Happy Holidays

I know I have been negligent in writing lately.  I have been working a lot up here in Phoenix AZ at my new job and when I'm not doing that, I'm hanging out with the new love of my life, Wayne.  :-)  I did make a new pair of my lacy half gloves to show in Kathy's store and I was told they were well received at the New York Sheep and Wool festival.   Now I need to modify my hat pattern as I am told it is similar to someone else's.  So I will change my design to keep it original and in the clear.  I don't want to steal anyone else's ideas certainly.  

My picture of the glove is on the IAGARB blog, hmm.  I should link my blog to that one (note to self).  It's where I get the yarn for most of my creations because my friend Leslie is the president of it and she always asks me for designs for her yarn.  We will be putting up a link to sell some of the patterns on the IAGARB site soon so that will be cool.  I have so much to do...  

Well, off to work.  But I shall try to make this more interesting.  I did a ton of dyeing and washing yesterday.  FINALLY!  Some fiber work.  I will post pictures soon.  I dyed some skeins of wool I had spun as well as a bunch of my beautiful Merino lambswool.  I owe a friend some wool to play with and I had to be sure I had some pretty colors to send her.  So now I do.  I ordered a small bench picker this morning.  My darling Wayne had said he would make me one, but I don't think he will have time and his tools are in Alabama.  So instead, I got a small portable one from Kaydessa at www.woolpickers.com  I sure hope it works as well as it looks like it does.  I don't have room for a big one anyway and would like the portability.  Plus it's a much smaller investment.  I made my own yarn winder yesterday and was quite pleased with myself.  I will post pictures of all.   Now I just need a new yarn swift because my old one won't stop collapsing down onto the table.   Then I will have it all.   BWAHHAHAHAHA  Ooops, sorry.  That just slipped out.  

Lace Half Gloves

I finally got the half gloves done for the New York Sheep and Wool Festival this weekend.  It should be over by now and I haven't heard it they were well received or not.  I hope they got there OK.  I Fed Ex'd them at the last minute of course.  I've been moving and unpacking in Phoenix and didn't have as much time to knit as I'd hoped.  But I did get the two cowls and the gloves done.  I'll do more later as I'm sure she'll do more shows and have more yarn to sell.

I'm very pleased with this pattern.  I like it a lot, so we'll see if others do.

Short post, more later.

New Version of the lace Cowl

OK, I have been goofing off, or rather working now.  I started my new job in Phoenix last week.  But I did manage to get the next version of the cowl done and I even have a test knitter trying it out.   It's different than the other one.  I will be offering both versions of the cowl.  Here is me modeling it again.

And here is the back of it.
I'm happy with it.  I'm finishing up a multi colored version of the first cowl.  And I'm also working on a set of fingerless gloves.  I need to hurry up because it is almost time for the NY Sheep and Wool festival.  I don't want to let Leslie down.  

I have so much to do and work is getting in the way.  LOL  But it's a cool job, so I should not complain.   I have a house now too or will in a week or so.  So things are good.  I also started dating someone a few weeks ago and am completely smitten.  He is the most amazing guy I've ever met and I feel so lucky to have him in my life.  Fortunately he's not around all the time or I would never get anything done!  

We went to Sedona a few weeks ago and it was so much fun.  I will post pictures of that soon.  Sorry to be so negligent!  I need to go up on Ravelry too.  I have totally not been there for months!

On the road

I have finished my degree and decided to drive up to Chicago from Tucson.  This is an 1800 mile trip.  I made it in two days though with a lot of perseverance, audio books on the iPod and lots of friends to chat with on the way.  It was still torture though for my hips.  Now I have to pack up all the rest of my worldly belongings including a fair amount of fiber and bring it back.  I'm starting to worry about managing a trailer, but I am pretty good at driving and have watched my dad maneuver trailers for years.  So I hope I learned by osmosis or something.  When I get back, we will literally be awash in fiber as I have accumulated a lot in the 7 months I've been in Tucson as well as all the stuff I had back here.  

My friend is going to drive back with me for the sheer fun of it (he's more than slightly mascochistic) which means I will have time to KNIT!  LOL  So I am looking forward to the company as well as the additional time to work on things.  I have an initial prototype of my next piece and am already redesigning it a bit.  But I do have pictures, so I will put one up.  It's made out of my friend Leslie's angora yarn and she will be selling it as a kit in October at the New York Sheep and Wool Festival.  

I actually made this a bit longer and now Leslie has it.  I am doing a second one that is not so large.  it fits closer to the face which I think is good.  She also wants me to make lace gloves and a scarf pattern.  So I need to get busy.  Plus she can sell the hats I make, so I need to make more.  Busy busy busy.  And I have to chart up a pattern for a headband or hat band in the Celtic knot variety.  So guess what I will be doing for the next two months?  It is fun being a designer though.  I rather enjoy it.  She gave me a bunch of colored fuzz and some felting needles.  But first, I need to pack all my crap up here and maybe go through the boxes that Crystal packed for me.  I hate to, but it is necessary so I can get out the things I need, and choose what to get rid of.  (Sigh)  But first I pack what is not packed and then go through what I can before we leave.  I have 4 days for this activity.  Wish me luck.

The Monsoon Season is here!

This is my first monsoon season and first summer here in Arizona.  Today we had rain.  Yesterday we had rain.  Not a ton, but you could see it sweeping across the valley and it was beautiful.  Today the washes were even running and an inexperienced person like myself had to be careful not to drive through anything.  I got safely home though.  I am putting up some pictures from last night's storm and sunset.  BEAUTIFUL!  I even got one lightning strike which was way cool.  But try as I might, I couldn't get it again...

These are the colors of sunset that I love most.  The dark blues and pinks and yellows.  This matches my batt that I just made.  I started spinning it tonight.  I will post pictures when it's done. 

This always makes me think of God looking down on the earth.  Even though it's just the sun.  It's such a beautiful image and they always use it for that kind of representation.  

The latest projects

This is the last batt group I carded up.  I called it Dark Sunset.  I will probably spin this up.  You can't really tell how dark it is because of the lighting.  It will be better in a yarn.  

Below is my latest creation, a cowl out of the Samson's Angoras 85/15 Angora/Merino fingering yarn.  It is not done yet, but I'm quite happy with how it looks so far.  It seems to be about the right size and is pretty so far.  I see the scallops around the face, but I guess you could wear it either way.  But they will be lost if you tuck then into the neck of your coat.  So I'm thinking around the face.  That's what I have envisioned anyway.   I hope Leslie likes it.

I'm going to post on Ravelry too to get some feedback maybe.

It just gets warmer

Well, the thermometer on the porch today hit 114.  So you'd think I'd have sense to stay inside.  But no, we had spinning group at Kathy's today.  So guess what we do?  Sit out in her workshop, with the doors open and only a swamp cooler for air, and spin for 5 hours or so.  Wow was it hot.  And I was spinning silk/cotton which kept sticking to my hands because I was sweating.  I was spinning a laceweight as usual and I will probably ply with a very thin silk thread and beads.  It is nice, but taking forever to fill the bobbin.  That's the trouble with lace weight.  It goes on forever and ever.

On the design front, I also found an edging I like and am now looking for a lace panel to fit within the edging constraints.  I like it a lot and think it will be pretty.  So I am happy.  I borrowed Kathy's "Knitting on the Edge" book and found something to inspire me.  It's very pretty.  So I'm excited about the  new design now.  Still swatching but getting closer.  

I will put pictures up soon with some of these things.  I also carded up a dramatic dark sunset batt or two and was planning to spin that.  Hopefully this week I will work on it because I want to put more in my etsy shop.  I haven't posted anything there for a week.  I have some lace weight yarns I can list.  I may dye them first.  I have a cobweb skein that is too small to sell, and it's so pretty, I wish I had more.  I think the fiber is in Chicago that I was using.  Oh well, I'll get it all here eventually.  I just can't live without my fiber.  

We are going to do a design challenge soon among a few of us.  We are going to take a photo and create our interpretation of it in several different mediums.  I would be quilting of course.  So more on that later.  It will be fun, I hope.  If I get my fabrics soon.  They are also in Chicago.

Who needs wool?

Wow, is it HOT here in Arizona.  This is my first summer and I am getting an intro to the heat.  It was 110 today on the patio and it's been around 100 for days now.  Here I am wanting to do some knitting and it's too hot to wear anything, much less wool.  I've been knitting on my Socks For Soldiers and have another pair done.  A very generous member of the yahoo group knit me two pair of legs on her sock machine so I am starting to knit the feet for those now.  

I am craving to start doing some more design for my friend's 85/15 Angora Bunny/SW Merino wool fingering weight yarn.  I made a hat last year that sold out all her yarn at the New York Sheep and Wool Festival in Rhinebeck  in October.  I don't think I'll get to go with her this year, but my knitted stuff will.  Apparently it is the talk of Ravelry which surprises me because I didn't read it up there.  But that's cool.  

I did go to Kathy's today and worked with some mohair and raked for her.  I work for fiber.  LOL  Works for me.  She does such wonderful design work and has a great sense of color which inspires me to try things.  I have not had time to put anything else up on Etsy and I really need to post some more.  I've been spinning some mohair and some silk to ply it with but am stuck for now doing other things.  I also want to work on spinning singles to knit with.  But I have some design to do and then there's school.  :-P  I can't wait until my school is over.  6 more weeks now.  I hope it goes by fast.

In the meantime, I am staying inside mostly and drinking lots of water. I can't drink enough to keep hydrated.  I did have my last set of Yoga Theraputics this weekend.  My teacher Bruce is amazing and I am learning a lot from him.  So that's fun at least.  It gets me out of the house.

More Color!

I have been blending up some of the new colors I have been dyeing and am having fun getting my inspiration from nature.  There is so much color and light out here in the desert.  It's just amazing  that everything looks brighter and more colorful.  I love it.

Here are some more batts that I did and posted on Etsy.  Not sure if they will sell but I thought I'd give it a try.  You never know.  I am enjoying the color play though.  It's so pretty and fun.  Spinning them up is lovely too but I figure that some people might like spinning their own.  

I am enjoying getting comments on my blog now, a few here and there.  And I always like to go check out their sites if they have one.  I am back to designing my parents website today.  I have to make some forward progress so I can get school credit for my work.  I can't wait to be done with school.  Wish I could play full-time but I have to get school finished and get a real job so I can eat.  

Sunset colors and coiled yarn

I've been inspired lately by the gorgeous sunsets we see here in Tucson.  Mom, Dad and I have a front row seat every evening and I just love the colors and the show.  It has been spectacular lately and I find it affects my color choices when I'm blending fiber for yarn.  So I am inspired by the sky as usual.  Here is the sky tonight and some of the yarn I have spun because of it.  I also have some other batts that are so pretty.  I can't decide whether to spin them up or offer them for sale as is.  It's so hard to represent in pictures.  They need to be felt and seen in person to be appreciated.  Oh well.    I did some stuff for Kathy too and I think she liked it, or she was being nice.  :-)  I got some new colors and some cotton thread to coil yarn with.  So I've been doing coils.  

More spinning colors

This is a fuzzy picture of my single before coiling it.

The next picture is of it as I am coiling it on the bobbin.  

This next picture is a 50/50 wool and mohair 2 ply yarn blended from my new colors.  

I have listed these two skeins on Etsy and have not had anyone buy yet but have lots of lookers.  I think Etsy is good in that it has an established customer base.  I will be working on some knitting jewelry and some other things to add to these items.  It is fun at least getting people to look at stuff.  

I also managed to link my blog to Ravelry.  I have not been up there in many months but decided to go back in and had some nice messages from some people on there.  So I will try to keep that up.  It would be better if I got notified when I had a message as I forget to check.  Oh well.

My Ravelry name is Yogini25.  I was going to look for the little icon.

Charting software and novelty yarn

I have been doing a lot of blending and spinning lately with my new colors.  I have also put a few things up on Etsy, so we will see what happens there.  I'll put my beaded yarn picture up and have some coiled yarn that is really pretty that I'll post tomorrow or soon.   This yarn is made by blending the pink and purple colors with some white mohair and plying with one sided beaded.  It is pretty.  I am trying some thick and thin now.  It's OK, but not great yet.  

I have been interested in charting software for some time, mostly knitting because that's what I do.  I'd love to write a knitting chart software program and have toyed with the idea a bit.  Then my friend also asked me about a crochet charting program.  I did find one that is in a beta version form.  It does have some limitations but does do (only) circular charting.  It is cool for what it does so if you are looking for that, it's right up your alley.  The URL is http://nhswinc.com .  Go check it out and if you like it, tell the author so she will keep working on it.  I also have a few knitting programs I have tried but they are easier to find.  This is the only crochet one I have found, especially that does in the round.   I may do a java version.  I think I will make a list of software as I find it and list it on my blog.  This crochet software will be the first one.  

More novelty yarns tomorrow.  Kathy has taught me some really cool things.  She's so creative!

Dyeing with Wilton's Cake Dye

Well, I finally plunged into the world of color.  Kathy from UniqueDesignsByKathy.com has gotten me inspired.   Since I didn't have any regular dye (it's in Chicago), I used Wilton's Cake dye to dye my washed Romney.  She let me use her picker (wonderful invention) and then I dyed a bunch of fiber.    The colors tend to fracture but if you don't get freaked out about it, it is actually kind of pretty.  But they are all very florescent, very bright.  So I will hopefully tone them down with some grey, white or black fleece blended in.  We will see.  I have one more color to card out and then I can blend.  I also did a bit of spinning just using handfuls of color to switch as I spun and made a few samples.  The grey tones down the pink and purple, for sure and the brown and blue tones down the green.  

The sample at the bottom is an attempt at coiled yarn from the Spin-Off magazine, last issue.  It's OK, but I made some other coiled yarns at Kathy's that I like better.  This is so stiff and bulky, it wouldn't be good for knitting, in my opinion.   Pretty colors, like an Arizona sunset, but not soft.  It might make a good necklace actually.  

I will post pics of my other coiled yarn and will be blending up some batts to try.  I also opened an Etsy account called Fiberaddict2 and will be posting up some of my yarn and maybe some fibers to sell.  We will see how it goes.  

Socks for Soldiers

This is my first pair of Jolly Green Socks to send to Iraq.  I have joined the Socks for Soldiers yahoo knitting group and have been making socks for soldiers fighting overseas.  This is my first pair and it took me quite some time to finish them.  Partly because they are so big, knit with size 0 and 1 needles and fine yarn.  But they turned out pretty well in my estimation.  I have yet to get the blessings from the groups "Sarge" Kim Opperman.  

I have had one member offer to make me legs on her CSM sock machine so I am excited about that because that will save me some time and allow me to up my production.  In the absence of those, I am casting on yet again to start the next pair.  I don't have much time to do anything fibery lately though because finals are next week and I am frantically coding my senior project.  I seem to have a few group members who can't spend the time needed so I am ending up with the bulk of the work.  (sigh)   But it will be over in a few weeks and so I am trying not to stress over it.   It will be done and I will graduate, and then on to more fun things!

I will be spinning in a few weeks, for sure.  I have all that new mohair to play with and have a desire to do some funky new novelty type yarns just to see if I can do it.  Some coiled stuff and more spinning singles from the lock, and the like.  I have been yearning to have some spare time, so if I can just hang on 2 more weeks, I will be more free to play.

In Memory of Rocky

Our little buddy Rocky died today.  He was a sheltie rescued by my brother 5 years ago or so and had obviously lived on the road a while before Kevin found him.  We didn't know how old he was but he had a brave spirit and was always sweet no matter what happened.  

He had lived with my parents and his step-brother Rowdy for a few years and had been struggling with his health the last 4 months or so.  He suddenly lost ability to be able to breathe properly and we lost him this morning despite the vet's best efforts.  My mom and dad are heart-broken and it has not been a good day.  We will miss Rocky and hope that he's up in doggie heaven playing with his beloved soccer ball.  

Fun at the fiber farm

I had a wonderful day today visiting Kathy Wither's ranch here in Tuscon.  I am so lucky to live fairly close to her and have been out to visit several times.  She has Angora goats, sheep, llamas and alpacas plus a few stray bunnies and geese.  She is a fiber artist and teacher that is fairly well known here in the area and has some wonderful things in her shop out at her ranch.  Her URLs are http://www.uniquedesignsbykathy.com for her ranch website and her blog is at http://uniquedesignsbykathy.blogspot.com  She is always very generous with her time and attention when you go out to see her and will show you around and talk about her animals.  I bought some red mohair the last time I went out and fell in love with the color and texture of the fiber.  It's so beautiful.  I will take a picture of some yarn I did soon.  

So today she had open house and was shearing some of her flock.  So I just had to go out and gawk at the shearing, and maybe score some more of that red mohair that I was addicted to now.  She had a shearer there named Penny who did an amazing job of shearing and handling the animals.  She told me she had been shearing sheep since she was 9 years old.  She apparently has a farm in the area and I can't wait to go visit her and her flock.  Here is a picture of Penny and her volunteer sheep wrastler Chris.  

Now to the important part.  Kathy let me pick which red mohair goat I wanted to have shorn and I choose the most beautiful one as we all agreed.  I only feel slightly guilty that Kathy was partial to this fleece herself because I am so happy to have it.  Besides, she said I could.   So I watched them shear Creme de Menthe a red angora goat and then I took the whole bag home with me!  Oh delight!  I must post the before picture of Creme de Menthe who gave up her yearling fleece to me.  She was gorgeous, to be sure. 

Kathy has over 20 babies right now at her farm as all her mommas are giving birth within the last few weeks.  I can't imagine taking care of so many little ones.  In any case, if you are in the area you should visit her place.  It's amazing.  What a fun day for a fiber addict!

The beautiful Creme de Menthe.  She did not like being sheared one bit.  

Our treasure from the gem show.

OK, I took pictures of my new bead stash and my mothers.  This first one is hers.  She creates wonderful beaded necklaces which she hopes to sell once their website works properly.  Most of her work can be seen at Greene Studios Of Tucson   She does great work and I love her sense of style and creativity.  She uses all kinds of materials from metal and glass to natural stones and pearls.  

I use mostly natural stones and tend to prefer semi-precious gemstones and beads.  I love the natural look and feel although it makes things heavy if I'm not careful.  I also got some lovely silver and moonstone pendants from Tibet.  I didn't get pictures of those taken yet.  I also love silver and stone earrings and I got a goddess pendant with rose quartz in it to make a necklace with.

I spent way too much money but still have more things that I'd like to get.  Maybe this week we will go over and do some more shopping.  

The Gem Show!

Oh man, I went overboard again at the gem show.  I have a whole pile of loot and so does mom.  I will have to get serious and actually made some pieces up to sell on Etsy or something.  Otherwise I have to quit buying beads and stuff.  

I'd like to make some chakra necklaces again and some Malas along with other spiritual type jewelry.  

It is so nice here compared to Chicago.  They have been getting hammered for months with snow and cold and rain and ice.  It's crazy.  I am so happy to be here in Tucson rather than in Chicago.  I will have to think twice about where to live next after I get my degree.  Swamped with school work so I haven't done much more than work on my socks a little bit in my spare time.  Hopefully I will get on top of the work soon.

Sunny Tucson

Well, I am in Tucson now going to school full time.  I shipped my new wheel ahead so it was here about the same time that I was.  It's beautiful here.  It's somewhat cool but the sun is usually shining and it's way nicer than it is in Chicago.  They just got another foot of snow!

I have been knitting socks and having trouble with my gauge.  I have also been spinning with my new Lendrum and it is a dream to work with.  I have spun up some Merino laceweight and am now doing some Mohair which is so soft and shiny, not at all scratchy like I expected.  I'm spinning it up laceweight.  I now wish I'd brought dye and some other things.  But school is really keeping me pretty busy too so I don't want to get too carried away.  School comes first for now.

I bought some more bamboo sock yarn and I may do that next.  I also have plans to make shawls for people and for myself.  I need a good meditation shawl, big, soft and warm.  

Also, the Gem Show started here in Tucson today.  Mom and I have plans to go this week and see what we can find.  She has a wholesale number now so that is pretty cool.  I want to get things for myself and for friends.  Christmas shopping for next year.  :-)  I want to work on some knitting jewelry and maybe post it on Etsy.  I'd like to do some small things for sale just to try it out.

Christmas Project

My daughter decided she wanted a sweater dress which is all the rage now.  Since she thought the yarn was expensive, I decided to take some of the copious fiber sitting around my house and make her one out of it.  So I spun it up, chunky, I'm proud to say.  Then we dyed it and I knit up a pattern that I adapted to fit her and added sleeves.  And I got it done in record time!  It was lots of fun to have a model to fit the sweater to and of course, she looks great in anything.  And since I got a new camera, I am posting my beautiful daughter in her new sweater.  One object finished.  And I finished the boy's hats also.  I need to get a picture of them.  But for now, here is my baby girl.  :-)

Oh, and my Christmas present to myself?   A new Lendrum!  It is so pretty and spins like a dream.  I love it!  I've been wanting one for 2 years and I treated myself.  It was one of the few presents I got this year but well worth the wait.