Coffee, cats and laceweight alpaca…

on a August Friday morning.

A week ago, which it doesn’t feel like a week, I took a trip back to my hometown after not setting foot into it for almost four years. Why so long, you ask? Reliable transportation. You see, we were able to trade in our Dodge Dakota truck, which finally died via blew its poor little head off, for a new 2009 Nissan Versa. My husband and I didn’t realize how much weight we carried while owing the truck until it was gone. There were no more gloomy clouds over our heads. We could drive anywhere! And so we did.

While in my hometown I decided to stop by and see the LYS, Riverwools. Nice little shop full of wool. Just what I expected. There is a comfy couch in the back to relax and knit on. I ended up buying four skeins of Frog Tree laceweight alpaca for a toddler sweater I had in mind but greed and practicality caught me and this morning I decided that the Whisper Cardigan by Hannah Fettig would be a more suitable choice. I texted my sister to run over to the shop to buy that last skein for me if they still have it. Hopefully they do.

My gauge for the sweater is larger and I am adjusted the pattern to fit my gauge rather than going down a needle size. I chose to do this for fear of not having enough yarn.
My gauge: 18sts=4″
Their gauge: 24sts=4″
So then, this morning I casted on 68 sts onto size US8 12″ circs and have knitted six rounds before my ADD got the best of me. I should really call it RADD (ravelry attention deficite disorder).

Yesterday, my darling friend brought me my EZ Opinionated Knitter! I am so happy to have it! I really want to make ski sweaters and new socks!

Less is More

or How I Spent my Weekend

or Fiber Feng Shui

I have had enough! Enough of not knowing where everything is. Enough of feeling weighed down from disorganized books and yarn. Enough of looking around and finding bags of yarn in every corner. Something had to be done and had to be done without regret, question, or remorse. While listening to Bob Dylan, The Doors,Alela Diane and others, I spent hours cleaning, giving, organizing, sorting, stacking, lifting, and finally sitting down to have a beer.

Being a fiber person I wasn’t surprised to how much yarn I had not including fleece for spinning but HOLEY RUSTED METAL BATMAN! I was able to downsize my stash to five milk crate bins full of what I considered “good yarn worth keepin”. I think I would have had around thirteen crates if I kept everything.

Things are still a mess and I am sure it will be a few more days until everything seems “right”.

Have you had Fiber Wars? Did you recently do a huge overhall of your yarn collection?

A Wheel and Her Girl – part I

Avril, o how lovely your Canadian Maple shines. Is it true you will darken with age? Just beauty marks, my darling. Don’t worry.

The breeze is lovely today, is it not? I hope you are happy.

What? Does the jumbo flyer make you look fat? What sort of question is that?! You know you are only wearing it because we have lots of work to do, right? Don’t make such a fuss.

I know you want that bamboo-merino but right now you have some scrumptous corridale. I’m sorry but we must stay focused. You clearly have been spoiled these past few weeks.

the secret to conquering summer humidity

Knit wool. CAUTION: only use in small quantities

All this rain has made it intolerable to knit out on my porch and I am forced to remain inside and only view the sunlight from windows. Despite the heat I have casted on for a new pair of socks using some lovely hand spun wool.

Here is some more music that makes me swoon..

today this tuesday

Fell asleep after a bath. Slept for three hours as rain came and went in waves. Now slowly coming conscious thanks to a fresh pot of coffee and gentle folk voices strumming sweet somethings from my speakers there. Cats are napping in freshly dyed wool nests.

some catching up to do

I have been keeping myself busy by spending loads of good quality time with my DH and going on tons of bike rides through the woods. Here are some things we encountered so far.

Some owls that live in the neighborhood. It is so cute to listen to them call back and forth to one another.

Here is the poor possum that we rescued from the trail. We took the poor guy in to Wildcare. The  employees said that a large animal, maybe a dog, got ahold of the possum and wounded him. He was frightened but I hope he knew we were trying to help out.

I got my Lendrum late April and have been spinning more than knitting these days. I haven’t taken as many photos as I should have during the spinning process but I am going to work on that. I have some recently spun setting twist at the moment so that will have to come later but here is what is hot on the wheel.

Fiber: Enchanted Hallow by FreckleFaceFibers

And this past Sunday I finished my first patchwork quilt pillow (is it patchwork or quilt? I am so new to this I’m not quite sure).

O, lastly and maybe leastly (since I feel this to be not my best)

FO! Haha…a hat. I ripped out my “Blue Schlump” to make this. I think it will have to be gifted to a child since it is a tad small. I do have to say that I loved knitting this hat and will definitely try again with the largest size and more repeats.

Pattern: Beaufort Hat [ravelink]

Longer nights..as in daylight nights

Spring has come and what does a girl do when the weather makes promises of warmer days. Well, knit more socks and maybe a beret or two, I say.

Nights are longer and Nature beckons to be indulged in. We have been walking a lot these days. IU campus is wonderful in early Spring sunlight. We grab a couple of honeydew bubbleteas from Chow Bar on Indiana and cross over to walk by the observatory.

I submitted a poem to fiore, the B-town literary magazine. I need to be more involved with my town because I love it so. I write all the time but just file it away in folders to be unread by eyes. I have for the longest time wanted to make a poetry zine to sell at Boxcar Books. Maybe this will be the year? 2009 was to hold a lot of promises. 2009 was to make life more fulfilling. That is what we agreed upon.

Pattern: Meret by Wooly Wormhead [ravelink]
Needles: US7
Yarn: Rainbow Wool by Yarn Bee; colorway Seastorm

two & twenty hoots – the prologue

I have all of this breathtaking yarn and need a sweater to claim it. Originally intended for the February Lady Sweater but I said, “Ya know,  I’m just not that into a lacy sweater right now.”  A tiny voice had then interjected my earwaves, “What about Owls? You looooove owls!” And I found myself nodding in agreement to this overseer that we sometimes refer to as a conscience.

As always I have a disturbing addiction to changing patterns. I could go on and on in detail how and why. But I won’t.

These are my mods. I want a cardigan instead of a pullover. I want a worsted instead of a bulky. I want 3/4 sleeves instead of full length. I want easy minimal shaping. I want to use hook and eye closures. I want a rib pattern that won’t pucker the fabric.

Pretty low demands, eh?

All I can think about now is button shopping. Fourty-four buttons, here I come!

Just plum charming..

Totems to Keep Me Together

Snow keeps falling.

Big chunky flakes this time. Already caked vehicles. Have been strumming on the guitar all morning. Nothing has progressed. Some lyrics turned story-mode. Too many limbs to hang from. Need to make a crow girl sweater. The idea sparked as I came padding out and a murder flew like a mob of blackness, like a cloud about to downpour its burdens (hopefully in my case not of the bowels), cawing to one another and curving and swooping in unison. To me I wish I could have transformed and kicked my feet from the ground to join them, flying. What about a knitted totem poll?

Totem & crow things:

toe-up totem socks
crow scarf