It’s been awhile

June 6, 2015 / shellssells / 3 Comments

Ok. Owning a house is a lot of hard work. It’s work I want to be doing, no question. But it’s a lot of work. To some extent that left me feeling, last week, like I need to reevaluate my blog. After all, my crafting time is now spent gardening, cleaning, and cooking. And I am so very ok with that. But then I realized that my short bits of time crafting were still paying off after all.

Last evening Mr. Ink and I decided to just hang out. We made dinner and watched a movie on our new tv and just relaxed. I plied on my wheel. So pleasant.

End result? 180 yards of worsted weight chain plied merino yarn.

The fiber was from The Dyeing Arts. I’d realized it had been quite some times since I’d made a chain ply, so I looked in my stash for the one thing I most wanted to preserve colors in, and this was it. I don’t think I’ve lost my touch!

I am going to post some gardening updates as well, since all of the flowers coming in are so new to us, such a wonderful surprise. One of the biggest surprises in this house was the peonies. Just massive amounts of them along the second garage, and in the flower beds. So beautiful! I picked many many bouquets before they were done for.

We’ve also got some roses! These are out front by the lamp post, and we ended up planting purple petunias around it. The contrast is absolutely lovely.

And lastly, Miss Bug spent the last week at Ranch Camp. She enjoyed it very much, and is headed back tomorrow for another week.

All good stuff keeping us wildly busy and overwhelmingly happy! Enjoy the pictures!

Snowy Days

February 4, 2015February 4, 2015 / shellssells / 3 Comments

I already mentioned the weekend storm that gave us a Monday snow day. Last night, Mr. Ink and I decided it would be a great evening to take Miss Bug out for some sledding.

Mr. Ink gave her a sled for Christmas, and this was our first opportunity to use it. After just 3 trips down the hill, we ended up with this:

Quite frankly, Miss Bug never even got a chance to use it. She prefers a heavy duty ski sled with serious braking capacity, so Mr. Ink and I were forced to use the red sled, and it wasn’t quite up to the task of sledding with adults. Luckily, Mr. Ink found a way to make the bigger section continue to work.

A good time was had by all, even with the broken sled. We came home to chili in the crockpot to warm us up, and then we awoke this morning to another snow day.

Yes, it is again snowing, and so beautiful. I am at home with Miss Bug, and working on a commission shawl out of bulky yarn. It will use 3 skeins of Lamb’s Pride bulky, and I am on skein #2.

How’s the weather in your area?

Singles

February 3, 2015 / shellssells / 1 Comment

I finished spinning singles on my spindles, both drop and support. Well, if we are honest, the drops weren’t all mine. I’ve got one, but Marja loaned me a bunch.

But, I finished 4 oz. of fiber and I wanted to ply it up asap.

Except, I realized that I also had singles on my wheel, and I really never feel like pulling a project off the wheel just to have to put it back on after plying.

So, I worked on those singles last evening.

It’s gonna take me another evening to finish them up, but spinning progress is so satisfying!

The Final Howl

January 29, 2015 / shellssells / Leave a comment

For now. I think it’s high time I get back to other types of knitting. In fact, I am beginning to welcome the idea of other types of knitting.

This third howl is again out of Marja’s handspun. The fiber is from Loop! and because of this, there’s a bit more of it. Enough so that I am not feeling like I must worry over each row.

I admit it, I am hoping this one is going to be MINE. I am hoping I’ll look at it and think “YES, I do want to wear that!”

And I might even add additional embellishments to this one.

But first? First I’ll need to knit a few more rows.

Third Sock

January 7, 2015 / shellssells / 1 Comment

Still no pairs! My mostly sock knitting most of the time has been highly productive thus far. I am past the heel on the first sock for my mom. This is the first pair you’ll actually get to see completed, as I’d like to get them in the mail very shortly.

The yarn is Opal, not sure of the colorway. I like it, it sort of looks like water color, or painted brush strokes. Very cool stuff.

I love Opal yarn for socks, mostly because it’s just a really lovely hard wearing sock yarn. With Mom being far away, I am not around to attempt to repair socks, even if I wanted to. And I rarely want to. So, making sure her socks are out of hard wearing sock yarns is a way to be sure she gets to enjoy them for as long as possible.

In other exciting news, I got Mr. Ink to agree to fun heels and toes on his socks. This is great for two reasons. First, his feet are quite large, and I’ll need every extra inch of sock yarn I can get I suspect. Different color heels and toes are great yarn stretchers. Also, his color is as muted and sedate as can possibly be, so the different heel and toe colors will be a way to break up the monotony of a really boring knit.

After a long absence….

January 5, 2015 / shellssells / 3 Comments

A sock!

(For the record, I swear I already wrote a post about this sock and scheduled it to post this morning, but it is Just Not There. So, if you see this sock twice, it’s not my fault!

I finished the first RPM sock.

It has an afterthought heel because I find I wear out my heels first, and I do actually repair them if the heel is an afterthought heel. I tried a new to me heel, the Thumbjoint Hat Heel. It was good fun, but I am not sure if I’ll like it on my foot. We shall see once sock #2 is complete and I get an opportunity to wear them. The best part? If I don’t like that heel, it’s an afterthought, I can always rip it out and go back to a traditional afterthought heel.

You know, it’s kind of funny, back when I started knitting socks, I tried an afterthought heel immediately. And, I really could not understand why they hadn’t caught on, I loved the technique so much. It took a couple years and the fad of really good striping yarn, but they did catch on after all.

I don’t think I am going to start the second sock of this pair right away. I really would like to get a handle on the socks for Mr. Ink and the socks for my mom. Then I can go back to the ones for me.

So I Gather Completion

December 13, 2014 / shellssells / Leave a comment

I finally finished the So I Gather shawlette out of Marja’s handspun singles. I think it’s fabulous!

The colors are amazing and rich, the yarn has sparkle and depth, the gathers were a ton of fun. Absolutely a winning combination.

I knit on it until I was running out of yarn and couldn’t complete another repeat, so it’s a great use of handspun.

Upcoming, I have 3 Christmas stockings to make in short order, and then I can get back to my grandpa cardigan. The one I didn’t continue because of the yarn being too thin. I got new yarn, it has arrived, and I can get started as soon as my obligation knitting is complete.

I Lied!

December 7, 2014 / shellssells / 3 Comments

I was all “I am going to do the Grandpa Cardigan, not the Funky Grandpa cardigan!” And then? Well, I thought a bit more about the grandpa cardigan, and how the yarn was knitting up all loosey goosey and annoying, and discussed it with a friend of mine, and came to the conclusion that I would be VERY unhappy to knit an entire cabled cardi just to have loose cables that flop instead of pop.

So, I ordered new yarn for the Grandpa Cardigan, and now I have to wait.

In the meantime, until the yarn arrives, I’ve decided to get a head start on the Funky Grandpa.

It’s just a very little bit of the back. It’s bright and cheery and I have high hopes for it, even though it will be interrupted when the yarn arrives for the Grandpa Cardigan.

Relaxing

December 6, 2014 / shellssells / 1 Comment

Knowing that today would be a very full day, I decided to spend last evening relaxing. I had a few things that needed to be done, I had to work on my bike and wrap gifts for a party Bug went to today, but mostly I spent my evening plying.

And, I finished my 2 ply fingering weight Sunshiny Day skein. The fiber was from Enchanted Knoll Farms, I bought it ages and ages ago.

I fractal plied this to mix those colors up really well, and that seems to have happened. It should be perfect for funky stripes in the funky grandpa cardigan.

Today was Global Fat Bike Day, and so Mr. Ink and I met up with the fat bike riders for a lap at one of my favorite trails. I always joke that while I don’t have a fat bike, I still ride fat. This is the second year in a row we’ve gone, and as usual it was a fabulous day. While I cannot keep up with the riders on their fat bikes, I enjoy seeing the bikes, and the camaraderie of winter riders gathering together for a bike ride. Tonight we’ve decided to see Box Trolls again in the cheap theater, since it was so enjoyable the first time around. I am excited to already know the plot and have the opportunity to really concentrate on the art instead.

I hope everyone else is having a fabulous weekend. Be it busy or relaxing, I hope the weekend is exactly what you were hoping for.

Well How Did That Happen?

December 4, 2014 / shellssells / Leave a comment

I sat down at my spinning wheel last evening to work on my Enchanted Knoll Sunshiney Day fiber which I haven’t touched since mid November. I had just over half done, but by the end of the night I was plying! I couldn’t quite figure out how that happened.

This is a fractal spin, though the color changes still should be relatively long. I am hoping to pair it with some laceweight held double to make a Funky Grandpa cardigan.

While I seem to have a desire to spin new and interesting things, I really felt strongly that I wanted to get this particular braid finished and in my stash so that if I had an overwhelming urge to cast on something new, all the pieces would be there.

However, I did recently cast on a new sweater, and it isn’t the Funky Grandpa. So, more on that tomorrow….

It’s almost over

November 30, 2014 / shellssells / 1 Comment

I just had a nice long vacation. Today is the last day. It’s a bit sad, but I have the realization to hang on to that I’ll get another week off at the end of December.

As far as vacations go, this one was extremely productive. At the beginning of the week off I took loads of stuff to goodwill and half price books. On Saturday, Mr. Ink and I took two truck loads of crap that cannot be rehomed to the dump. The creepy basement has far less stuff in it, which makes organizing what is still there far easier. I did the organizing today.

I’ve still got a load of stuff to take to goodwill. Just one more load for now. But, what I am hoping is that my motivation does not wane, and I continue to purge and organize upstairs, starting with the kitchen. I think it can be done.

I’ve also had time to do fun stuff. I spent time with Miss Bug, hung out with Mr. Ink, and due to the extremely balmy weather yesterday, got to ride mountain bikes. I even had an opportunity to try out a fat bike, something I’ve hoped to try for a long while now.

As my regular readers are probably well aware, I’ve also got the bulk of the Christmas knitting done, and wrapped. Can you believe it? It feels great to be this ahead of schedule, though I suspect what with happen with being ahead of schedule is that I’ll add to the list rather than just be done with it.

Today I am trying to knock out the 5 itty bitty socks that need to be knit for Bug’s teachers. I have 4 done, I will finish a 5th, and then I need to do some for coworkers.

There’s also been some spinning, but not much. Last Saturday I went to our local guild show and picked up some lovely things. Perhaps the most lovely and decadent item I picked up was a package of rolags. I love love love spinning from rolags, and yellow is a color that always calls to me.

I am spinning them on a support spindle, and these are the ones I may leave as singles and just immediately knit them off the spindle. I’ve never done such a thing before, but I think it could be an interesting experiment.

Hopefully tomorrow I’ll have some itty bitty socks to show off! If I am not too bitter about going back to work…..

Crazy

November 29, 2014 / shellssells / 2 Comments

I made crazy yarn, and didn’t end up wanting to knit with it.

So, I took that yarn and made it crazier, by plying it together.

And then I did want to knit with it. But, I couldn’t imagine ever wearing the colors. So, I decided that it goes nicely with the Christmas theme, I’d make a cowl for Bug, and she could wear the crazy colors.

It’s just a simple stockinette stitch cowl, but I think she’ll enjoy it.

Don’t you love it when…

November 28, 2014 / shellssells / 2 Comments

Don’t you love it when your vision of a project turns out to be less fantastic than the actual project?

I have had some of Marja’s singles in my stash, the handspun being of the inglenook variety. I think she was nervous about them being singles, but I was not, and the yarn was so beautiful that it wanted to be knit. I searched around for a bit for a pattern I thought would showcase the yarn itself, and landed on the So I Gather shawl. It’s a ruched pattern, and it seems quite wearable, so I gave it a try.

I worked on it most of the day yesterday, and I love how it is turning out. The singles look good, energetic but not too crazy. The large needles with the thin yarn give it all a light and airy quality. This one is going to be crazy warm once it’s complete.

As with Inglenook handspuns, it is even more rich and luscious in person than my picture shows. But, I think you can see the depth of color pretty well.

I love this shawl so much so far that I intend to knit another out of my own handspun singles, which I am creating right now. I may even just knit right off the spindle for a new and interesting experiment.

Extra Special

November 27, 2014 / shellssells / 3 Comments

I’ve got two more finished objects for Bug’s handknit Christmas, and each of them are extra special. In the sense that besides being hand knit, they’ve got an extra touch from someone else special in Bug’s life.

The first is her shroom hat, downsized to accommodate thinner yarn than the pattern calls for. Its extra special touch is the yarn itself, which was spun by Marja. It’s a wonderful purple and pink and blue toned yarn, and that’s a color combo Miss Bug truly appreciates.

The second item is her tunic. I’ve been working on this for some time now, and it turned out fantastic. The pattern is Bulle, and I knit the largest size, and then added extra length since Miss Bug is quite tall. In addition to that, I messed up the yoke itself, so it doesn’t quite look like it is supposed to, and I was too lazy to do the pockets.

Its extra special touch is the buttons. They’ve been hanging around in my button stash for a few years now, because they were made by my mother, and I wanted an extra special project to put them on. This was the project.

And now, I get to wrap a few more gifts to set under the tree. Happy Thanksgiving everyone, I do hope you are enjoying it.

2 More

November 26, 2014November 25, 2014 / shellssells / Leave a comment

I am back at the christmas ornaments, and having a great time with them. First up, one I did for Bug for a stocking stuffer. She’s been begging for this one, and I didn’t really want to make it. But, since it’s her year of handknits, I figured it’s only appropriate she get it in her stocking.

This is a new color combo, it’s navy and grey. I like it, and hope for more of this combo, perhaps more navy with a grey design.

And, next up, one I’ve been thinking about making for years. To my knowledge, this is the only 3 color Christmas ornament in the entire book. I decided to use the yarn leftover from my color affection shawl, so I ended up with a lovely jewel toned ornament. I had to hold the yarn double for this, which was complicated and very tight stitches, but I think the end result is quite beautiful.

Though I can see it needs some additional squishing to get it more round.

I am again out of stuffing, so I am going to need to slow down on the ornaments and do more flick carding.

In the meantime, I am hard at work finishing Bug’s Christmas tunic, and it’s almost there! I am excited to show it off as well, even though I’ll be stuck waiting for a modeled photo until after Christmas.

Gradient Vest

November 25, 2014 / shellssells / 4 Comments

It’s finally complete!

So, awhile back I found a vest pattern at a new local yarn shop. I purchased the pattern, and was tempted to purchase the yarn. Then, I remembered that I had two loop bumps that I could spin for a nice long gradient, and I’d probably have enough for the vest.

So, I embarked on the long journey of spinning for a finished object. I was concerned about the yardage once I was done, especially since I added an additional repeat for my height. But, in the end, I had a bit left over, while still going through the entire gradient. I was quite pleased.

It fits nicely and it’s interesting and cute. The pictures don’t really show the sparkle, but it’s in there. I love the way it drapes, and it’s quite comfortable to wear, so I will call it a win.

More Christmas ornaments tomorrow!

Up to Speed

November 24, 2014 / shellssells / 2 Comments

It’s been busy, friends. Very busy. This weekend I went to the local weaver’s and spinner’s guild show, then to our local Cranksgiving. This is a bike race/scavenger hunt which brings in food for the local food bank. Each rider got a list of 10 items the food bank needs this time of year, and then they go out and purchase each item from different stores. I volunteered this year which was great fun in and of itself. There was quite a bit of downtime, so I knit and hung out with friends while waiting for the participants to return.

I took this week off work even though Bug goes to school for the first two days this week. Because of this, I got up early, got dressed, and headed off as if I were going to work. Why? Because Miss Bug likes to argue with me about how she should stay home from school if I am staying home from work.

My morning started at a coffeeshop, knitting and drinking coffee and waiting for shops to open. I then went to half price books and goodwill to drop off stuff from my crazy basement, office depot for tape for gifts, and then I came home to make breakfast, start dinner, start washing fleece, and wrap as many gifts as I could find boxes for.

Speaking of gifts, I also had an opportunity to photograph a couple of the Julie knits. The first being a tiny pair of underwear for the doll.

These were kind of a ridiculous endeavor but I think they’ll be appreciated even so. And they turned out pretty good. I didn’t bother to block them, it seemed a bit like overkill.

I also made a pair of legwarmers

Quite simple, and very pretty out of Blue Moon Fiber Arts socks that rock.

And finally, I made another christmas ornament. This one doesn’t have high contrast so it isn’t my favorite. I’ll try to remember not to pair these two colors again.

I am working on another ornament when Bug is home, this one quite different from the others. But, it’s slow going as it is almost all colorwork, and I am using yarn that isn’t exactly fit for the job.

I am also almost done with Bug’s christmas tunic, which I hope to show off soon. That’s my knitting project for today since I can knit without her figuring out it’s hers.

More tomorrow, for sure! Including a gradient vest I finally completed!

Christmas Ornaments

November 22, 2014 / shellssells / 2 Comments

I’ve been a tad bit obsessive about knitting Christmas ornaments this year. I’ve completed 3 out of the 55 Christmas Balls to Knit book. And, I’ve got another on the needles.

The first one I did using the two handed colorwork technique. Basically, I knit with the main color in my left hand and the contrast color in my right hand.

I wasn’t thrilled with my result. Meaning, it makes a perfectly lovely ornament, but I felt I could do better. So, I pulled out my colorwork thimble, and started another one.

I am particularly fond of the colors on this one. And, the resulting ornament is better as well. More pleasing to my eye.

Then I ran out of stuffing, so I was forced to do some more flick carding for scraps to fill the ornaments with. And then I knit another. This one I did with the colorwork thimble, but I was also very careful to secure my carried yarn as well.

I’ve done more flick carding and I have another ornament on the needles. I think this one will be even better than the ones before. And then Miss Bug has requested a rocking horse ornament so I’ll probably do that one for her stocking.

Again, with the little things. Little things are exactly what I want to be knitting at the moment.

The Flaw in the Plan

November 18, 2014 / shellssells / 6 Comments

I am taking a bit of a break from Julie’s clothing. I had a ran out of yarn situation, and I couldn’t bear to keep going once I ripped that pretty little shirt out. So, I decided to work on my gradient vest a bit more.

I am no longer fearful I’ll run out of yarn, so that’s a relief. Both armholes are done, and now it’s just a matter of knitting the second front long enough to match the first front.

And then there’s the seaming. Which is where the flaw in the plan comes in. I failed to realize, as I was knitting along, that once I was done with a gradient piece, I would no longer have the appropriate yarn color to seam the shoulders. I’ve got one shoulder that’s orange toned, and the other shoulder that’s yellow toned, and by the time I am done I’ll be in green tones.

Lesson learned. If you are knitting a gradient garment, save some of the yarn color needed for the seams.

I am not sure what I’ll do about this issue. I’ve got some loop scraps in my bin, I could check them for color. Or, I could just use the green on both shoulders and hope for the best. At least the shoulders will match? I’ve no clue what I’ll do once I am done. But, I won’t make that mistake again, at least there’s that.

A Quiet Weekend

November 15, 2014 / shellssells / 2 Comments

Miss Bug headed to her dad’s for the weekend last night. I spent the evening finishing up my creepy basement clean out project so that I could get the car in the garage. While the project is done, I still need a trip to the dump. But, it’s snowing today and Mr. Ink has to work so the trip to the dump has to wait for another weekend.

I worked hard to finish the basement project yesterday so that I could devote my time today to knitting Bug’s Christmas gifts. Being that she is gone, I don’t have to hide them. So I am just working as fast as I can on them.

I found an etsy shop that sold some stockings for American Girl dolls, and I purchased 3 pairs as gifts. This is fabulous since right now, Julie’s only stockings are red. I grabbed grey stockings and white stockings. Then, on a whim, I decided to also get a pair of stockings with bright peace signs on them. They were too cute to resist.

Then, I took some leftover handspun of Marja’s and knit a 3 tiered skirt. It matches the fabulous stockings perfectly, so I am quite excited about it. And, it was a quick knit!

I have more of that yarn, so I am not entirely positive I am done with that colorway yet. So cute!

The Christmas Sweater

November 14, 2014November 14, 2014 / shellssells / Leave a comment

I decided to knit one Christmas Sweater for Miss Bug this holiday. I chose the Bulle pattern because it’s more like a tunic, which is something she’ll enjoy, and it is designed to be worn with something under it, which seems wise for Miss Bug. The yarn I chose is Brooks Farms Mas Acero. I purchased it in 2008 or 2009 at Stitches Midwest and it’s been in my stash ever since. It’s lovely stuff, and I haven’t been able to figure out what to do with it, since I don’t want it to be gone from my stash.

While I realize that’s just crazy talk, it DOES happen. But, these days it happens far less, because I have yummy handspun in stash, and that takes the edge off getting rid of nice commercial yarns.

I love the little bit of added extra fabric at the back and front of this tunic, making it look so very sweet. It will be fun to put some great buttons on this for added detail, and even better? There’s alternating colored pockets to add. So sweet! The pattern is translated from french, and some of the terminology is unusual, but since it’s also intuitive, it’s easy to figure out.

I did, however, not read the pattern well enough to figure out where to stop making it garter stitch and join it in the round. By the time I figured that out, it was farther back than I was willing to rip. So, it’s not a bug, it’s a feature. It’ll look great even so.

It’s entirely possible I’ll make different sleeves. I’ve got a kid who gets very odd about her socks and shoes and the feeling of her pants, and I don’t think tighter sleeves on a tunic meant to be worn over something is going to fly with her.

This project is currently residing at work. It’s just boring stockinette at the moment and I have little doll knits to work on at home and keep me interested. I can manage an hour a day 5 days a week, and I am sure it will be done well before Christmas.

How about you? Do you have holiday knitting? If so, how’s it going?

What do we call this?

November 3, 2014November 1, 2014 / shellssells / 1 Comment

I had 4 sets of rolags in my stash, you know the kind made on blending boards? 3 from dyeabolical, and the 4th from Spinmonkeys. There wasn’t enough for a full project in any of them. So, I decided to mix them up and combine them. The colors were….passably matching. Plenty of green tones, and a nice burgundy tone, with bits of purple and orange and mustard and sparkle thrown in for good measure.

I contemplated how I’d draw it all together, as I spun these rolags, mixing them all up. I figured there had to be a way to make them really match well, or at least blend appropriately. I contemplated different chain ply techniques, and then after consulting with a very talented spinner friend of mine, I decided to give chain plying 2 singles together a try.

I don’t know if there’s a name for that. Double chain ply? 6 ply chain ply? No clue. But what it created was far better than I imagined. Not only did all the colors blend beautifully, but the yarn is thick, super bulky, and extraordinarily rotund.

I ended up with 140 yards of 6 ply, which was also more than I expected. I think I’ve got a hat in mind for this one. it certainly is hat season soon!

Taking a Moment

October 29, 2014 / shellssells / 2 Comments

Boy has it been busy around here! I really imagined downtime between the conference and Halloween. But, that just hasn’t happened. Last weekend we completely overextended ourselves with social events, and I’ve started this week at a severe alone time/down time deficit.

Add to that the fact that I didn’t have knitting on my needles from Thursday evening to Saturday evening. I ended up, on Friday, getting quite upset with my next door neighbor and stomping around the house about it. Mr. Ink mentioned later that he thought I wouldn’t have gotten quite so upset if I’d had a bit of knitting to take the edge off. I suspect he’s right.

I now have a new sweater on the needles, as well as a new shawl. I’ve also done a bunch of spinning/plying. So much to show, but the yarn needs to dry, and the sweater isn’t interesting, and I keep forgetting to get a picture of the shawl. Until today.

I had all this great, interesting, different types of yarns all dyed in the same colorway from the Taos trip last year. I finally pulled out a shawl to work on. I am just alternating yarns as I see fit. I bet I’ll never wear this because I think mohair is really the most miserable stuff. But, I am going to have a great time knitting it, and it has many awesome memories attached to it.

The colors still remind me of the chickens at our casita while we were out in Taos.

More from me very soon, cross your fingers that some of the handspun has decided to dry!

Handspun Stripes

October 2, 2014 / shellssells / 5 Comments

Awhile back now, Marja was parting with some of her handspun. She just had to much, and as a non knitter, she was happy to send away some yarn that might get some love elsewhere. I put two skeins, one very bright, and the other more solid and dark, into my yarn stash. I contemplated what I would do with them for a long time. They just sat there next to each other, teasing me a bit, but I couldn’t think of anything.

Then, one afternoon, after waking up from a nap, I was looking at those two skeins of yarn, and I realized that what they really wanted was to be paired together. And I remembered that there was this great 1X1 rib scarf from way back when that I could do.

So I did. I got started, because I needed “purse knitting.” The stuff that doesn’t need a pattern. Even though my current obsession leans more toward the Tandem Adirondack shawls, I do pick this one up and put some time in on it daily. Not much, but enough to make it count.

Tandem

October 1, 2014 / shellssells / 4 Comments

I have decided to work two shawls in tandem. I am working on the Adirondack shawl. The first yarn is Marja’s handspun gradient from inglenook batts. It’s gorgeous. In tandem to that, I am using some dyeabolical fiber handspun 2 ply I spun awhile back. It’s a fractal spin. So, I thought it might be fun to compare a fractal spin and a gradient spin on the same pattern.

I am, at this point, a tiny bit ahead on Marja’s shawl, as I brought it to work today to catch it up, but then surpassed the place I was on my shawl.

The other difference in the yarn is that Marja’s gradient is a 3 ply, and mine is a 2 ply. And, as is the case with yarn comparisons between the two of us, I’d say Marja’s yarn is denser, mine more light and airy. This leads me to believe that her shawl is going to hold up better to wear than mine will. I expect mine will probably pill and felt faster, while hers will look nice long term.

It’s been rather fun to have regular use of someone else’s handspun. Quite a treat!

December Baby

September 30, 2014 / shellssells / 4 Comments

So many new babies surrounding me! I just finished up another cardigan for a little boy due to arrive in December. It’s double breasted, and has silk in the yarn for extra warmth.

I ended up using orange buttons, which don’t show up properly in the picture. However, they are awfully cute. I’d thought about other cutesy buttons like crayons or tractors. But, it just felt like it was cheapening the spirit of the sweater. So, orange was bright and fun, but still classic.

I know there are more babies on their way, so I know there will be quite a bit more baby knitting in my future. However, I also don’t know the gender of those upcoming babies, so I am willing to wait.

I feel like I have so little to say about the sweater I finished that I need to post another picture. We’ve had this wonderful, unseasonable weather lately. Or rather, the entire spring and summer has resembled Seattle rather than the midwest, but now all of a sudden we have this pleasant 78-80F weather to enjoy. So, I sat outside yesterday on the porch and got some more spinning done. I’ve now moved into the darker orange on this loop bump. Only one color left to work through once the dark orange is done, and then massive amounts of plying.

Not sure the picture is fabulous, it was getting dark!

Stay tuned for side by side handspun shawls, and a handspun scarf I’ve been working on….all to be discussed in the next few days.

Off the Needles

September 29, 2014 / shellssells / Leave a comment

For now. Just to be put back on the needles this evening.

I’ve been working on the boxy and buttony sweater since the end of April. That’s an exceedingly long time for me to have something on the needles. However, it’s also an exceedingly boring knit in the round with fingering weight yarn. So, It has gotten set aside for more interesting projects over and over.

But, last evening, I finally was able to complete the body of the sweater, and I couldn’t be happier with it! It fits nicely, and the yarn is amazing. So, now I just have the collar and the sleeves to knit. And buttons to order.

It seems almost odd to have this one so near completion. Especially since I’ve got a bunch of other projects going and quickly being completed.

Tonight, it goes back on the needles.

Time

September 28, 2014 / shellssells / 1 Comment

Weekends are such an odd thing. Maybe that’s just as an introvert. You must so carefully balance what you decide to do in order to gain enough downtime to survive the week. This weekend has been absolutely lovely, but it’s also been on the busy side. Both Friday and Saturday night Mr. Ink and I made lovely dinners together. Saturday morning was spent running various errands, because Saturday afternoon Mr. Ink wanted to take advantage of free museum day to take Bug to the museum she’s been hankering to go to, as well as a few others.

This all left such precious little time for downtime, that downtime was spent on errands. Cleaning the house, doing dishes, laundry, mowing lawn, yard work.

This morning, Bug’s dad picked her up for a running event. I decided that the best thing for me to do would be not going on the bike ride I’d planned to try. (I’ve been sick for more than 2 weeks, and wanted to try a gentle ride to see how my lungs handled it.) Instead, I got chores started, and then sat outside on the porch with some spinning and a podcast. I just desperately needed some gentle, quiet, alone time.

This is the loop bump I am working on, and I’ve made it into the lighter orange. This one is spinning up so very nicely, it’s quite a pleasure to work on it regularly.

I also managed to start a few things, but I think I’ll save that for tomorrow when there’s a bit more to show for it.

Spinny News

September 25, 2014 / shellssells / 2 Comments

I’ve done quite a bit of spinning over the past couple days, compared to what I’ve accomplished in these past few weeks. So, I think today is a great day to show some of that off. I started my second loop bump, the first one being done and set aside last week. This one seems to be spinning up very quickly, and very comfortably. I am pleased with the singles I am getting out of this one, though I have no idea why they would be any different than the singles I managed on the last bump. Tension? Who can say.

I’ve also been doing a bit of support spinning, I am still working on my Themyscira superwash woool from Dyeabolical. I pick this one up, and then put it back down for long periods of time. However, at this point, it looks like I am actually making tangible progress. In part, the colors are so beautiful that I am not sure what I am going to do with the singles once they are complete, and, I am not sure I want to finish it, because then it will be over. Anyone else ever have this issue?

And, in spinning news, I was a very lucky gal to snag a large destash of Wild Hare fiber. Big destash, extremely low price, completely irresistible. I’ve got braids of superwash wool, some of polwarth wool, and 3 of a very interesting combo, wool/flax. Some of this will head to the box for drum carding into batts with interesting additions. Some will be spun as is. I am very pleased with this purchase, and am excited over the stash infusion.

And finally, I’ve got more of Marja’s yarn, and I am prepared to use it!

This is a gradient yarn made out of inglenook batts that she made. She loves it, AS SHE SHOULD! and so I am knitting it into a shawlette. As is always the case, I am so excited to see how it looks. Also exciting? For once I didn’t forget to take a photo of it in the skein.

A Very Braidy Cowl

September 23, 2014 / shellssells / 2 Comments

Yeah so, this was a fast and satisfying knit! This is, again, Marja’s fabulous yarn, knit into a Very Braidy Cowl, and it will be given as a gift to someone by Marja.

This is a project that thrilled me from start to finish. The yarn is wonderful and soft and bouncy and round. The cables are fun, the colors are simply amazing, and the end product is beautiful and unusual and unique. I am thrilled with it. I do hope the recipient likes it too. And, the pattern is certainly one I’ll be knitting again at some point!