Oh, So Pretty!

The shawl blocking was an early morning project.  Cats, helpful as always, helped me spread it out.  It soon became apparent that I did not have enough pins to make all the little points along the edge.  My last pi shawl didn't keep its little points after use, so I just  spread it out evenly and left it to dry in the sunshine.  I only had to readjust it twice due to cat ministrations...

It is beautiful!  60" across, only weighs 110grams-very light indeed!  I started this in the Fall and have worked 7 months on it;  1600 yards of cobweb lace yarn!  I can't wait to wear it!  This pattern is called Triggy, a Norwegian Doily pattern.

One quilt off the frame,

another one loaded and ready to go.

Just a Few Finishing Touches...

I think it takes longer to make a fine fringe finish than it does to weave the whole shawl!  I am plugging away...haven't even begun to think about the beads yet.

I did the last row on the Norwegian Doily shawl.........crochet bind off all of those stitches and it is currently being inspected by the feline duo!  I will block it tomorrow; I am too tired tonight!

This afternoon I wound off two skeins of the alpaca I have been spinning.  Nice, soft little nests which will be used for some wrist warmers/fingerless mitts soon.  Hmmm, that pic just isn't the true color, try this:

Yes, this is a much better indication of the warm brown yarn!  (250 yards of fingering weight yarn)

Endings and Beginnings

I am almost done with the bamboo shawl........I just have to twist the fringe and it will be complete!  I think I will add some beads to that area, too, for extra bling.  I just love the actual weaving... after the warping.

I am on row 205...binding happens after row 209--so close! 

Puff Daddy slows me down when he helps me by holding the yarn as it pulls from the ball!  He gets so frantic with his play and then he conks out for a long nap.  I have learned to endure his help, knowing a nap will be my reward!
(I got a bit behind when I couldn't knit yesterday afternoon or evening-I suffer every time I eat pork.  I love the way it tastes but I will definitely avoid it from now on.  I used to suffer from eating everything but after having my gall bladder out, very little bothers me anymore.....except for pork.  I might be thick about some things but this is a done deal now-no more oink for me!)

I have a new quilt on the frame.  (My neighbor has been busy and brought me two lap-sized ones to quilt for her.)

I received this in the mail today-there is nothing like a 'fiber' thank you!  (I love it, Benita!)

Bill has gotten all the lawns mowed today and is now playing on his tractor.

The rains and heat have hatched a new wave of these fellows-sand lizards.  Cute!  (1 3/4" long is all when they are newly hatched!)

Warped and Ready

Warping up the loom is hard work! 

A lot of patience and a lot of chocolate gets the job done!  (I recommend high doses of both!)

I bit of hemstitching and I am on the way!

The weaving is so good.  This pattern is from HandWoven (budget bamboo shawl Sept/Oct 2009) using Aunt Lydia's Bamboo crochet thread.  I made one for me last Fall with an allover lace pattern but this time I am using the blocked lace option.  I like it!

Thank you , Benita, for pointing out that while I only have a few more rows to go on the lace shawl, it does mean that I have >16,000+ stitches to knit before completion!  In spite of these facts, I am knitting like a horse headed for the barn!

Is anyone joining in on the spinner's Tour de Fleece?!  Alpaca yarn is on my wheel.

Done Piles

The loom is waiting for its next project because I finished the Christmas table runners.  I am going to load up another Aunt Lydia's Bamboo cotton for a shawl.

The slippers are felted and dried!  Now to deliver them.

The 10 Stitch Twist afghan is off the needles........and waiting for the temps to cool on the back of the recliner.   This was a fun knit until I ran out of 'fun' colors and was left with the ivory only.  (50" across)

I am tackling the lace knitting-only 20 rows to go until I am done with that!

Look how much the morning glories have grown-I am waiting for blossoms!

It Works!

I have transferred all my weaving supplies into the china cabinet and it will be nice to have it all in one place now.  No, I do not like to have tons of supplies.......I tend to buy what I need for a specific task and then use it.  I do have cones of thread to last me a very long time, and have plenty to keep me weaving for a year at least!  I do not like clutter, so I tend to not buy more than I have a place for or immediate use for supplies. 
(My house, my rules..........feel free to collect as much as you want!)  (To be strictly accurate, I do have two boxes that are not in the cabinet-one of plastic bags, and one of cotton sock loopers; both are in my sewing room and will stay there until they are in use!)

I finished up the pair of socks, what a nice use for the fiber I received  from Lunabudknits.  It was the first time I have spun BFL (blue faced leceister sheep's wool) and....

.... it was a very good first-a great spin and a great yarn.  Look at that texture!  This has a soft hand but gives excellent stitch definition!  Another bonus is that it is supposed to be a long-wearing sock yarn!

Little Puff Daddy gets tired out helping me knit........I finally convinced him to sleep next to me so I could put the needles into high gear to get these done:

A quick project on the needles tonight so I can put them in the washer to felt them tomorrow!  They look like I have knit a pair of ballet slippers!  I will lightly felt them so they will make a pair of slippers for a friend's birthday!

Still Raining......

We have had rain for 5 days in a row-so very unusual for us! It makes it very hot and steamy when the sun does come out and has cut down on our pool time during the stormy times!  Which means I have spent a lot of time doing what I enjoy in the house.

I have finished the kid's quilt-

and will get it in the mail tomorrow.

I am halfway through the second sock-it is the Scotch Mule sock pattern from SpinOffMagazine (Fall 2009), and it is just as good a knit this time as it was the first pair I made!  (This is the third pair from that pattern!)

Bill brought my china cabinet in from storage.  This was my grandmother's and is going to hold all my weaving supplies in the livingroom so they are nearby and neatly arrayed.  Other than a few cobwebs, it has stored very well, gratefully!  I will show you how it looks tomorrow when I get it all stocked-it is getting used to the a/c right now!

Independence Day!

Shawled

The 198 yard shawl is drying on the blocking board!  I ran short by 18" during the bind off...good thing I have a bunch of this fiber left over so I spun up enough to finish!

   I made the shawlette about double the size called for in the pattern.  This yarn was heavier than I like for shawls so it needed to be bigger to keep in scale-at least to my way of thinking.  It blocked out to 50" wide x 27" at the tip.  This is the suffolk I blended with the rabbit undercoat.  It has a wonderful halo that hopefully will not shed too much during wear.

Puff Daddy likes to help me blog........

I have started a pair of socks with some BFL that I spun up back in the winter.  Nothing like a pair of socks on the needles!  I loved spinning this and it is just as amazing to knit.

Spinning Away the Day

I signed up to do some sample spinning for a blog friend.  Today was the day to get out the forms, spin up those samples and just savor the tranquility!

Medium Gray Corriedale/Columbia/Romney x Shetland

Ivory Corriedale/ Columbia/Romney x Shetland

Silver Gray Corriedale

Light Gray/Tan Corriedale/ Columbia/Romney x Shetland  (my favororite spin!)

Brown Corriedale

(blog friend is selling the rovings in her store so check it out if something catches your eye!)

Quiet House

I have cleaned the house and spent the day in the sewing room.

This was an experiment in using full fabric width strips sewn together like you would for binding a quilt and then cutting them apart at different spots in the loop.  This is long-two strips long in each stripe of the table runner.  I am going to use this technique to use up a bunch of scraps and make a large quilt.  I got the idea for this experiment from here, a blog I read regularly.