It's August!

Wow!  Time sure flies, doesn't it?

That means that in a few days, Lil Sunshine will be 7 months old - count it, SEVEN!  Wow!  It also means that I've failed in my quest to lose the weight I gained during the pregnancy - well, I've failed to tone the muscles I lost during my pregnancy.  Sad to say that I'm around my pre-pregnancy weight, but my body is so much more different now.  There's a lot more rolls than before and because of the c-section, somehow I've got more 'hanging' (if you know what I mean).

Anyway, not to sound so down and all - but I think that it just means I have to try harder at losing weight - whether it's exercising more or cutting down on my carbs (like those oatmeal cookies I eat at night while drinking my tall glass of milk).  Since I'm still nursing, diets like Nutrisystem or Jennie Craig aren't recommended.

However, I'm really not complaining - I have a gorgeous baby who's the apple of my eye, the love of my life!

Here he is wearing a handspun crocheted hat I made in a few hours.  I'm so much a fan of crochet these days, especially for some of my handspun singles - they're quick to whip up and the yarn really pops!  Well, knitting handspun also does show off the yarn more but I'm a slow knitter.

I've been trying to spin though - even for just a few minutes a day or night.  Sometimes Lil Sunshine is on my back in his Action Baby Carrier (I love love love this carrier - so perfect for summer!) and sometimes he's in bed with me asleep and I'm lying on my pseudo-side and actually spinning (I won't shock you with a photo although Leo did take one last night and well, suffice it to say, imagining it is so much better!).

This is heavenly Polwarth yarn that I spun from Bohoknitterchic roving.  I wish she had more than one 4-ounce roving of this one - it would totally make a great long manly scarf!

I also have a few finished items to show off - first, a reddish scarf knit from mixed fiber yarn I found at BigLots a few months ago.  I love it - the pattern is from Yarn Harlot called One Row Handspun Scarf - however, I messed up the bind off and now while the cast on edge looks so tight and neat, the bind off edge just sorta flares.  I wonder what I can do about that.  I wish I could do it all over again maybe with smaller needles.  Any suggestions?

Then there's the shorties I knit for Lil Sunshine using Elizabeth Zimmerman's pattern for Baby Leggings.  Being that we live in Southern California, I didn't think longies would be necessary so I made him a pair of shorties that, when I finally did put them on, were a tad smaller now since he outgrew them really fast.

I mean I could use them over disposables, but not over cloth dipes.  So it kinda defeats the purpose for using woolies I think.  At least he loves to chew on it though...so it's not for naught.

One Productive Week

I've got two handspuns to share...finally! There's been such a long dry spell lately that it was a relief to see myself spinning again. Of course, I'm feeling tightness in my forearm muscles again from overuse since I just want to finish spinning a skein overnight! But I am learning to take my time, now that the dry spell is over and it seems I've gotten my spinning mojo back!

The first one I spun was andean plied around my wrist and of course, after losing circulation on my finger, it was time to ply! Unfortunately, since andean plying was probably invented for spindle spinning, on a wheel it's not that intuitive and so I have tons of underplied segments. Oh well...


There's a hand in there somewhere!


Rosings handspun

I then dug up more batts sitting in my stash that somehow managed to evade my destash craze a month ago and spun this one!

Remind me of a nebula - hence it's name!

Yesterday Leo and I saw Cirque du Soleil - Kooza at the Santa Monica pier and it was amazing! It was Leo's first Cirque show while it was my fourth. The music was so loud that the lil bun in the oven was kicking like mad the entire time. Then he'd quiet down when the music would die down, only to start up again when it began again. All in all, I think it was his nap time and so he wasn't too happy about it.

But Leo had a blast (I did, too - the Wheel of Death act was amazing) and would like to see either "O" or "Ka" in Las Vegas one day soon - which probably means it should be soon because once the lil bun in the oven is all baked and out of the oven, there won't be any time to go to Vegas...or anywhere for that matter.

After the show, we had some early dinner (we were actually starving, having had a late start during the day and getting stuck in traffic...you know the drill if you live in L.A.) and then ice cream (for me) and coffee (for him) while walking up and down the pier.

Then we spied this anti-war installation:



Pretty powerful sight...

First Calorimetry Done!

I'm so excited to have finished my first ever calorimetry pattern from Knitty! It's also my first actual finished object since my dry spell started after finding out I was pregnant - that would be about 4 months or so.

I have about 5 WIPs languishing around the house but having one finished one definitely inspires me to finish all of them. After all, with my craft room/office now turned into a nursery, all my yarn and fiber have been turned out to the garage, while some bags of yarn have been sitting in the living room for the past week or so awaiting their respective projects.

Without much ado, here's the first calorimetry of many that I hope to make for friends and clients! I'm currently working on the second one using smaller needles and some wonderful Poems yarn!

Finished!

I actually finished Tsuya's handspun yarn yesterday! Got it all navajo-plied, soaked and dry and ready for its close-up, too!

While we're here, let me show you one of my latest handspuns from one of my last kettle dyed rovings (since I can't dye anymore while pregnant).

Twilight Knitting

Yep, I actually knitted something useful!

I knitted this hat using some of my novelty yarn spun from Homestead Wool and Gift Farm fiber and banana fiber (the green yarn) while watching the dvd "Twilight" last night. Since I can't knit and watch a movie at the same time, I ended up having to watch the movie again this morning and I have to say, the darn movie (and Robert Pattinson*) grew on me!

I've never read the books but now I'm curious to see how someone who had never written anything before simply woke up from such a vivid dream of a boy and a girl talking in the woods (and he glowed) and couldn't stop writing till she captured the essence of that dream. Reminds me of a dream I once had over five years ago which involved Chris Noth and I sitting under a tree bedecked with ribbons - and he was pregnant! Talk about dream interpretation, right? That scene sure is ripe for it!

Anyway, finally got my spindle-spun yarn for the Celebrate challenge on Rav's Spindlers group all soaked and dry!


Bellarosa 2-ply handspun. I ended up with 204 yards. Not bad. However, I'm taking some time off the drop spindling...this was a fast spin, and next time I really should just spin on my wheels.

ETA: Now, Cam Gigandet's James has grown on me, too!

Back In The Spin of Things

So I'm back in the spinning groove and loving it. Last week, Nancy gave me some Brown Sheep superwash roving in turquoise, beige and black. 

I had originally carded them into stripes but after throwing in some of the rest of the mismatched fiber into the drum carder after my striped carding session and spinning the batt, I found tha I liked the blended look so much more. Blending the three colors again and again on my carder gave the batt a heathered look and the end result looks wonderful. I managed to get 230 yards out of 4 ounces which isn't bad. I still can't see how spinners can get 400+ yards with the same 4 ounces...


I was planning to use this yarn to knit socks with, but probably will reserve it for something else instead since it's not as tightly plied as I would have liked. Somehow my plying skills have slackened a bit...

Besides spinning on my wheels, I've also picked up my handmade drop spindle and started spinning some of my own hand dyed roving as well. This one is for the the Rav Spindlers' April challenge called "Celebrate". 

Now I don't really need a challenge to get spinning but it seemed a good reason to pick up a drop spindle and give it a few spins...and then a few more.   I ended up spinning on the drop spindle till midnight, all the time wondering why the hell I was bothering with drop spindling when I was surrounded by three wheels.   But what the heck, right? Somehow I like drop spindling as much as I like spinning on my wheels.

The "Celebrate" challenge yarn is being spun from one of my first attempts at space-dyeing 4 oz rovings in my crock pot. I'm a pretty slow dyer these days since I'm using the crockpot method but right now, it's just the way I like it.  I called this colorway "Rosie" because I'm just running out of names.  

This one was dyed using what I call the "dry-powder" method.  I layer fiber, dye powder, fiber, dye and so on, and then pour hot water over it all to cover.  I then add the vinegar by pouring it along the sides.  I then dye for about 90 minutes or till the water runs clear.  You never quite know what you'll end up with and I like that unpredictability.

Talking about unpredictability, this one came out too yellow when I really wanted a greater concentration of lilac so I over-dyed it with more lilac and kelly green - but instead it's come out totally dark green. I do like it though - the color immediately game me its name - "Eden" (picture to come!).

Absent-Minded

Apologies to Jamie, Abraham and Nancy! I totally flaked on all of them this past week!

I was supposed to meet up with Jamie and Abraham on Tuesday at LisCat, and what did I do? I totally forgot about it! I was busy setting up my etsy shop and editing pictures on Photoshop and next thing you know, it's 5 pm and I thought, "Hmm, aren't I supposed to be somewhere?"

Same thing with Nancy and Gwen, who was teaching a "Spinning with Beads" class on Wednesday. After seeing some clients at my office, I figured I had four hours to kill before class started and I so I went up to PV to visit an old friend. She's 94 years old and loves company - and again, next thing I know as I'm parking my car into my own driveway four hours later, I thought, "hmm, aren't I supposed to be somewhere?"

To which I respond (inside my head - although I've been known to talk to myself), "Nah, that's tomorrow."

So, I missed them all and all I have to show for my absence from some socializing is this supercoil yarn called Jungle Boogie. All 15 whopping yards of it!

Shop Update!

I'm such a procrastinator that I've allowed my yarns to sit in storage all this time! Well, with such a wonderful day today, I couldn't help but get my shop updated with new pictures of my handspun!

I Heart Spinning...

Since my wheels are "occupied" and I'm missing my drop spindle, I decided to tackle the Spindlers' February challenge on Ravelry which is called "Mardi Gras".

It only took me two days (that's what happens when work is very slow). I carded the mini-batts yesterday, drafted it to maintain the color sequences and then spun it yesterday and today. Tonight while watching "Something About Mary" on cable, I plied it (and I am totally out of practice there) and here it is!


Not much yardage though. Only 68 yards.

Yet Another Yarn Post

As promised, here's my "Lumberjack Song" handspun all set and dry, and ready for his close-up.





Nothing much to write at the moment. Allergies are still plaguing me and I'm still waiting for Claritin to kick in...

He's a Lumberjack and He's Okay..

He sleeps all night and he works all day!

Yup, this is one of my favorite Monty Python skits (second is the Dead Parrot) and I'm just so thrilled that it's Week 55's Fiber Friday Challenge on Ravelry! If you're not familiar with the Lumberjack Song in its entirety, here's a look:



I did have the fiber for the parrot one, but the Lumberjack being my top favorite, I just had to drop everything and card a few mini batts for spinning. It turns out that I have tons of fiber - they're just not organized well enough for me to identify what I have. So while moving boxes here and there yesterday I took a note of which type of fiber was in what box and this morning, simply set out to work.

Carding is still a challenge for me, and part of it is because I'm so afraid to bend the teeth on my Strauch Petite. It's not exactly built for novelty yarn, and so I've been so scared to use it the last few days. This morning, though, I threw caution to the wind and keeping in mind the basic tenets of carding (feed small amounts slowly, separate the fibers, etc.), started carding some mini-batts for my Lumberjack yarn.

I've read Deb Menz's Color In Spinning and it's so true that while reading it and knowing it is one thing, doing it is totally a whole different creature altogether. But I think I pulled it off okay...

I spun it along with some test batts from Crosspatch Creations that I considered totally ugly on its own, but I guess blended with the Lumberjack batts, they didn't look too bad. The skein hasn't been soaked yet, but I'm looking forward to some "rugged" yarn to show you tomorrow!

I spun the next yarn a week or so ago from an art batt from Sandy of Homestead Wool & Gift Farm. Leo really likes it, and I think along with my fresh-off-the-bobbin Lumberjack batt, they'll surely make an interesting pair!


Fern Trail Handspun Yarn

This reminds me of beautiful hiking trails in Portland, Oregon. I don't know if there's such a trail named Fern Trail, but really, who cares?

With my practice really really slow, I've been staying home (staying away from mindless shopping or even etsy shopping) and doing my taxes. When I'm not doing taxes, I'm spinning or cleaning (or trying to), and when I'm not cleaning, I'm indulging in one guilty pleasure - listening to a wonderful Pride and Prejudice podcast on iTunes! Best of all, it's free and if I start talking with a British accent, don't worry. It's only temporary...

Some FO's To Share...

So congested and still waiting for Claritin to kick in, I'm simply posting pics today. My head is so full of cobwebs I can barely type a coherent sentence even...but like I'll let it stop me, right?

Anyway, I got myself pretty busy with my needles the last few days after boxing up the drumcarder for another day.

I finally finished my Darkside Cowl and I'm pretty happy with it. I can't wait to get another one cast on soon!




I really like this cowl. It's very simple yet classy and it being handspun makes it even more special. Like my 4 year old-nephew and ringbearer-at-my-wedding would say, "Super Special!!!"

This one was inspired by Jane Bennet, the ever-sweet sister of Elizabeth Bennet from Pride and Prejudice. It's a cowl adapted from the Feather and Fan pattern and handspun from a merino/bamboo blend.


Feather and Fan is pretty easy and it's one of the first lace patterns I ever tried out after branching out from the usual knit and purl stitches.

I don't remember how much yarn this cowl requires since it's spun from my own handspun and I forgot to measure the yardage as well (bad knitter!). But since you're going to knit in multiples of 18, depending on your yarn weight, yardage ang gauge, it should work with just about any yarn :)

To make this cowl, cast on multiples of 18 (the cowl was 90) and join to form a circle. Place marker and knit 2 rows.

For the third row: (K2tog)3X, *(YO, K1)6X, (K2tog)6X, rep * till you reach the last 6 stitches, then (K2tog)3X.

Next row(4th row): Purl all stitches.

Knit the following rows till you reach your desired length and then end with Row 4. Bind off loosely.

Hot Tamales! I Actually Spun Some Yarn!

Miracles do happen...

Today I actually sat in front my wheel and started spinning some yarn. Not just plan about it, or dream about it, or drool over other people's handspun and plan to spin my own awesome yarn...but I actually spun something!

It started out like this in the morning. Mill spun wool and corriedale plied with pink Xie thread (they call it yarn but it's really thread when paired with this uber-chunky yarn) and Leo called it "Hot Tamales" - a name I really love! I think I came up with 40 yards of sweet red and pink yarn...it just didn't have the "kick" I would have wanted if indeed I'd be calling it "Hot Tamales".

Then this afternoon, I unplied the thread off the yarn and spun some more to add to its current 40 yards. Then I plied it with some multi-colored viscose by Cascade Yarns. Now it's no longer "Hot Tamales", but "Fickle" - just in time for Valentine's Day. I still need to set it and add some stuff to it tomorrow, but for now, I'm pretty happy with it. I came up with some 59 yards of uber-uber bulky yarn - just the way I like it!

The past few days I've been drum carding. A lot.

And after wanting a drum carder soooo much, I'm so over it now. Drum carding can be tedious! I have a drum carder designed for finer fibers and so that doesn't help that most of the fibers I have on hand are from the Sheep Shed Studio's grab bags - which aren't exactly combed top, but in between. Some of the fiber I felted by accident, too, though so that doesn't help either.

I did come up with a few ounces of carded fiber - and so far they're filling up my medium sized basket pretty nicely. I've spun a little bit (the pink for the Fickle handspun) and I'm hoping to spin a bit more by tomorrow. I've come to the realization that I've been spending more time coveting more wheels and other people's handspun than actually doing some spinning. And that is a bad thing...

So typical of most new year resolutions, I've come up with one more resolution to add to my current list - details which escape my mind at the moment - and that is to spin more!

By the way, did you know that tonight is the start of the Chinese New Year? Gung Hay Fat Choy!

A Fibery Sunday

Today I set out to dye at least 8 - 10 ounces of fiber in my crockpot. I had some leftover blue dye from previous sessions and decided to finish it up (though I didn't get to finish it up at all...still a little bit left over but that's okay). Leo slept till 3 in the afternoon on the couch and so I had to be extra quiet as I went about my fiber-y chores on this beautiful Sunday.

One of the first things I did was take a nice scrumptious photo of my latest handspun called Rhiannon...


I also have to show you the beautiful Autumn #2 batt that Janice gifted me yesterday! The photo doesn't do it justice - it's just so pretty (orange is one of my favorite colors!) and I love love love autumn colors!


Then there's the Ozark handspun yarn I purchased at Unraveled, too. This is just so pretty that I don't want to knit anything with it! I could knit a simple scarflette with it, but why? It's pretty on its own. Now I know that many people can't stand the look of this type of novelty yarn, but really, for 2009, I've decided not to care about what they think. Not all of us like vanilla, right?




I could post a few more pictures but...I don't think you need any more proof of my deeper journey into the rabbit hole. I guess I took more than one blue pill...

Cafe Au Lait

Cafe Au Lait Handspun Scarf
Originally uploaded by velvetinna

It's not everyday that I get to knit something from my handspun - and actually finish it! Right now I've got two projects from handspun that's been on hiatus.

However last night, while sitting at home and watching Tropic Thunder ("I know who I am! I’m the dude playing the dude disguised as another dude!" - Kirk Lazarus), I decided to be brave and knit something out of the first handspun yarn spun from the now-returned Louet Julia (I miss her, but I've got another wheel coming within the next week - stay tuned).

And speaking of wheels, I am totally envious of Jamie for getting a Mach 1 by Spinolution wheel for Christmas! I can't wait to see it!

Okay, back to the scarf. This was spun from Crosspatch Creations' Little Lassie. I plied the first skein which was spun bulky with some white merino singles while the next skeins were plied with the same roving. But because for the second skein I was following instructions (more like suggestions) on how to spin the roving, I spun it really thin and so I had to double up the second one as I knit with it.

I also thought I didn't have enough yarn (I'm pretty notorious for not measuring yardage...well, I measure, sure. I just don't write it down!), but in the end I still had 2 yards left over. Not too shabby.

Now I just need to figure out how to soften this handspun up since it's pretty tightly plied in some places and not feeling too soft against the skin. But soft enough for now.