Knitting Update

I have been knitting, crocheting and spinning my fingers to the bone.  Ok, maybe not to the bone, but I have been working on a lot of new projects.  Some are for designs and some are personal projects.  Here's what's on my needles, hook and bobbin this month. 

I'm working on my first ever lace design.  This is just a sample I'm knitting to make sure it's going to work out the way I want before I start knitting it with the yarn I have intended for the design.  The lace pattern is hard to see, but that's because it will need to be blocked aggressively.  

Here's a close up of the main lace stitch.  

I have completed my last Spring pattern for my shop.  Here's a super early, super sneaky peek.  I know it's just the button band, but what a button band it is.  I just finished typing up and formatting the pattern now I just need to shoot some photos and proof the written pattern.  I'm planing to release the new pattern on May 21st. 

I also am crocheting a doily blanket.  I've wanted to do this for such a long time that I finally gave in and just bought the yarn and picked a pattern off of Ravelry.  It's called the Double Pineapple Doily and I am in love.  

The yarn is Elle Rae's classic Heathers.  Its the same color as the walls in our living room.  It will look lovely on our sandy colored couch. 

I finally finished spinning my Loop Batt, now it's time to chain ply!

That's all that's new in the fiber world right now.  Tomorrow I am having a guest blogger with a super awesome tutorial, but you'll have to check back tomorrow to see who it is.  

April Knitting Update

What have I been Knitting?  I think the question is what haven't I been knitting.  In all actuality I have very few things on needles.  This isn't necessarily a bad thing, all though it is tempting to fill all of those empty knitting needles with new projects.

Here's what I've been up to:

I am still knitting the variation scarf from Interweave's Jane Austin Knits.  But look!  my ball of yarn is much much smaller!  So close, I hope to finish this sometime this week.

This is one of my designs, and I am loving the yarn, Hempathy.  This is knit top down.  After constructing two bottom up garments one as a sample and the other being my design I wanted to get back to my favorite form of construction, a top down seamless raglan.  My plan is to have this pattern out some time in May.

I've even been spinning.  I have just finished the aqua blue section in my loop bulls-eye bump.  Now it's on to the read section.

Look what came in the post yesterday.  I love getting packages in the mail.  My base yarn and all my new dyes.  I know what I'll be doing this weekend.  Don't mind that random ball of burgundy merino, I'm going to be knitting a swatch for my fall knitting from that ball.

Here is a super sneak peek at the design coming out at the end of April.  I love this lace panel so much.  I've been typing up the pattern and sometime this week will be taking photos.

Well there you have it.  That is what I'm up to with fiber as of right now.

Spinning and Spindles

I fixed my spoke spindle the other night with the help from some super glue. I have been super lazy about fixing this thing. I dropped it on a tiled floor about a year and a half ago and the whorl broke of from it's spokes. I finally pulled it out of storage and glued it back together. I forgot how much I love this spindle. I'm down to my last bit of fiber that I have not that I should call it a bit it is 4oz.
As I was pre-drafting I found this inside the roving I was using a white heart. This was left during the dying process when the dye didn't get soaked all the way to the middle. I like to think that this is a happy accident and that this soon to be yarn is spun with lots of love.

P.S. I added some more Alpaca Silk to my Etsy.

Computer Troubles

I must apologize for my inattention to my blog lately. I have no good excuse, I have been having some computer issues which i hop have been resolved.

We are back in Philly only for two days then its back to New Jersey for labor day weekend. When will it end. I haven't started working yet at my day job, and I haven't worked on my etsy account in ages. It is time that I do that. I am working on a pattern for my spish splash tam that I hope will soon be up on my site.

I am also looking into buying a spinning wheel the one i like the best for it's compact size and nice price is the Fidelis from fod4him on etsy.

I have bought a little joe spindle from this seller and absolutly love it. I like the fact that this seller posts links to a youtube video of their wheels and spindles being used. Check out the Fidelis spinning on Youtube.

Spinning!

I've Been spinning lately. I remembered how much I love it. Soon I hope to have some photos of some finished yarn.

My lace is almost done. I have another lace project lined up, but I want to make a bolaro jacked so i'm not sure which to make first. I wish I could knit all day long.

Hand Spun Yum

Here are some better pics of that green hand spun I posted.
It's so beautiful, I took a ton of shots and none of them do this yarn justice.


This one was the same wool only undyed and spun with rycycled sari silk fibers

I used mostly red and purple silk its a double ply. I spun a single with the wool and sari silk together and then I spun a lace weight single of just the wool.

Then I plied the two together. It was a wonderful experiment and i feel that the result is beautiful and exotic looking.