Crank It Up

SPINNNNNNING
If there has ever been a time for me to go to a "Spinners Anonymous"meeting, it would be now.  Obsessed?  Overcome? Infatuated?  I can only say that I am a spinner; judge away.

You may recall that my biggest knitting goal for the year is to steek, as in, steek a sweater. So I've begun the process of spinning enough wool to make a sweater that I can steek. (More about that later.)

Squishy Wool

Smitty and the Skeins

This is the softest, cushiest yarn I've probably ever spun.  The crimp is super fine, short locks and a little angora blended in to make really round, squeezable, Charmin-tissue-like yarn.  What did that guy say in the commercial? So squeezably soft, its irresistible!

Mr. Whipple

KNITTING
Argyle-mania!  This is the first of two rounds in the pattern I'm using for an argyle golf-club cover.  In LSU school colors.  The needles have progressed from 5's to 7's to 9's.  Clearly I'm on a roll (no pun intended, Mr. Whipple).

Argyle Golf Club Cover

And before I get too lost in little projects, I'm determined to keep my learning curve steep.  I'm going for another try at the  "Beginner's Triangle Shawl" from Meg Swansen's book Gathering of Lace. 

Take two - Beginner's Triangle

Acrylic yarn (don't say it) on size 7 wooden needles.  A little too much drag, but I'll switch to circular needles soon enough, once I get the hang of the pattern.  I tried this before and got really hung up with the pattern.  Now I know why.  The purl row (or wrong side row) is included in the chart, and it's worked backwards!  What the??
Well, I can't argue with an expert.  It is the Beginner's shawl project for a reason.
The purl/wrong-side row is in the chart for the sake of the beginner, but it just threw me off.
Threw me for a loop.
Yanked my chain.
You get the idea.
Now I've got it, and I hope to make this a small little shawlette as a sort of draft for a future project: A prayer shawl.

Now to explain about the steek, mentioned before.  I got the Craftsy class on knitting an Icelandic sweater, and it will eventually be steeked, but the yarn must be wool. I have a lot of wool.  A heck of a lot of wool.  But none of it is the same gauge, color and/or breed.  I need pretty much 1,200 yards of the same thing.  That's a lot.  So I'm going to be spinning for the next few weeks until I feel like I've got enough yarn to knit a sweater.  I cannot wait.   I hope to start the sweater September 1st.  Be sure to check back by then!!

PERSONAL
I had a fun lunch with my baby girl today.  She bought my lunch and we took it to a local city park and ate at a picnic table, under the trees, by a creek.  Lovely!  Until some kind of acorn-war started in the branches above our table.  I never saw it coming until my daughter (who is 25) gasped and shrieked, thinking some kind of critter had landed on her.  It was just an acorn, but one after another landed on us and our lunch until one acorn literally bounced off her salad container and into her little salad dressing cup.  It could never happen again in a million years, and we will remember this lunch for a long time.  I only wish I'd taken a picture!

Quickly

In order to keep up with my blogging schedule, (self imposed) I am making this post without a lot of flourish, just so that I can say I posted something on Saturday.

KNITTING

Early in the evening, knitting while watching TV

End of the day after a good episode of Cedar Cove

The last post showed a golf club cover that looked a lot like this one, and that's because it practically is.  I frogged the one in the last post and re-knit this same section with only 48 stitches and smaller size 5 needles.  Much better!

PICKING

LLAMA FLEECE ONE

LLAMA FLEECE TWO

And I picked one of the two llama fleeces my husband's friend gave me.  This is the fleece on the lawn getting used to a new home.

  So far, so good.  This thing was so dusty and it took me most of a day to pull and shake and fluff the thing.  Back into a large shopping bag with very little thrown away.  I tried washing a sample and it felted immediately.  Now I know I will have to spin it with the remaining dirt, an then wash the yarn.  I think carding/combing it will greatly reduce the dusty quality.  Right now it feels like an old cowboy blanket that used to sit under a saddle.

SPINNING
And here's what I've been spinning!  JOY!  I do love spinning!

STARBUCKS GREEN

SAME GREEN NEXT MORNING

TWO PLY TURTLE FROM MY TURKISH SPINDLE! 

Mohair mixed with Angelina

White cloud of angora/wool blend

PERSONAL
I am working on some new life goals, and trying to work through the big rocks, as Stephen Covey calls them.  I'm re-reading a couple more of his books, and trying to see where everything falls.  I had to make a little boundary today, and it was uncomfortable and awkward.  I hate having to do that, because I want to please everyone.  But I'm old enough now to know when to say NO.  It always feels better when I do.

Sometimes people have legitimate needs, and sometimes its hard to say no when the request is perfectly valid.  But part of maturing and making things better for me and may family, is learning to be less grouchy.  I get grouchy when I have to do something I don't wanna do.  You too?  I feel like a kid being told to clean my room, or go apologize to my sibling.  Grumbling I go, doing the thing I don't want to do.  But now I'm grown up, and I can say no.  Its as easy as that.  Then I'm happy again, and so is everyone else in my house.  No one is wondering, "why is she ticked off?" or "did I do something to make her mad?"
Crisis averted before anyone else' mood is spoiled.  There!  Saying no is actually a very good thing indeed!

All Tied Up

You know those scenes in the movies where the good guy is tied up with rope, and they're trying to find something to cut the rope with?  Or they're tied to the railroad tracks with the villain is standing nearby twirling his mustache.

We all feel like that sometimes; we say, "my hands are tied" and we really mean it.  We wish we could do something to change the circumstances, but we just can't, because in a way, our hands are tied.  That is such a frustrating feeling! Life is so full of frustrating circumstances that I will have to agree with that little slogan,  Keep Calm and Carry Yarn.  Prayer and knitting are two of the best ways to get through a trying time.

KNITTING
As I finished these socks, and looked ahead, I knew my next project would be quick and easy.

Watermelon socks - DONE!

This is the beginning of a golf club cover, and while its pretty close to the pattern, it looks ginormous to me.  I think they could even be felted and still fit the club.  This is supposed to be for club #2.  Whatever that means.  I'd like to do an argyle pattern at the top, so hopefully the next post will have a little more interest.

LSU Team colors

starting a golf club cover

I took some time last Saturday morning to darn or rather, re-knit the toe of this pair of Shetland wool socks I made a few years ago.

Darning Socks

SPINNING
Tour de Fleece for me what a Tour de Flop.  I am not an avid spindle spinner, and the last week or two just did not afford me the opportunity to enjoy the challenge.  I won't dwell there, but will applaud all the great pictures I saw on Instagram and Ravelry.  So inspiring!!!

Tour de Fleece - dropout!

I've been spinning on my old Ashford Traditional, and my Kromski Symphony. Here is the purple yarn for the golf club covers.

And I'm about to start this little cloud of white wool and angora.  Slowly but surely spinning down my stash. 

READING
I haven't read much in the way of fiction, but completed a couple of Stephen Covey audio books, Habit 1 and Habit 2.  They are always worth my time, and make me want to be a better person.

I do spend time every day reading my Bible and a commentary by Matthew Henry; another of my goals for the year.  He is an excellent scholar, and brings incredible insight to every passage of scripture.

GARDENING
Everything is in full bloom, and since its July, I can't complain. In fact, it makes sitting outside a real pleasure, and very, very worth the effort.  The older the gardens are, the easier they are to maintain.  (You can say that again!)

PERSONAL
I have to say that in the grand scheme of things, I still have no answers to all of life's biggest questions.  People spend lots of money trying to figure out "Why?" and sometimes there's just no easy answer.  The world is complex and only our Maker knows the complete answer to that little one word question.  But I'm thankful every day to wake up and find I'm still breathing, and in my case, able to get out bed and get a cup of coffee.  
We have had a few moments of crisis lately, but find that faith and family help, and keeping perspective, finding a sense of proportion is always helpful.  I know of people with great disabilities and disadvantages.  If they can somehow manage to get through, my little problems are miniscule.  Like the song says, The sun'll come up, tomorrow!!

Roman Holiday

For this whole entire week, we've taken a stay-cation, doing whatever we want, not making appointments outside of fun stuff, if we can help it.  It is really hard for me to "do nothing" cause that's just how I'm wired. So doing the minimal amount of laundry, kitchen cleanup and cooking, I've really enjoyed my week. 

Wave Petunias doing great!

PERSONAL
Today I did a judicious amount of pruning in the back yard, finding runaway vines, shrubs and itty-bitty plants that I have no name for.  It never fails that when I'm gardening I have these deep, philosophical thoughts about life, hardship, rewards and "pruning".  Its natural, pruning is, and it hurts, but its sooo necessary.  Sometimes things that haven't been pruned in a while look like they belong. The stems are woody and large, the leaves are abundant and healthy, and the fact that you're just used to looking at it for so long makes it feel weird to cut back so severely.  After the pruning is done, it can look really bad.  Like a little boy back from the barber, it may seem like you've over done it.  But I have faith.  I know that for years these plants have come back even stronger, and that I have nothing to worry about.  Of course, life is exactly the same.  We are destined to be pruned now and then, and like the garden, its worth it later on. 

Wave Petunias - hot pink!

POST PRUNING - YIKES

Full to overflowing

Finally some figs that the birds didn't eat

Purple Phlox?

the weeds are winning

KNITTING
The colors of the socks I'm knitting are pretty much in the watermelon family, but to stretch my point, I'm going to say that they look like the colors of the Italian flag. I've turned the heels on both socks and tried to finagle a little intentional color here and there, without disturbing too much, the random-ness of the self striping yarn.

Italian Watermelon

I signed up for the Craftsy class on Icelandic Sweater Knitting, which teaches in great detail how to steek. I got a serious discount, and decided to throw down for the class.  After I finish the Watermelon socks, I'm going to make some golf club covers for my SIL, and then start on the steeked sweater.  I don't want to hurry it.  Like a school class, its meant to teach, and I want to glean all I can from the class.  

SPINNING
My spinning has been fun, but after a week of spinning for the Tour de Fleece, I kind of fizzled out.  I was trying to document my progress, while avoiding social media.

French Angora on a mini Bosworth

Lovely purple wool on my unknown spindle

Make it snappy, will ya?

SPINNING 
In order to keep my spinning challenge for the Tour de Fleece 2013, I'm doing a little less knitting and a heck of a lot more spinning.  Woo Hoo!   It works out really, since I've completed the major job of picking and carding virtually all my wool.  What better way to kick off the second half of this wonderful year, than to spin like there's no tomorrow? 

Midi spindle laying out by the plants,  trying to get a tan!

I finished a spindle full and wound it off so that I could start this stuff.  LOVE IT.   So darn pretty with the vivid blue and yellow.  Downright adorable if I do say so myself!
I've been posting on Instagram, and tagging my pics with at least #tdf13 and #tourdefleece so that I feel like I'm playing with the big dogs.  If you didn't know, Instagram has the same principle as Twitter regarding hashtags, and you can search for almost anything.  (Beware, though!)

First spindle full, after day 2

My Instagram name is brendamyfrienda, and I guess that's no surprise.  On Twitter I'm @brendamyfrienda although I'm not really posting to Twitter for the Tour de Fleece.

Beauty contest winner  "STORMY" on a lace flyer!

And this is the dirty looking lint-like roving  that I dyed over the weekend.  It is stunning in this deep stormy blue.  Guess what I'm calling it?  Gosh you're right!   "STORMY"
I got out my lace flyer for the Ashford Traveler and set the bobbin whorl on about medium for lace.  Its as fine as sewing thread, and the 3 ply skein of yarn that I worked on today, is about a sport weight.  It should make some lucky relative a nice Christmas present!  Maybe a necktie for my dad.......just kidding!


KNITTING
 I'm taking Watermelon socks to the 4th of July picnic!

Watermelon ribbed socks, just in time for the 4th of July

I had to try my self striping Watermelon yarn from a few months ago.  It feels almost like cotton, but its wool.  The stripes are a bit random, but I wound off enough of one of the balls so that at least they both started with a variegated green-white border at the top.   The heels and toes will probably also match each other if I can remember to do that. 

I'm taking the knitting to my brother in law's house for the 4th of July picnic at his house.  They have a pool, a movie theater in the basement, and best of all, no chores for me to do!  I love going anywhere that doesn't remind me that I need to dust my baseboards or do the dishes in the sink. 
So....I'm taking my little socks and my Tour de Fleece project,  and maybe a little audio book or some podcasts to listen to while I'm laying out by the pool!