Color work and Mittens all at once!

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.

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....

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

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!!

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!

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

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

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!!

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!!!

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!

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....

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

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

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

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

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)

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.