Projects

There has been a lot of activity here!

The siding project is going slow. We were supposed to have full crews the past week and we've only had 3 guys here. This kind of siding is time consuming and the men putting it up must be detail oriented. So, things are going slower than we had hoped. All I can say is it is going to beautiful! I'm too lazy to take photos right now so I'll post photos soon.

Now to the fiber portion of this post.

I knit a scarf for Michale's birthday in Plucky Knitter 50%merino/50% silk in Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds. The scarf is Alhambra by Anne Hanson. Unfortunately I was in such a hurry to get this project completed in time for her birthday that I did not get photos of the post blocked scarf. Hopefully Michale will send me some photos!

Here is a pre-blocking photo.



A warning on this pattern. As with all of Anne's patterns, it is well written and easy to follow. The downside with this particular pattern...there are pattern rows on the purl side. Usually you get the non-thinking brain section on the purl rows but this one...you have to keep the brain engaged on all rows!

While out at Churchmouse with Plucky, Ellen and I looked at this sweater knit out of Socks that Rock Mediumweight. She noticed it first. She mentioned something to me about it and I didn't want to listen(only because I could hear that sucking sound - you know the one - the one right before you get sucked into doing a project). Then I kept going back to the sweater, looking at it. Then I said to Ellen in a stern voice "Ellen, I need to talk to you!". She asked me "Am I in trouble?". I said "we have to do this". So we succumbed and are doing the sweater in the book The Purl Stitch by Sally Melville on page 92 - called the Raglan Body Hugger. I haven't looked at that book in quite some time but it has a lot of really good, simple projects in it. If you have the book it might be worth looking through again!

I went out of my color comfort zone and am doing mine out of Mr. Green Jeans. At first I started calling it my Seahawks Sweater because the colors are very Seahawk-y but now that I see a larger portion of it knit up, it doesn't look so much like Seahawk colors.



I made a boo-boo while out at Churchmouse. The shop sample said it required 4 skeins. I didn't bother looking at the pattern in book at the shop to find out that for my size I only needed 3 skeins. I have an extra skein...for matching socks! I have finished the front and am working on the back. Honestly, by now, Ellen is probably finished with her sweater!

I finished knitting and feling a cute little Noni bag. I just got the beads and need to sew them on and put the bag together. When that is complete I will post photos.

I also started a brainless-to-knit scarf. Thanks to Plucky I became obsessed with finding yarn for this project. I could not find a nice dk weight yarn for this while Sarah was here. I even went through my stash - believe it or not I do not have much dk weight yarn and definitely not any yarn that was fitting for this project. Then I went on Ravelry looking for dk weight yarn and found Mirasol Hacho. I knew they carried it at Village Yarn and Tea so I got my three skeins there this past Thursday. I am on the third color and close to being finished.

I've also been spinning. Look what I started last Thursday night at Village. This is 100% wool dyed by Julia Vesper. This was one of the first rovings I purchased when I started spinning. It is about 3 oz, and 11wpi.



This next photo is of some lovely handspun that Ellen gave me for my birthday. It is Crown Mountain corriedale. It is 17-20 wpi depending on where you measure and her tag says it is 15.75 oz. When I weighed it measured 8.5 ounces. I am not sure what happened to the fiber in-between 15.75 and 8.5 oz?? Regardless, this will be a wonderful shawl! Thank you Ellen!



Now to the enabling part of the post. Are you a spinner? Are you looking for small, lightweight, portable spinning wheel?

I was introduced to the Pocket Wheel about 6 months ago and have been thinking about it since. See in the url, it is gnoam.com? It is a sign!



In early August I contacted Doug Dodd, the maker of the wheel. He lives in Bellingham. I inquired about going up to visit him so I could try the wheel out. We scheduled a day/time for me and Ellen to drive up and try this baby out. The night before our adventure he called to say he was ill and it would be better if we cancelled our appointment. I knew Village Yarn and Tea was going to have him up for the September Spinning Night and I could try the wheel out at that time.

Well I couldn't wait. I sent my deposit in the next day to get on the waiting list. At that time I knew the wait for the wheel was 3 months out and I just had a sense that this was going to be a good, no great, wheel. The folks that had raved about it were long-time spinners so I trusted what I had heard.

Now the wait is 6 months out. He is working with a furniture maker to make some of the parts and it is at that part in the process that things are getting delayed.

When I got to spin on it Thursday night I was blissing out. Being short it can be hard for me to find a chair to comfortably spin in. The peddles on this baby are higher and slanted a tiny bit. I felt so comfortable spinning on this. Plus the wheel is very smooth. I know I'm going to love it.

I can only imagine just being able to put it in a little bag and be on my way to meet friends to spin. It really CAN just go in a tote bag. I'm hoping to have my wheel by Madrona in February 2009!

I call it my Gnome Wheel! Very fitting!