Oh hey, this is still here!

Imagine my surprise when I flipped through my bookmarks today and saw this thing! Like finding a journal from high school tucked under your bed; just not nearly as painful to read through.

When I last left you I was a knitting college student. Now I'm a knitting paralegal. I finished college and am employed at the law firm where I did my internship. It's a great firm to work for, and I love my co-workers. Did I mention that I was hired right after doing my internship? Yeeeaaaah, pretty friggen great.

Does it give me more time to knit and spin? No. Have I finished ANY of the projects that I started at the beginning of the year? No.

In January 2013 I started a pair of socks that had little fishes all over them. They're supposed to be fish-argyle socks, but I refuse to attach a new color for the argyle stripe every 3 rows...that amount of weaving in I'd have to do would do me in. I'll add them as duplicate stitch instead....I'll revisit that thought later.

Remember the Tunic that I wrote about? I'm still on the decreases with that one. That's right, haven't even gotten to the body portion yet! And the thing is already really big at the bottom still. Like wear-it-with-my-little-sister kind of big. The ladies at my knitting group have said that the pictures look like the bottom is supposed to be bigger and flare out a little bit, so like an idiot I'm forging along anyways. We'll see how this develops.

I've completed one, count them ONE, skein of yarn that has been on my bobbins for almost a year now. It's boring brown and doesn't have much yardage to it...I think it's because I used most of the roving for something else...oh well. I'm working on "Three Feet of Sheep" roving right now for my Mom. It's a three-foot tube of merino roving, split into 8 differently colored balls. Instead of getting fancy and complicated I'm simply spinning from the top down. So far on the bobbin is a creamy pastel off pink color, a light pink color, a dark pink color, and now pastel purple.  Also on a bobbin is some red/orange/pink merino that I've been working on since Spring; but at least that one is getting done...slowly but surely.

And I don't even want to talk about the other projects that have been in my WIP baskets...since 2012. I feel a bit ashamed about that actually. For 2015 my goal is to finish all the WIP's that I have going right now, and then I'll pull out some of the bigger things that I've been wanting to make. Hey, maybe if I make myself give small monthly updates, via picture progress, I'll actually get them done! Sure that will be easier then posting regular random things....surely.

Dyeing to spin

Nuked Masham

Nuked Merino

I decided to dye some roving today. So as soon as I got home I pulled my stash bin out from the closet and pulled my Masham and Merino wools out.

Fear of ruined counter tops or floor had banished me to the car port during the summer, but with family members still asleep I crafted myself a little  work station in the laundry room. I put my jersey-rug down on the floor first, followed by a large double layered piece of cardboard, and then the cling-wrap...which clung to itself marvelously.

I let the masham wool soak in a bath of vinegar and water first. The roving had been tied off every few inches because I was hoping it would give it a tiny bit of a tie-dye look. I'm sure I've failed miserably with that. Oh well. I turned the single string of merino roving into a braid and while I dyed the masham I let the merino soak.

Colored Masham

For the masham I dabbed the wine color on with a sponge brush. At first I thought about putting it down in particular spots, but then just dabbed quick lines down the roving. If the color went away I bunked the bush back into the cup, and then continued down the line. Mom still had some purple in the little squeeze bottle she had provided, so I simply added more. The purple I gently sprinkled all over the roving, not caring where it landed.

Double-sided Merino

While the masham was being nuked in the microwave (pot? cooking? PAH!) I worked on the merino. This time I started with purple, and liberally squeezed it all over the braid. The color didn't bleed through to the other side though. So with purple all gone (what was in the bottle at least) I changed to the wine color. I added it into the bottle, turned the half dyed braid over, and squeezed the red onto the still white side. So now there is a purple side of roving, and a red  (well pink is more accurate really) side of roving. I have no idea what the inside of the braid looks like though...

Both rovings are drying right now. And I can't wait to spin them up. I've never used masham wool before, so it should be interesting. And of course, I'm very excited to see what the colors will look.

Merino unraveled

There is still a 4 oz braid of merino sitting in my stash bin. I wonder what wonderful colors it will adopt.

Edit: I unwound the merino braid earlier this morning (02/06/2013) to let the roving dry faster. And I just had to share with you all how amazing the merino turned out; in my opinion at least.The purple and pink are made wonderful little speckles all over the white roving. I can't wait to spin this up and see what happens with it. The Masham is quite lovely too.

Masham and Merino drying

No-Years Resolutions

Every first of the year I make resolutions; work out more, eat healthier, drink less, make more friends (I hate people so that usually doesn't pan out), be an overall better person.
This year I didn't. I did not make a single resolution. I never keep them anyways, so why the hell bother? And so far, I'm doing better at my no-years resolutions then I do any other year.

For example, today was the third day that I struck up conversations with total strangers. Now if you know me, you'd know that I hate talking to strangers. Maybe it's a combination of being told "don't talk to stranger" when I was little, and classmates teasing me for my accent when I first came to America (children can be incredibly cruel) that has deterred me from taking to people. But so far, I have struck up conversations on three separate occasions, with three separate people. Mom even asked "what's wrong with you?" today when I proudly announced I talked with someone for nearly 10 minutes in line. Lines are amazing places to talk to people.

School is going...well? I feel like I haven't learned anything yet,. Then again it's only been three days. I should probably give it a little more time, huh? OH! I did learn something actually; I now (sorta) know what all the stuff in a legal citation means. Like when they have the case name and then a bunch of numbers and abbreviations. Yay for learning. =3

Bug has been getting hardly any use out of her. I spun up some very pretty roving that BIL got me for Christmas (well, I picked it and ordered it, he paid for it) but had to stop because I only have 1 bobbin left and I need it to ply together some Targhee I'm working on. That should be my hint to buy more bobbins I s'pose.

Le spinning update

Honestly though, it's more of Le-I'm-bored-and-need-something-to-do-while-the-alpaca-washes post. But that's a long title.

I got a surprise day off from work today, and spend the majority of it doing absolutely nothing. Didn't even bother calling my future college to check on something. Whoops. I can always do it tomorrow. Might make the husband take me up to the school to find some stuff out...after all, he's gotta be good for something.

I'm doing far more spinning these days then knitting. Mostly because I have nothing of interest to knit while I'm at work and Thing 2 is napping. And I'm getting kind of tired of knitting fingerless gloves and socks; imagine that. The stole I'm testing for mom is interesting and keeps me entertained for a while, but because it's lace in every row, and there are 205 stitches (or something like that), it's not a project I can put down easily.
But all the spinning is making me even better at what I'm doing. It's made me turn out things like the pictures below here. "Soot" was a "I wonder what it will look like if" kind of yarn. I held two chunks of roving together and drafted them out together. The beaded one was pretty much the same thing, with the added element of "how will it look with beads?". Mom liked it so much I'm making her her own skein; out of merino =D. There are a little over 950 beads in the yarn. No, I did not count, I used the tiny bit of math skills I actually picked up from the last class. Math...who'd have thought, right? The pink/orange/yellow yarn is what was left of the Targhee/Silk blend I purchased. I wanted to play around with some of Mom's dyes, and that is what I got. It was also an attempt at making longer color sections in a yarn...I'm hoping it actually turned out that way. But since I won't be knitting it up, and have in fact put it into my Etsy shop *cough*shamelessadvertisment*cough*, I can only wonder and hope that it did what I wanted it to.

'Desert Diamond' 2-ply
with cotton thread

'Soot' 3-ply fingering weight

'Sun set' 3-ply
fingering weight

I'm not sure what I'll work on next. I have enough roving from ParadiseFibers to keep me going for at least a little while. I might focus on knitting for a little bit too. Give Buggy a bit of a break...poor wheel. But I really wan to work on some of the alpaca fleece first. I've never spun alpaca before, so it should be interesting. Especially since it's still in lock form. =3 I also want to make the beaded yarn again in shades of blue with blue and clear beads. Maybe I'll flip a coin.

How far I've come

My first attempt at spinning was a disaster.

It all started when one of the ladies from my old knitting group schlepped her folding spinning wheel to the group. Mind you, we met on Thursday evenings in the cafe portion of a Barnes&Noble book store at the time. And if we weren't strange enough already to other patrons, playing with our sticks and yarn, we certainly became strange then. But she sat there, unfolded the wheel, grabbed some pretty blue roving (at the time I only knew it as wool) and happily spun away while she chatted with the others.
....While everyone else had lost interest in watching what she was doing, I was hooked. At this point I had become good enough at knitting that I didn't need to look at my fingers anymore while working a plain sock, so my eye were glued to her actions. I watched with rapt attention as her hands did this pulling thing, and her feet quickly treadled the peddles in front of her. The roving in her hand was sucked onto the bobbin and soon she had to grab more from her bag.
....Eventually I started asking her questions, like how did it work, what was she doing, how did she stop the yarn from untwisting when it was all done, what was the fiber she was working with? And then she said those 5 magic words "Do you want to try?"
....At first I just giggled and shook my head like most people do when you offer them something. You know what I mean, I'm sure. Someone asks you if you want something and you politely shake your head and tell them "no no, that's alright." when in fact you are so intrigued by the idea that you're practically buzzing with wanting to try. But Lise insisted, removed her bobbin of pretty roving, slapped on a new one and told me to get my butt over. She showed me what to do, then moved over and had me sit down. At this point our group had stopped working and watched me with amusement.

First try at a wheel

....I sat down, and with Lise's instruction began spinning. It was a disaster from the get go. First I didn't treadle enough, so when I'd draft out the fibers they would break. Rejoining them took forever and usually the wheel would suck in the yarn when it broke off so we had to go fishing for it. Then I treadled too fast and the yarn began kinking back on itself...badly. My feet and hand's just couldn't get a rhythm going. Lise said there was nothing wrong with stopping the wheel and drafting out a bit to get the twist out. And that is what I did. Now here is where it get's really bad.
....    Lise didn't mention that I could turn the wheel a little by hand to let the spun up yarn wind onto the bobbin; I quickly ran out of arm length but not twist. So in my head (and I'm not sure what neurons didn't fire together that day), the longer the distance between my hands and the wheel, the more over-twist I can let into my roving. So I asked my friend to hold a bit of the single to the side. Then I asked her to pass it on to my sister. Then I asked my sister to pass it on to the lady sitting next to her who had stopped knitting at this point to hold her sides as she laughed hysterically. Then I stood up. Then I held the yarn really high above my head. Then I stood on a chair. I can still draft out yarn and get over-kink out. I'm 5'5" if that helps you visualize it any better.
....At this point the yarn is going from my hand (held above my head again) to the lady sitting three chairs away, to the wheel. Not only is my knitting group laughing hysterically (I think my Mom stopped breathing for a moment), but the other patrons of B&N are also chuckling and laughing. Lise is laughing so hard she's crying and has taken several staggering steps away. And finally, just when I think we'll have to cut the yarn off, she turns the wheel slowly by hand and it winds the yarn slowly onto bobbin. I was able to climb down from the chair, and stopped messing around with the wheel.

First spindle handspun

....By the next group she had brought a spindle along with some roving, showed me how to use it, and it turned out to be a much better experience. Mostly because I could spin the spindle, and then hold it between my legs while I drafted out the fiber (known as park and draft).

So as I sit there, lovingly petting my new Schacht Ladybug spinning wheel every 5 minutes (yes, I'm one of those people) and contemplating what I should spin up next, I can't help but think of that first experience from 2009. I still have that first skein sitting in a bin around here; the thing looking more like a super thick dreadlock then a skein of handspun yarn.
It was a interesting shove into a whole new wooly world, and I'm glad I took the plunge.

Current wheel project

The Oregon Fail

Yesterday my Mom, sister, sisters friend, and I made a little road trip down to Oregon for the Flock and Fiber Festival. We were going to pick up my Schacht Ladybug wheel. I was so excited that the night before I was contemplating going to bed at 8pm just so that Saturday would come sooner. Instead I made it all the way until 10pm. xD But I digress.

A trip that should have taken 2.5 hours each way, took more like 7. 

At 9am on Saturday we gassed up the car and headed out to the freeway. We made very good time (in my opinion at least) because there weren't that many car on the road. I don't blame them, who the heck wants to be driving around at 9am on a Saturday?
We went a little bit past Chehalis when the tire pressure light came on. So we pulled into the nearest gas station, put air into the tire, Maggie and Lucia got some snacks and coffee and we tried to set off again. But the tire pressure light was still on. Mom thought one of the tires might have a leak in it, and didn't want to drive on the freeway. So we took back roads to the nearest Les Schwab...which was 22miles back the way we'd come. =.= Guy at Les Schwab said that if too much air is put into a tire it can make the gauge act up. So he let some air out, and put us back on the road.
We hit the freeway again, and were probably 10 miles past the gas station we had stopped at when the light came back on. And then turned back off. And then came on again. And this time it stayed on. Mom panicked again, so we got off the freeway and drove 15miles to the left to yet another Les Schwab.
They people there were going to replace the tire that had presumably a hole, but it would take an hour because there were 7 other people before us. At this point it was 12:55pm.
We sat around the tire center for an hour and of course I didn't have anything to knit...or to spin. The ONE day when I looked at my simple sock project and though "Naw, I won't need that because I'll be busy running all over the Fiber Fest" we get stuck for an hour at a tire center. It was horrible.
But the guy looked at all four tires and couldn't find anything wrong with them. So he looked at the cars computer, and there was the problem. The computer was making the tire pressure gauge act up. So he reset it and send us on our way.
An entire 2 hours of my life and time wasted for something as simple as a computer reset! =.=;; Story of my flippen life.
We suck at this road trip thing. 

My Ladybug

But we got to the Festival, I paid the remaining balance on my wheel and it was being assembled for me as I was shopping around. I got to see some of the sheep, and my resolve to own one or two is even stronger now. They are just so cute! And some only come up to your knee!! It would be like owning a medium sized dog. A dog that doesn't bark and eats grass and grain and gives you fleece.
With the fest closing soon we made it back to the hall where my wheel was, and bought it; right from under someones nose. The guy was looking to buy it too, but I was there first and I had made arrangements already, darn it. >=D Mwahaha.

The trip home as much better with no incidents. I even got to drive back about halfway through; it was nice being able to go 70 mph =).
We might go again next year, and hopefully this time the car isn't going to act up and rob us of 2 hours. Stupid car.