Resolutions

Wow, it's been a month since I posted. I think about writing every day, but then time just whizzes by and the day is over with no blog post having been written.

I have noticed several knitting blogs whose writers are making knitting resolutions . I am not much for making resolutions, as I'm pretty sure I'm not going to keep them, but have decided to take stock of what is on my needles and make a plan with some nebulous deadlines.

I found two bags with abandoned projects in my Fibber McGee yarn closet when I went looking for yarn for another sweater I started this week.

The sweater is Rosemary's Middle Sweater from Green Mountain Spinnery made with Cascade 220 that I bought years ago. I have started and ripped out at least three sweaters using this yarn. I think it may be because the color of the yarn is outside my color comfort zone. It's an easy pattern, and I only have the sleeves and collar left to do. I think I stopped knitting it because I thought I wouldn't have enough yarn and I knew it would be hard to match. I'm going to be optimistic that there is enough yarn and knit fast, because somehow knitting fast makes it seem more likely that there will be enough yarn. I know that makes no logical sense, but so far it has worked. The actual color of the sweater is more the color in the tote bag above.

These are a few of about 60 granny squares completed for an afghan I abandoned at least a year ago. I guess I was just fickle and moved on to another project, although I know I will love the afghan when it is completed. There is a lot of blocking, sewing together and weaving in of ends in my future. I chose random block patterns from the book 200 Crochet Blocks, and much of the yarn is either Harrisville Shetland or Elisabeth Lavold Silky Wool. Both yarns had the color palette I was looking for and the tweedy texture that I wanted for this project.

The sweater that I started this week is a Knitting Pure and Simple Neckdown Cardigan for Women pattern. I am very fond of Knitting Pure and Simple patterns. They are well written and easy to follow. The yarn I am using was bought for another sweater that was abandoned last year. It is Peace Fleece worsted, one of my all time favorite yarns, both because of the merino mohair blended yarn and the idea behind the company. Their mission statement is that they are a yarn company committed to helping historic enemies cooperate and prosper through trade. They offer yarn made from a blend of Russian, Romanian, American, Israeli and Palestinian wools.

I hope to have all three projects completed by the end of February. Perhaps making this commitment in such a public forum will make me actually stick to the deadline.

I also have several pairs of socks using my Moonlight and Laughter yarn going at all times. I don't really count socks as part of my UFO's because as soon as I finish a pair I cast on for another pair, almost always with my handdyed yarn. Right now I'm working on a pair using my merino, cashmere, nylon blend and I'm loving working with the yarn. The colorway is called "Twilight Time" and is a beautiful blending of blues and lavenders, all the shades one might see as night is falling.

I'm also making a commitment to knit more with my handspun yarn. I tend to spin and not use the yarn, and my collection is becoming quite large and unruly. I thought I had it all contained in one closet, but when I was in the yarn closet searching for the sweater yarn mentioned above I discovered a whole bin of handspun I had forgotten about. Oops! Maybe it's time to start thinking about adding some handspun to the shop.

Here is a picture of my supervisors Seamus and Gerard. They were helping me fill some orders, making sure I didn't make any mistakes. Right now Gerard is supervising the writing of this post while lying on my arms, making it practically impossible to type, but he is very warm. I appreciate the warmth on this cold January day.

Results of Dyeing Days

The promised photos of the results of my dyeing days are here.  This is the fiber drying in the basement.  Would you like to guess the age of my house from looking at the beautiful stone walls?

Despite the predicted rain, we ended up with a sunny day, so the fiber was able to go outside to dry.  I took pictures from both sides of the drying racks.  I wish that I had taken the time to crop the pictures, because I am realizing how awful my backyard looks. Since there is still ice and snow in the yard I shouldn't feel too guilty about it's sad state.  Conor and a friend tried to rake yesterday, but discovered the leaves were still frozen.

I am really excited about a couple of the colors that I created this time.  The green that is on the right in the photo  below is one of my favorites.  I love the colors found in nature and this green is very reminiscent of lichen that was photographed on my walk to Moose Pond this winter. 

 

When dyeing, I try to keep very precise records of what I am doing because when a lot of dyeing is taking place it is sometimes difficult to remember exactly what I did.  This time I created an awesome roving and I did not write down what I did.  I tend to do a bit of dumping at the end of the day, and this must have been one of those rovings.  What I like best about it is the colors that emerged when side by side colors blended together.  I only have 8 ounces of it, and Trina has purchased one and I have to keep the other one to see if I can recreate the colorway.  We are calling it the awesome sexy roving.

I did an etsy shop update today.  Three new listings of my fiber and yarn from the Phat Fiber box this month.  I can't wait to get my box.  There are already several postings on Ravelry and people's blogs showing the contents of boxes received today with descriptions of the contents. It's a lot of fun to see what the individual boxes contain, and it is especially thrilling when I see one of the samples I sent in a picture, even more thrilling when someone takes the time to write a nice review of my sample.

Photographing the batt and yarns was interesting today.  I took the photos on the front porch because I missed the light in the foyer this morning.  I wonder how crazy my neighbors think I am if they notice me carrying a linen covered table outside and then proceed to photograph yarn and fiber.  And not only am I taking photos, but trying to keep the fiber from blowing off the porch. The theme for the box this month was celtic so I dyed green and gold and made batts that reminded me of Irish fields with the sun shining on them.  This is the batt sitting nicely on the table.

This is the same batt lying on the porch floor where the wind blew it while my attention was focused on photgraphing the yarn.  Naughty fiber.

This is the colorway Kilkelly on a base yarn of 100% Merino fingering weight superwash sock yarn.

This is the same colorway on a base of 75% Merino, 25% Nylon fingering weight superwash sock yarn.

 The day ended nicely with knitting at Suzanne's instead of the library this week. We'll have to go there more often since she serves homemade raspberry wine.  Yummy! 

Time for bed.  Work tomorrow, so I will need to rise and shine at an earlier hour than usual.