This and that.

Greetings!!

I am sorry it has been so long since my last post, life has away of getting away from one before they realize it. I cannot believe it is almost February!!  Life has been very busy since my last post so i will try and give you a few updates on what I'm working on now.

My Afternoon Delight socks which I told you about in the previous post ended up getting torn out and set aside the pattern had a few issues and at the time I didn't have the patience to muddle them out. A friend of mine might make them soon so I will see how they turn out for her and maybe i will try them again in the near future.

I have gotten the Juneberry triangle that I was working on almost finished I ran out of yarn so that has also been put on hold for now. It seems like as if quite a few of my recent projects have either been torn apart or have been set aside lately. My sweater I was working on was also not working out right so I took it apart to work on again in a smaller size.


I have been doing quite a bit of spinning lately. I received some roving and a spindle from Turquoise Owl Fibers it is her Galaxy colorway and it is just beautiful! :)

I now have 5 drop spindles and they all have projects on them right now. Here are some pictures of all my projects I am working on right now and a baby hat I just finished today.

This is some lovely merino that was part of a fiber sample bag.

I am spinning it to make a shawl.

This smokey blue is also from the fiber sampler.

It will look very nice next to the grey, I also have a teal that I'm spinning but the color didn't come out right on camera.

This is some lovely merino and tussah silk.

I have no clue what this will be turned into yet.

This was a Christmas present from my parents it is also from Turquoise Owl Fibers.

It is very lovely and I have no idea what I will make with it.

This is the baby hat  I just finished today. 

Of course Kee had to help take pictures of everything. :)

Keyla has been doing much better since I took her in for a shot for her allergies in January. I am hoping to switch her to a raw diet and see if that will help to keep her allergy to corn under control. Right now she is being stubborn and will not eat the raw meat I give her so I  will be doing some research on how to get her switched over to the raw diet. Right now she is busy annoying the dogs and getting all the love she can soak up.

I had to put my dog of ten years down this last year because he was very sick. It  was a hard decision to make but it was necessary as he was suffering a great deal. I was able to get a new puppy on the same day that I said goodbye and that helped a great deal.
Here are some pictures of Luigi. He is a standard poodle mixed with Airedale terrier, he is nine months old right now and weighs around 70 pounds.

Keyla gets along with him quite well. She did have a hard time at first adjusting to the change and saying goodbye.

Well that's all I have for now Lord willing I will be better at blogging in the future lol

On My Toes.

This week we have had some chillier weather which has been a nice change from the hot temperatures we have had this summer. With the cooler temps I had the urge to start knitting some more socks. My mom had me purchase some sock yarn for her to make her some knee socks, so this week I decided to start them.

The pattern my mom had picked out is from the The Joy of Sox. by Linda Kopp I have made a pair of socks from this book before which you can see in an earlier post. I have heard stories about how turning the heel is awful and that once you get the first sock done the second sits there and waits forever to get done. I must be different than most people because I found that I enjoyed the whole process of knitting a pair of socks. The turning of the heel was rather scary for me but I found that it was rather simple once I got started on it. Once I finished the first sock I couldn't wait to get started on the second one and I couldn't seem to put it down once I started knitting it! I finished the socks in no time at all and found myself disappointed that it was over already and I was looking forward to starting my next pair. Summer arrived before I knew it and it was to warm to knit with wool very comfortably. :)  So when the weather turned cooler I started moms socks! I think sock knitting is my favorite type of knitting if that can be possible! :) 

The pattern is called Afternoon Delight and the socks are knee socks and knitted from the toe up. This will be my first time knitting socks from the toe up ( not a huge surprise since this is only my second pair of socks that I have knitted.) I had several different toe up cast ons that the book suggested and i finally settled on the Turkish cast on. I managed to muddle my way through it and figured it out on the first try with one small snag I casted on to many stitches! Much to my dismay I found myself tearing it out and trying again the next 3 tries were somewhat successful but I kept dropping stitches finally on the 5th attempt I managed to complete the Turkish cast on successfully! I was very happy that I managed to complete it without googling a video of how to do it!! :) I have been working on them for 4 days now and I am very happy with my progress. I have completed the toe increase and I am working on the length of the foot to start the turning of the heel. I cannot wait to show you all my progress as soon as I have time to sit down and snap some pictures. 

Hope you all are doing well and having a lovely end to your summer. :) 

Recent projects

Here are the promised pictures!

This is my new roving its called Snow Leopard.

I am spinning it very thin once it is plied it should be some where between a lace weight and a fingering weight yarn.

Here is the merino silk that I spun up for my mom.

I have over 800 yrds of this lovely fingering weight yarn.

It has such a lovely shine to it from the silk.

Here is a close up of the yarn. Isn't it lovely?

And here is the other half of my merino that I hand painted last year.

This is the alpaca I have been working on for my Grandma.

Doesn't it have a lovely halo to it???

This is a lovely 2 ply lace weight.

Here they all are in a group.

Aren't they lovely??

Now I thought you would like a glimpse at some of my future spinning projects. These are some roving's that I bought at a recent fiber festival.

This is some lovely jet black suri alpaca.

It is just over 4oz



This is some lovely merino bamboo.

It is 4.2 oz and my mom bought it for me to spin up for her. :)

Well that's all I have for now.I hope you enjoyed the pictures and that you are enjoying you summer! :)

Goodness!! I cannot believe how long it has been since I last blogged!!  I'm sure you were all wondering if I had stopped blogging! Life has been busy since the beginning of the summer it seems like as soon as summer hits every spare moment is taken up. 

I have been busy working quite a bit the past few months the baby I watch is growing fast and keeps me on my toes. I love watching him he is such a joy to watch learn and grow!

I have been knitting and spinning on my days off and while the baby sleeps I just haven't taken any pictures of what I have done yet. :)

I finished my Cozy Cocoon Shrug that I started in April. I loved knitting it up it was very interesting switching between worsted and lace weight yarns. I got a little confused when it came to knitting the collar and sleeves but I figured it out with some help from my mom and Grandma. :)  My grandma lives quite aways away from me and we don't get to see each other very often.  She was able to come for a visit in May and I enjoyed her visit very much. :) I am working on spinning some white alpaca yarn to make her a shawl/shrug pattern that she fell in love with on her last visit. I just finished spinning and plying the first skein it is a lovely lace weight yarn, it is very soft and has a nice halo. I cannot wait to begin working the pattern with it! The pattern is a interlock pattern which will be a new experience for me but I am looking forward to the challenge.

I had a friend over this past week and she helped me set the twist on 4 skeins of yarn and 1 skein of her own yarn. Two skeins were the merino silk that I spun up for my mom I was quite happy with the outcome I got over 800 yrds and it is a lovely lace/ fingering weight yarn. Mom hasn't decided what to have me make with it yet so for now I will just enjoy looking at it as it sits in a basket on my hope chest waiting to be knitted.

The other yarns that we set the twist on was the alpaca and the last half of my green and teal merino.
I think I would like to make a cowl for this winter out of my merino it is more of a thick and thin weight but i love the character of the overall look of the yarn. :)


Recently I was able to go to a fiber festival and I bought some more merino silk roving the color is called Snow Leopard it is a mixture of black,brown,and white. I started spinning it up almost immediately and I am loving how it looks! I will try and get pictures this week as I will have a day or two off work. :)  I also was able to purchase some jet black alpaca roving that is sitting in my bedroom looking lovely as I decided what to do with it. If you have any ideas I would love to hear them!!! I have 4 ounces that I can spin up into any weight so I look forward to your ideas to what to make!  My mom also went with me to the fiber festival and purchased some beautiful navy blue/white merino bamboo roving which I haven't started spinning yet but I am so looking forward to spinning it as I have yet to work with bamboo. 


Well I think thats all for now!! Hope you are all having a wonderful start to your summer!

Glimpses of spring, and a pictures of my most recent projects.

Hello again!!!

Time seems to have gotten away from me! I cant believe it has been almost a month or a little longer since I last blogged!! I have been busy working and knitting and spinning!

Spring is blossoming all around us right now and I love seeing all the plants and trees come to life after laying dormant all winter. Its fun to wake up in the morning to the sounds of birds happily chirping away as the set about making their nests. I love waking up in the morning in the spring with my window open and the fresh air blowing in. Recently our weather has turned a bit cooler than it had been we had a week of 80 degree weather so now 50s and 60s feel a bit chilly. :) But it is still lovely weather for April!! :) :)

Here are some pictures I snapped today after I was done mowing the lawn. :)

This is a purple sand cherry.

Pink daffodil

This one just started opening today.

Such a bright cheerful shade of yellow!!!

The sky is a very bright blue today. :)

These tulips are purple but they aren't quite ready to bloom yet.

I also thought that you might want to see the projects that I am currently working on and the ones that I have finished in the past few months.

I have not had as much time for knitting as I would like but I still have managed to get quite a bit squeezed in. I finished my socks I was working on as well and a pair of mitts and a pair of leg warmers.

I recently started knitting another juneberry triangle this one is for my mom. It is in a lovely shade of gray with tan undertones the yarn is a merino cashmere blend that purchased from knitpicks. I am almost done with chart B but I still have 2 more charts before the body of the shawl is complete and then there is a edging chart. It is a beautiful shawl and I really enjoy knitting the pattern.
I have also started knitting one of the kits that I received for Christmas. It is called the Cozy Cacoon Shrug the yarn color for the kit I have is purple. I am loving the pattern so far although it is a little different switching between a worsted weight yarn and a lace weight yarn.

Well here are pictures of all my projects that I mentioned and an updated picture of my counted cross stitch that I have been working on.

On the spinning front I have plied all of my merino that is in the green and blue teal color way. I am almost done plying the last of the  merino silk blend that I am spinning up for my  mom it is going to be a lovely lace weight yarn when I am done plying it. I will be sure to take pictures of them when I have taken them off the spindles and put them into skanes.

Well that's all for now hope you all have a Blessed Easter!!!