrow but it was nice. Off to have some hot chocolate!!

When will the house be done???

2008-02-20T07:46:00.000-08:00

So here I am looking at my dead yard and hearing the wind blow and think.... This Sucks!!! I am not a winter person, the only good thing about winter is I knit/crochet/spin more. I dont like snow at all, not fond of cold weather and would rather be outside in my new sunroom. Right now my DH and I are in the middle of redecorating, you see its like this....
I had to get a couch for the sunroom and also I wanted a couch for the den. The loveseat in the den was just not comfy and I hated it, and since I am the one who sits in the den it matters. So while hunting for 2 couches we decided it would make more sense to just get new couches for the living room and put those 2 in the other rooms. We have 7 year old "new" couches in the living room. For some reason no one uses the living room, probably because there is not a TV in there. So thats how this whole thing started! Then it was new lamps because the lamps we had didnt match the couches and we had just gotten new tables for the living room so they were good. Then it was a new area rug because the other one wasnt just right!! And of course the carpet no longer matched so we are getting new carpet. This sun room is getting very expensive!! But the couches we found are just perfect, here is a picture of the loveseat. We bought 2 couches because my living room is long and needs 2 couches rather than a loveseat and chair. But what a cool set.You cant see it on this picture but the fabric has little "bubbles" embosed on the fabric. They kind of look like champagne bubbles. I love the chrome feet!! So hopefully by Easter all will be done. Right now its just trying to put all this together. The sunroom still has to be tiled, we bought porclian tile for that at a bargin!! Then the carpet then we can get the couches. But what a hassel trying to find everything. All because I hated my loveseat in the den!! Mind you I have lived in this house for 17 years and redecorated a number of times. Hubby and I get bored so we change things alot. I am on my 5th kitchen set and this will be my 3rd living room set. Carpet, well lets see.... berber, teal, black, rasberry and now purple!! Den... have had 3 couches in there so far and recarpeted 4 times so this will be the 5th recarpet job. On my 2nd bedroom set but ready for a new one LOL. The color of my bedroom has changed quite a few times too!! And thats not even mentioning the outside which we are constantly doing something. Although we did take last year off, no big projects no crazy yardwork nothing! Now its back to work. So thats what I have been up to and of course lots of knitting and stuff. But right now off to do some errands. Till next time have fun!!

I am Rabbit!!

2008-02-10T15:03:00.000-08:00

This does sound just like me LOL!! Gotta love these tests, thanks Melanie aka Tealeaves on ravelry. I get these tests from reading her blog and just love them.

Your Score: Rabbit

You scored 21 Ego, 14 Anxiety, and 18 Agency!

IT was going to be one of Rabbit's busy days. As soon as he woke up he felt important, as if everything depended upon him. It was just the day for Organizing Something, or for Writing a Notice Signed Rabbit, or for Seeing What Everybody Else Thought About It. It was a perfect morning for hurrying round to Pooh, and saying, "Very well, then, I'll tell Piglet," and then going to Piglet, and saying, "Pooh thinks--but perhaps I'd better see Owl first." It was a Captainish sort of day, when everybody said, "Yes, Rabbit " and "No, Rabbit," and waited until he had told them.

You scored as Rabbit!

ABOUT RABBIT: Rabbit is generally considered Clever by his many friends and relations. He is actually a much better reader and writer than Owl, but he doesn't consider it worth mentioning. Instead, Rabbit's real talent lies in Organizing Plans. He organizes rescue parties, makes schemes to reduce Tigger's bounciness, and goes on missions to find out what Christopher Robin does when he's not at the Hundred Acre Woods. Sometimes, however, his Plans do not always go as Planned.

WHAT THIS SAYS ABOUT YOU: You are smart, practical and you plan ahead. People sometimes think that you don't stress or worry, but this is not the case. You are the kind of person who worries in a practical way. You think a) What are my anxieties about and b)what can be done about them? No useless fretting for you. You don't see the point in sitting around and waiting for things to work out, when you could actually work them out today and save yourself a lot of time and worry. Your friends tend to rely on you, because they know that they can trust you help them work things out.

You sometimes tend to be impatient with people who are less practical in their ways. You don't have much patience for idiots who moan about things but never actually DO anything about them. You have high expectations of everyone, including yourself. When you don't succeed at something, or when something goes wrong despite your best efforts to prevent it, you can get quite hard on yourself. You need to cut yourself some slack and accept that everyone has their faults, even you, and THAT IS OKAY. Let yourself be faulty, every now and then, for the sake of your own sanity.

Link: The Deep and Meaningful Winnie-The-Pooh Character Test written by wolfcaroling on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the The Dating Persona Test
View My Profile(wolfcaroling)

Schools Out!!

2008-02-06T20:26:00.000-08:00

So I took this quiz and this is what it says.....
So I know why I am at my best at around 4:00 pm!! I also now know why I like working nights. I have always been a night person and dont see that changing any time soon.
On the knitting/crocheting front,,, I have been doing prayer shawls for my church and still doing my other projects. Plus I am in the middle of spinning my pound of colonial from copper moose. Its wildberry and I got it a while ago but just now spinning it. It is so sutle and really beautiful. Cant wait to see it plied up, I think I may do three ply with this. I dont have pics right now but nothing really complete yet either. Unlike some people I am not a super fast knitter and I dont commute by train so I dont get to knit to and from work either. I am so jelous of people who commute!!
Well off to bed, its been a rough day. I had my mamogram appt today and the technician was just BRUTAL!! Oh boy did she flatten the girls today!! I had imprints of the pattern from the machine on them!! But its a necessary evil and at least its done. Now I have to wait 2 weeks for the results, fun!! But I am not worried I figure if there was something there that had to be taken care of the tech would have made the doctor look at it right away. So have a great weekend everyone.

Finally finished my sultry batts

2008-01-27T07:50:00.000-08:00

So I finally finished spinning, plying, and setting the twist on my last batt from http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=110802 Its called sultry shadows and it is wonderful. The batt was super easy to spin and just came out just right. The pictures are clickable thumbnails for a closer look at the colors. The colors are not showing up that great in these pictures but it really is beautiful. I have about 800 yds of this show I am going to do something special with it. It is really soft too.
In other news, well I finished an afghan I made, pics to follow, I also did some socks, and am still working on those @#^$@ sleeves!! I am just about done with the sleeves and then just to sew them in and done!! I should finish them tonight yeah!!!! I figured out how to put pics in my Ravelry notebook and did a few there. So when I am done with the stupid sleeves I will post my picture of my sweater and my other stuff too.
Hubby has been away in Florida since Thursday so I got LOTS of knitting, crocheting and spinning in these past few days. I must say its been strange not having him around here, to quiet. So I am off to meet the ladies from the Ravelry knit up group. Till next time, have fun!!

Color work and Mittens all at once!

2008-01-17T20:16:00.000-08:00

So I had about 190 yds of hand spun yarn and needed a project for it.... Hmmmmm what to do, after some searching there they were http://knitty.com/ISSUEwinter07/PATTmatrix.html!! OMG this was perfect for my colorway with black. But I never did color work or mittens sigh... Do I dare, what the heck. So after a few mistakes and learning along the way here they are. So the pattern was very easy to follow and written perfectly!! I had no problem following it at all. I mad a few errors but nothing to horrible. So I am going to do a few pairs of these because I love the way they look and they are sooooooo impressive. Its kind of like cables, looks really hard and impressive but not as hard as they look. That's these, they look harder to do than they are.

Well that's it for now, have lots more things going on so back to knitting, crocheting and spinning!!!To all happy crafting.

A few finished things.

2008-01-12T08:19:00.000-08:00

So here are my Lady Elenore and a vest. The LE was done in Noro Kuryon and the vest is some superwash merino fiber I spun up. The vest picture is not to good but you can sort of see the colors. I am pretty sure these pics are clickable thumbnails for a closer look. I really had a good time spinning and making the vest, its my first real spun and wearable object besides a shawl. The LE was so much fun and easier than I thought . I took that to Salem with me in late Oct. on my 25th anniversary and got compliments galore!! I have to say that I fell in love with entrelac after doing that shawl.

Still spinning every day, some new stuff plied and the twist set, so pictures soon. I am pretty sure I am going to do fingerless gloves with the pastel yarn. I just have to see how much I have on the other to add to what I did already and then see. Still working on my sweater too, now I am doing the sleeves, which I find boring. Then onto the other sweater I want to do. I always have lots of projects! So happy crafting and be back soon!

some spinning projects....

2008-01-09T20:52:00.000-08:00

I have been spinning every day so far and loving it. So here are some of the fibers so far..

The pictures are thumbnails and clickable for a closer look.

The pastel multi color is some pencil roving I bought from http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=110802 Its called tropical skittles and I love it. Spun up like a dream, its now plied and on the bobbin setting. The other is a merino tencel firestar batt called sultry shadows. That is just to pretty. It is plied on this bobbin and as of now its twist was set and its drying. So I will be posting pics of that soon too. By the way that was also from http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=110802. Tracey has the best stuff!!! I am also just about done with a sweater I am making for either me or my son, not sure whose getting it yet. I started the sleeves today, I hate doing sleeves, they are just so boring!!

Oh, on Sun I went to Paneras to a knitting get together. It was great, the gals are terrific. Everyone had some great projects both knit and crochet. I learned a few things and saw a great hat pattern. I cant wait to try that, its the Greenery hat from http://www.ravelry.com/tour/video/preview. Jen from Ravelry http://knitterism.blogspot.com/ was working on that hat in the most wonderful red. I was immediately taken with it. So she told me where she got the pattern and it was an easy and great pattern. That's next on my list, thanks Jen. I also met Lisa, who is ..http://www.tsocktsarina.com/. I must say she is quite incredible, her patterns are something else. But all the ladies are very talented and nice!! I am really looking forward to going again and seeing what everyone is up to. I get so many ideas from there. And I learned a new cast on from Helen http://golden-apples.blogspot.com/. I forgot the name of it but its really cool. Thanks Helen, she is an incredible knitter!!! I am going again this Sun and bringing my wheel. I figure I can get some spinning in. I must say its nice to get together with people who understand my obsession and don't think I am odd.

Today the weather here was 63 degrees!! For Jan that is unbelievable. So I went into my new sun room, just about done, and spun!! It was wonderful, the sun was shinning and the breeze was warm and just perfect. After spinning for a bit I just sat in there and knitted. I cant wait for this to be done. I am looking forward to just hanging out there all spring and summer.

So anyway that's about it for now. I have pics of my lady Eleanore and a handspun vest I did. I will post those another day. Just a spinning update for now. So happy crafting all!!!

I will update very soon

2008-01-07T08:09:00.000-08:00

I know I have not blogged in a VERY long time. But I will try to keep this updated this year. Even if I dont have pictures I will post something. I have been very busy with my knitting, crocheting and spinning this year. But for the most part I took the year off! I didnt garden, or open the pool or anything! This summer, fall was very lazy for me and I needed it. Just wasnt into anything this year. Though my DH and I did go to Salem for our 25th wedding anniversary this year. Our anniversary is the end of Oct. so it was perfect timing. What a blast we had. We stayed at http://www.hawthornehotel.com/ what a lovely hotel. The town was wonderful but everything closed up really early even at the height of toursit time. I even found a yarn shop! But nothing jumped out at me so I managed to not buy yarn that time LOL.
My spinning has been coming out nicely and I even made a vest for myself from my hand spun yarn. I promise to take pics this week and update my blog. I finished quite a few projects. So anyway the holidays were great but I am glad they are done, now back to normal. I am off to work soon but really just wanted to let everyone know, yes I am still alive and well.
I also joined Ravelry and am getting used to that. That board was way to overwhelming at first. But after a bit you can figure it all out. There is nothing you cant find on there!!
So hope everyone has a great New Year and I will be posting more regularly, a new years resloution. So till next time happy knitting, crocheting, spinning or whatever it is you do!!

We went, we saw, we bought!!

2007-05-08T07:28:00.000-07:00

So we, Nancy and I, are back from the Maryland sheep and wool festival and boy did we have fun!!! We left here around 2:30 am Friday night and got there by 7:30 am sat. morning. We of course ran straight to the fold to get on line and we were 2nd and 3rd weee!! So when they opened the booth after taking the sheets off the STR yarn and letting us drool we ran for it. But we all helped each other, you know can you get a this color or that color for me?? Sure no problem and I got 6 wonderful skeins of yarn. Oh happy day!! Then off to the main bldg for my woolee winder, I was really afraid they would run out of those too. But I wasn't sure I was going to get one, till I tried it that is LOL. Well after not even 5 min of spinning I was sold, what a difference that makes in my spinning. Well worth the money and then some, now I just have to get some more bobbins, but I have to wait a bit due to my budget LOL. I also got some wonderful fiber and a terrific drop spindle from Kid Hollow Farm. The roving was wonderful. I also found a beautiful purple basket from Robin spinning wheels, what wonderful baskets and not overpriced either. Plus of course my tee shirt and backpack that say Maryland Sheep and Wool festival. Plus some other yarns and fibers as well as you can see in the pics.

The pencil roving did not come out good in the picture but it is lovely in greens rusts and blues. I never tried that so I got it for the drop spindle. And my STR skein is making my basket stand up better LOL I also got some BFL from Little Barn to try, I have heard so much about it. I am still a new spinner and am trying all sorts of things. And I got to see in person many of the things I hear about. You see around here there is only one store that has any kind of spinning supplies and lets face it there is a whole world of stuff out there!!! So I must say for my first festival ever I think I did pretty good. I got what I wanted and saw the things I was curious about and had a wonderful time. Nancy and I laughed a lot this weekend and it was nice to go with someone who could appreciate all there was to see. My friend Nancy bought up a storm!!! Boy I thought I got a lot she makes me look like an ametur LOL. She got some great drop spindles made from olive wood from the fold. And she is teaching me how to use my drop spindle, I wasnt going to buy one but she convinced me I could do it, we shall see. We had to go back to the car on the first day to unload some of the treasure. We just couldnt hold it all and still shop for more. In fact the car a Nissian Murano was packed to the max buy Sunday when we left!! Good thing we had lots of room in it. And while I didnt buy a new wheel I did try out the Kromski Minstrel and it is very nice!!! I also got to see some of the other wheels I was interested in. I must say I love my Lendrum!! My hubby as wonderful as he is would not like this type of thing and was soooo happy when I told him I was going with my friend. He did not want any part of this LOL. But I did bring home the HUGE eclairs for him, I never in my life saw such huge eclairs. But I never did find the fried Twinkies sigh.... But I did enjoy all the wonderful lamb dishes there. And the ribbon chips where incredible!!! Now that's a treat!
Plus I got to meet up with some wonderful knitty board friends. Turtlegirl and Trillian looked nice in the matching tomatoes and they both even had pomatomus socks on!! I met a few others and for the life of me I cant remember names. Sorry I am soooo bad with names. But it was nice to meet you all. So for now that's it and I am ready for Rhinebeck!! Right now I am going to play with some of the goodies. I already have the woolee winder on and going and am in love!! Now to go knit some socks and stuff!! So hope everyone who was there had as much fun as Nancy and I and got as much goodies. Next year I will be more prepared for all the sensory overload.
So till next time happy knitting and spinning!!!

The noni is done!

2007-04-21T10:53:00.000-07:00

So here is my noni bag all done and ready for spring. I made a large one but it is more of a knitting bag, to big for me to use as a purse. So I just modified the pattern and here it the little noni. These are before and after felting pictures.

So there it is in all its glory LOL. I really loved making this bag. It was super easy. The first bag I did came out way to big for a purse so I will use it as a knitting bag. I just modified the patter a bit and came out with the "little Noni". I am ready for spring and not a moment to soon.

In other news I am getting ready to go to the Maryland Sheep and Wool festival Yeah!!! My friend Nancy and I are soooo excited and we get to go without the hubby's. So they wont be behind us going " are you done yet?" We are also going to Rhinebeck and rented a room at a The Beekman arms right in the center of town. The best part is we can take the train there!! I love train rides and we can knit there and back and no traffic to deal with. So that's about it for now. I am really busy with work and putting my house back in order. We had all the rooms painted and so now we must get it back together. What a mess, the Spackle dust went everywhere but my walls look brand new!!! So it was worth it. So happy knitting and crocheting and have a great day!

From roving to sock pouch

2007-03-31T09:18:00.000-07:00

Well I finally made something with the yarn I made!!! It is just a sock pouch to hold my socks in progress. I got some fiber with the wheel when I bought it and spun it up. Then I dyed it with kool aid and then made this..

The close up of the stitches is blurry, sorry, and the other picture is the lining I put in it. I line everything!! Plus I don't want my needles sticking out of it either. This is what it, the pouch started out as.
Just a bunch of white roving! And now its a cute sock pouch!! I must say I think my yarn is ok considering I just learned how to spin. Spinning yarn is so relaxing and so rewarding when you get something out of it. I cant wait till I am good enough to spin sock yarn!!! I love making socks and pocketbooks. Speaking of pocketbooks I finished my Noni purse and it is felted and drying on my desk. I made the pink, green and cream striped baguette! It was sooooo huge when I was done, and wouldn't you know I forgot to take a before pic!!! It was 28 inches long and very wide! But it did shrink down to 18 inches long, which I am thinking is still to big for me, but we will see. I love the pattern and the bag was super easy to do. I am going to let it dry, line it and put a zipper in and the cutest pink handles I found at M&J trim and then we shall see. Worse case I give it away. Any way that's about it for me, I have been very busy with work and teaching classes at http://www.villageknitter.com/. That has to be the best yarn shop, no matter what you need its there. So to all happy knitting and crafting and Happy Easter too!!! I cant believe Easter is here already. I am having the family over here for Easter and have not gotten one thing yet!! Good thing its a small gathering LOL

Knitmommy Rules

2007-03-24T10:40:00.000-07:00

So this is what my pal sent me!!! Look at the wonderfulness of it all. I got a MUCH needed needle holder roll up. I was just looking to buy one of these too!! But this one is so much better because it was hand made by Tasha and her daughter for me!! The colors are just incredible!! And this book is sooo cool, I never knew it existed but it it chock full of info!! Its all about knitting with fibers other than wool. The patterns in it are really nice too!! By the way here is the link to knitmommy place which is her blog. I still haven't figured out how to do that blog button thing. http://knitmommysplace.blogspot.com/. So thank you Tasha for completely spoiling me!! You are really the best sp ever!!!

Thank you Knitmommy!!

2007-03-08T16:48:00.000-08:00

Look what I got from my not so sp Tasha aka knitmommy from knitty.com.

So thank you Tasha!! She is the most incredible sp ever!!! I have been completely spoiled! These stitch markers are incredible! What talent she has and the rings are nice and thick and wont get lost in between the stitches. And Burts Bees stuff oh heaven!! I love burts bees anything and have not tried this hand cream or the lip balm. They are both wonderful. I usually just stick with the few products I have tried and dont venture to the other ones. But now I will most definitly get these as well as my regular standbys. So Thank you again for the goodies, it was so nice to have a package in the mail for me today.

My wheel is here!!!

2007-03-08T11:47:00.000-08:00

So on Tuesday my Lendrum DT complete wheel arrived. That is super quick, I only ordered it on Thursday. Thank you Woolery http://www.woolery.com/Pages/lendrumfr.html!! I am having soooo much fun with this wheel. It spins like a dream and the free fiber is spinning really nice too!! I got the bag with it and it was a steal at 1/2 price with the wheel, a great padded bag. So here are some pictures of my lovely yet unnamed wheel and some of the fiber I spun on it.
The blue fiber is something I have but I am having a bit of trouble spinning it. It is different and I have to get used to it. It isn't a springy as the stuff I am used to. But I do love spinning on this baby!!! It is going to take some practice but I am getting better already!! And I have 6lbs of fiber coming from Canada to play with Yippee!! So that's what I have been up to. I am a spinning fool!!

Lookee what I got!

2007-03-03T10:35:00.000-08:00

So my sp sent me the coolest pen with journal. The pen lights up!! I tried to take a picture of if lit up but I don't think it came out. Here are the pictures

The pen is lit here, its red and really cool!!

I think I know who my sp is but not 100% sure. I left a post on the board and am waiting to see if I am right. I love this journal and pen!!! And the pen says Marie, my middle name!! I am going to use this to keep track of my spinning progress. Speaking on spinning.... I finally got to order my wheel!!! I ordered a Lendrum folding dt wheel from the Woolery. Its the complete with the bag and 2 1/2 lbs of fiber to spin!! I am sooooooo excited, it should be here in about a week. Then I will be spinning my little heart out. So that's what I have been up to. That and making things for my classes that I teaching. I have been teaching quite a few classes lately and really enjoying it. Its so nice to be able to pass on this wonderful craft of knitting and crocheting. I am very happy that both are really in "style" now. A lot of young people are really showing an interest in learning. Here is a picture of a purse that I am teaching.

You really cant see the handle, but its there, its a round acrylic handle. This is called a shell purse and has a crocheted liner. It can be made in cotton, acrylic, wool or I even did one in a black and silver metallic with a silver lining and fancy handles for an evening purse. So that's whats been going on here. So thank you again sp for being so wonderful and to all happy knitting and crocheting..

A Lendrum it will be....

2007-02-26T09:41:00.000-08:00

So yesterday I went to my friend Nancy's house, also known as AJASTOY on the boards and she has a blog http://knittingonabus.blogspot.com/ . Yes thats me on her Lendrum wheel. I love that wheel!! I was really going to get the Kromski Minstrel, really based on looks and a few other things. But then I tried the Lendrum and love it. Boy that is a solid wheel and spins like a dream!! Plus for the money it is a better deal. I really love the look of the castle wheels but I must admit they don't even match my house. I have a very comtemporary house and no wood or country styling at all. Its all mirror, glass, lacquer and such. So really the Lendrum will also match much better, not that it would matter really. But I really did enjoy spinning on it.

Yesterday was a great afternoon, we chatted, nibbled and just talked fiber. Plus we were on the Internet checking out the fibers and accessories and yearning for it all. Its nice to have a pal nearby who understands my obsession LOL

On the SP front.... My great sp sent me a wonderful book. Its wrap style and what wonderful patterns it has in it!!! Thank you sp!! She really is spoiling me unbelievably! I had that book on my wish list.

Now if only I could get back to my peacock shawl. I just haven't had the time to really sit and concentrate so I have been working on my mindless projects. But I must get into gear on that one. I would love to enter it in the Long Island Fair come the fall. Plus I want to do a blanket for that too. Last year I entered 5 things and took 4 ribbons. My Afghan took 1st place!! What a shock, it was the first time I ever entered anything in a fair. Here is a picture of it. The pics are thumbnails and clickable for close ups.

So that's my Cathedral Rose Window Afghan. I must say it was fun to make and is over 7ft across. A tote I made took 3rd and my Irish soda bread took 3rd also. My zucchini nut bread took 2nd, and the rainbow cookies that everyone said would win, nothing LOL go figure. But that's ok it was a great day and lots of fun. So until the next time happy knitting, crocheting and spinning!!

my valentine from my sp

2007-02-17T10:53:00.000-08:00

Look what my sp sent me for Valentines day! Excuse the open minitures bag but I couldnt help myself. The pictures are thumbnails and clickable for closer viewing.

The tote already has my wool in it from spinning class and its perfect for some of my projects. I love the bag!!! The color is soooo pretty and the tee shirt she made for me!! I love it, and it fits just right. And look at the cool note, she is really talented. Thank you sp for the wonderful package.

look what my sp made for me

2007-02-10T10:36:00.000-08:00

My sp from knitty made me these,,,

They are beautiful handmade point protectors in a beautiful little fabric bag! Thank you sp! I love them and I was just thinking I needed to get some of these, the LYS where I teach had some from zecca but they are really expensive and these are much much nicer!! Thank you, thank you sp you are the best!!! These are perfect, they fit my fav size needles. I already tried them LOL I also love the note, I dont know how you did that but I would love to learn that. Very talented arent you sp?? Thank you again and now off to work.

I now know how to ply

2007-02-09T17:29:00.000-08:00

I learned how to ply today at my spinning class. I thought it would be harder but it is easier than I thought. Here are som pictures which are thumbnails and clickable.

I love spinning and cant wait to get my wheel. Soon I will have one soon. I love the traveller wheel by ashford and will be getting that one. For my first wheel it will be perfect, I am sure I will get more than one, that seems to be the way it goes for spinners.

This yarn will be a scarf for me when I finish spinning the rest of the roving and plying it. It may be lumpy and bumpy and thick and thin but I love it.

Now after I get the hang of the spinning of the roving I will learn how to go from the animal to the roving. But first things first.

I ordered 1lb of merino from copper moose and it is just yummy!!!

This is just so wonderful and the prices are reasonable too. I will be ordering more from them I am sure. They have all sorts of fibers and goodies. So I figure if I start buying fibers now I will have enough for spinning when I get my wheel. Oh and I found my spindle spinner but am not sure how to work it yet. I have an idea but I need lots and lots of practice. I like the idea of being able to spin wherever I go. So That's my spinning tales this week.

I also worked on my peacock shawl but have no new pictures yet, that is one project you must pay attention to when you are working on it. But I am glad to be learning lace knitting, its something I wanted to do this year.

So I am learning to spin yarn and knit lace so far. That's 2 of the on the to do list for 2007. I have a few more I want to accomplish but 2 things and its only February.

Oh my sp on knitty sent me the cutest valentine card, speaking of February. She is really the greatest sp!! I get email and messages from her and now I have to be on the look out for goodies!!! I don't know who she is but I have 2 clues so far. An I am not sure at all my sp is a she but I am pretty sure my sp is a she. We have quite a few gents on the board too!

But whoever my sp is I am getting very spoiled by the attention.

Well that's about it for now, till next time happy knitting, crocheting and spinning!!

some yarn I made and my peacock shawl

2007-02-02T18:38:00.000-08:00

I spun some more yarn today! I made yarn from a dorset sheep named Nikki from Long Island Livestock. Tabbethia from http://www.rumpelstiltskinyarns.com/ supplies the "bumps". So here are the pictures of my yarn

Tabbethia says I am doing really well and I seem to have sort of found my groove. I love spinning yarn.

Also here are some pictures of the beginnings of my peacock shawl . I started and then ripped it out and started over. I got some great tips from KR. First off I made transparent copies so I could flip them and work back from the center. Also I got a magnifying lamp that I can use so I don't lose my yarn overs. I must say this is not "hard" so much as you MUST pay attention. Or a least I must, this is my first lace project.

These images are thumbnails and clickable to get a closer look. This shawl is going to be my lace entry into the long island state fair I hope. That's if I get it done and if it comes out good enough. One of the ladies from the Village knitter, Joy, just did the swallowtail shawl and it came out stunning. She is an incredible knitter here is her blog http://www.joyofyarn.typepad.com/ Her work is beautiful and she is really quick too!!! So anyway that's about it for now. I am busy trying to get my projects done and still learn some new things.

I also am busy at http://www.villageknitter.com/. I am teaching some classes there and I really enjoy it. I just finished a 2 part crochet 101 and the ladies did amazing!! Way to go gals!! Next is Vintage shell purse, more crochet 101, purse lining, and felted clogs so far. It is really fun to teach the craft and pass it on.

So that's about it for now, till the next time. Thank you all for your very kind and encouraging comments. They are much appreciated . TTFN (ta ta for now)

2007-01-26T15:43:00.000-08:00

So today I finally got to spin my "bump" at my spin class. Tabbethia said I did great but I must say I felt like a spazz. It is not so easy to get the hands feet and eyes all in sync. But here is my pics of my first attempt. I really love spinning. I think I can develop quite a passion for it. I am planning to fininsh my grey bump and then take the spun yarn and make myself a scarf. The yarn may be lumpy and bumpy but I made it and will wear it proudly. So for anyone who is thinking of spinning, go for it. I am so glad I found this place http://www.rumpelstiltskinyarns.com/ . Now I can finally learn something I have been wanting to learn for quite some time. Now I must order and find fiber to spin.

2007-01-24T10:50:00.000-08:00

So anyway I just want to post a few of my fav shops. First of is the Village knitter http://www.villageknitter.com/ I love this place. Karen is great and always happy to see you, just go in sit, knit and chat. Plus the yarns and goodies are very reasonably priced. She has latern moon and Debbie Bliss and Alpaca OH MY!!! But really anyone local should check it out, classes galore and lots of goodies that you wont find anywhere else on long island.
Second ins Rumpelstiltskins yarns http://www.rumpelstiltskinyarns.com/. This is a spinners paradise. Its the only place on eastern long island that has spinning lessons and they have wheels too! I am currently taking lessons and they have wheels to use if you don't have one. Angela is terrific and very warm and welcoming. Tabbethia is the teacher and what a great teacher! The lessons are very thorough and go step by step. She is very patient and explains things in a clear and easy way to understand. So if you are anywhere near either of these 2 shops stop in and say hello. Both shops have completely different fibers and goodies so you wont get bored looking at the same things.

2007-01-23T22:17:00.002-08:00

I am trying to get this up and running but it is not so easy for me. I am going to try to put pictures of my craft room on here so bear with me. I waited a long time for my own room but it was worth it. I took my time and took 3 weeks to finish this room and do it the way I wanted it to be. I love purple and funk therefore my room... Also as you can see I have a nice stash and yet still buy more yarn. Also I am really into fairies I have collected quite a few since this was first done. I will post updated pics when I get my camera charged up. So here is my craft room and my beginnings of my blog. The floor I hand stenciled by myself! Ugh my aching back!!! But very worth it.

The walls are all done in crackle and the room looks very old. It has had some changes but thats the overall jist of it. So I will be posting more soon.