knitspinob

Just DO IT

2011-02-08T07:19:00.003-06:00

So much for my NY's resolution to blog every week...January was a whirlwind! I spent one busy weekend in Seattle for Nihon Vogue. For Level I we are finishing our first two projects--a roundneck vest and a top-down raglan. We learned how to do the sewn bindoff for straight pieces and how to work the sleeves for the raglan. Swatches were reviewed for the roundneck pullover, the next project. I am so excited to be using Madelinetosh DK for the pullover and was happy to have my lace panel swatch approved. Jean's approval process seems to be somewhat arbitrary at times, resulting in much swatching (its good for the soul) and some frustration.

I can't recall the name of this colorway right now but it is foresty green with little peeks of lavender. My cable swatch was rejected as the row gauge is tighter than stockinette, but the lace on the right was approved. Not a great picture for the details but it reminds me of climbing leaves. I will use it for either a single panel up the center front, or two panels, one on either side of the front reaching up to the shoulder.

These swatches are some of my handspun for the sleeveless vest. The whole project is turning out alarmingly small but I am trying not to think about it. (Ah, denial.)

The Level II class was a bit more intense. Our first two projects are a dolman sweater and a 'puffy-sleeved' sweater. My dolman is in Berroco Ultra Alpaca Light. This is a great yarn and I am loving working with it, so much so that I bought another sweater's worth in a different color.

My dolman is going to be a zip cardigan with a cable running up the fronts of the cardigan and up the tops of the sleeves and shoulders. We learned how to graft the pieces together so I have most of the finishing to do for this project.

All this to do, and I am not even working on any of it. More soon about the bottom-up raglan for Level two--this is what I have been working on. Catherine Lowe yarn...YUM!

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Mess?

2011-01-11T06:22:00.001-06:00

I am not sure why my husband thinks I've trashed his office...

Looks good to me!

Beginning again

2010-06-07T17:40:00.000-05:00

This is my first real post from my Ipad and I think I am going to find this easier than posting from my main computer. Up until this last week I have been working primarily on assignments for Nihon Vogue. Our next class is next weekend. After knitting, frogging and reknitting, I finally finished most of the homework and have been free to work on other things. One of my New Year's resolutions is to spin up all of the fiber I purchased at SOAR this year.
The first fiber is an unknown wool from an unknown vender. Okay, I lost the tag. I started spinning this on my drop spindle while still at SOAR and the tag is nowhere to be found. It is from a vender who was from the area surrounding Delavan WI where SOAR was held. There was a small sample of this blend in my welcome pack and I knew I had to get some. Four ounces, spun on two bobbins and then plied together. No regard for trying to orient the color sequence in a particular way. I love the colors and the way they blend. It reminds me of the complexity of color you see in yarns like the tweedy Jamieson and Smith colors, or the Alice Starmore Hebrides yarns.

The resulting yarn is about 300 yds of DK-to-worsted weight yarn destined to be some mitts and who knows what else. It is still slightly damp but I intend to get it on the needles before the next Nihon Vogue class--great airplane knitting.

In other news, E had her third presentation in preparation for getting her black belt in May. There have been a lot of changes at our Dojo and the new karate Master is trying to raise the standards. Consequently the kids last night came in for a lot of criticism, all in a good way though. I am so proud of E for keeping a good attitude despite this.

I was definitely inspired to practice at home myself after this presentation!

More about Nihon Vogue coming soon!

Baptism dress

2010-01-04T10:43:00.002-06:00

100_2352, originally uploaded by drlafall.

Here is the back of the dress, I have just started the patterning for the bodice. This star pattern is a bit of a slog but I really like the way it looks. I got the back blocked yesterday and am hoping to block the front and sleeves on Friday for assembly saturday. Then I will finish right on time!

Also blocked is the February Fitted Sweater. When assembled it will be my first FO for the IntKnSweMoDo, if I don't count the Baptism Dress. Im on a roll!

2010-01-04T10:36:00.003-06:00

I missed a few other resolutions in my last post, nothing very exciting. The most important is that I will waste no more time on computer games. I probably used up hours of my life last year playing mind-numbing games. I don't feel too bad about it though because I think that time helped my brain process some of the emotional issues I have been trying to work through. Anyway, this resolution has freed up a lot of time, and I am going to make my goal of a knitted dress for E's baptism on Jan 10.

I started her dress on Dec 26. The pattern is not well written--for example, the schematic does not match the shaping of the pattern. I added extra length so that the dress will fall to her knees. I also added more shaping at the armhole and neck. The yarn is luscious--Blue Sky Alpaca Sport in a hot pink. Pic is in the next post

2010-01-02T16:39:00.002-06:00

It is the beginning of a new year and a full six months since my last post. At the begnning of each new year I do set some resolutions. It is sad to think that we make these resolutions and within months we have forgotten them and slipped back into our old patterns. Perhaps we set our sights too high.

This year I am going to try and stick to some realistic, achievable goals (at least I think they are achievable).

1. I will participate in the International Knit a Sweater a Month Dodecathalon AKA IntKnSweMoDo. When I think about my stash of yarns and patterns as well as my WIPs, I could probably participate for two years and not exhaust my supplies. Anyway, it is a great motivator to get some things done.

2. I will get my candidate blue belt in jiu jitsu. This is going to take more consistent attendance in class and overcoming my discomfort. I am not quite sure why I want this so much. It seems the opposite of everything I am. Somehow though, when I am through with a class, I am charged and excited.

3. Find the joy in life every day. THis is my personal challenge. Living with a husband who frequently drinks to excess and is not much of a participant in our family or in our marriage is difficult. In order to get through it, my only choice is to focus on the good things and try to limit the impact on my daughter.

Okay, so I throw the last one in there, sort of out of the blue going from light-hearted to deadly serious. The thing is, I'm just trying to figure out how to survive this. It is certainly not the journey I thought I was on.

The last thing I need to figure out how to cope with is how I feel about K. Boy this really came from out of the blue and it took me a long time to realize what was going on. At first I just thought it was a case of hero worship. Then last summer I recognized the feeling. It has been over 20 years since I had felt this feeling. I never wanted to feel this again. It is too insane. Perhaps there is really no figuring to do. There is nothing to do about this, but try to let it fade away over time...yeah, like about 20 years!!

Recycling

2009-06-29T09:19:00.002-05:00

I really should change the title of this blog at this point because I have completely abandoned all things fiber in favor of all things fabric. I am loving! the sewing! True to my usual obsessive, need to know self, I have signed up for four on-line sewing classes. Three are through www.quiltuniversity.com and the fourth is through www.patternreview.com. Three are obviously quilting techniques--time for some formal education in this. One is basic garment sewing, also time to stop winging it on my own and learn the proper way to do things...
I am currently working through the lessons of "Starting from Scratch", a class on basic patchwork techniques. The precision with which you have to do everything is almost unbearable! It never occurred to me to square-up my blocks before assembly and right now, as I quilt my log cabin quilt, I am suffering the outcome of this knowledge deficit. I don't know if it will be worth trying to struggle through quilting this extremely poorly constructed quilt top, or if I should just abandon it as a teaching experience. Perhaps it can be hacked up for some other use. Reduce, reuse, recycle...

Things I would like to sew...

2009-05-08T15:22:00.000-05:00

From Amy Butler's Stitches:
Decorative throw
Placemats and napkins
Patchwork duvet cover (make as a quilt)
Wide-leg lounge pants
Kimono-style bathrobe
Decorative hanging towel
Fashion checkbook clutch

The sewing bug has bitten me big time. On of the first things I did was downsize some PJ pants. They were mine but the elastic waistband had torn out. I cut them down for Elizabeth who was delighted!

She has worn them a ton since I finished them!

I am also working on a simple outfit for Elizabeth, a Burda Pattern. The top is cute, and I am very proud about my success with the zipper!

The last thing is a little summer cover-Up from Weekend Sewing. This is just the facing. I used a Liberty Lawn. At$38 per yard, it wasn't a bargin!

Many more pictures and projects for a later post. I have been sewing up a storm!

2009-05-05T09:59:00.000-05:00

Is it possible to be a post-a-day kind of gal? Who knows, but I am accumulating a bunch of projects to blog about. These are pictures I took during a class at Madrona. It was about a special Japanese dying technique called Kakishibu. The dye is extracted from the persimmon and then is used to paint fabric, paper, yarn, basketry, you name it. The hue darkens over time, and can be modified by the use of different chemical modifiers such as tin. Chris Conrad taught the class and had some stunning examples to show us. The diverse uses to which this dye has been put are amazing. The picture above was acheived using a stencil resist to paint parts of the flower, and leave other parts white. The picure below shows how the dye looks different on two different fibers. The background is a silk scarf, with chenille leaves taking up the dye in a different way.

The picture below is of a basket that has been covered with paper, and then dyed. The dragonfly stencil was added later. Just amazing!

Another picture from a basket. I enjoyed learning this technique but don't think it is something I will pursue further. I prefer to work with more brillant color. It was a great example of making the most out of a technique. My own sample is 'curing' in my yarn room. I will need to finish it in someway so that it is appropriate for hanging.

And finally, lovely Tacoma from my hotel room...only three months ago. How the time flies!

2009-02-11T04:33:00.002-06:00

I am in the air on my way to the Madrona Fiber Arts Retreat. It has been a whirlwind these last couple of days. The big karate push paid off when Elizabeth and I graduated on Friday night. She received her advanced blue belt and I received my advanced red belt. I got a few pics of her. She was the photographer for my graduation so the pics aren’t great but what can you expect from a five-year-old. She was at least enthusiastic!

Look at that great back stance! I am so proud of her for really sticking with the karate. And it is amazing to see the progress she makes. It seems like forever that she cannot do a specific move and then all of the sudden, she can, and she does it well. So much fun to see!

Saturday E ran in the Medtronic ½ mile race for kids. It was pretty chaotic for her age group (first grade and under). The faster kids quickly lapped the little ones and you could no longer tell who was ahead. E was in first place for about the first ½ lap and then she slowed down. Due to the chaos, she accidently did an extra lap before I was able to get her attention and signal her into the finishing area. Pretty funny! At least she had a good time and is excited about doing another race in May.

Having finished the Grant Ave Vest, I have had some serious starter-itis. This is in part due to a visit to Bella Lana after E’s race on Saturday. I was able to find the Tilli Thomas yarn for the stitch diva sweater I have been eying for the last six months. I am excited about this pattern because it is knit from the top down, something I have little experience with, and it might be dressy enough to wear to Danny’s graduation in May. I also bought enough Twinkle Soft Chunky to make the Potter cardigan from Town and Country. I have been working on this, it is such a quick knit, and have one sleeve done (my swatch) and am working on the body.

Crisis of confidence revisited

2009-02-05T05:03:00.004-06:00

So this is the project that got me thinking of all of my UFOS and why they continue to be UFOs. It is the Celtic Vest kit by Fleece Artist. I picked the kit up at BeeHive in Victoria British Columbia. I just couldn't make this work. I got 3/4 of the way done with it and realized that even with some heavy blocking, it just wasn't going to work. Also, the neck shaping looked funky and I just didn't have the endurance to redesign the whole thing. So, to the 'repurposing pile'.

As I thought of my other UFO's it is apparent that most of them have some aspect with which I am not happy. I will have to think long and hard about each one before expending more effort.

Finally, the Grant Ave vest is done, all but the buttons. I am a little unhappy with the way it gaps out away from my waist because it has no shaping along the shoulders. It is a generous size and I might wear it belted which will solve the problem.
To get geared up to really work some fairisle, I started these mitts. I am very happy with the way they are going even though I am only on the first one. Once the fairisle bug bites me, I am usually good for a fair amount of it. We'll see if it gets me through these mitts.
Lastly, this is what I got for my birthday this year. It is my fifth (and final) stripe on my red belt, which qualifies me to test for my advanced red belt! I am very excited and have been working hard to get here. I need to continue the push to try and qualify for my brown belt by May, otherwise I have to wait until September. Elizabeth will also be graduating, to advanced blue so I will put up pics from our graduation on Friday.

I'm over it

2009-02-02T13:37:00.003-06:00

I've had enough of the subzero temps for this winter. It was quite depressing to note the -3 on the car thermometer on my way to work. I am tired of cold hands and feet. The saving grace is the blue, blue sky today. And I heard a cardinal singing when walking to the office from the parking lot this am. Hopefully the bird knows that spring is on the way.

I haven't had the energy for any serious spinning lately so I have been working my way through several shipments of CrossPatch Creations sampler packs from the Bellweather. I love these. They are one ounce samples of various colorways and I can spin them any way I like without worrying about final weight etc. These are pics of my recently completed fourpack. I have another all spun up into singles and waiting to be plyed. I am trying to have a shrinking fiber inventory this year. So far, I have taken in 8 ounces of Merino/tencel from Chameleon Colorworks and have completed these little 1 ounce skeins. Once I ply and wash the others, I will be negative 1 ounce!
Aren't they fun?! I think the black/brown/white will be cuffs for some black mittens/gloves/mitts. I think I have a skein of soft, soft Kimmet Kroft Fibers yarn, or perhaps my black Malabrigo--either will be luscious!

Resolving a crisis of confidence

2009-01-13T06:54:00.005-06:00

...or How a good blocking does wonders.

I spend a quiet day at the hospital yesterday and was able to get the stranded part of the Asian-Inspired baby sweater done. It only took about FIVE episodes of the Closer to get through this part of the sweater when I discovered puckering...! Argh.

It is not as visible in this pic as it really appears. I threw it aside, disgusted. Before ripping the whole thing out, I decided to wait until this morning when I could subject it to some serious steam ironing.
Hurray for irons! It looked much better after a little pressing. Enough that I can continue without ripping my hair out.
I have been very frustrated with my knitting these days, perhaps because I am not allowing myself to start new and exciting things, with the exception of the above project. I am trying to get those UFO's done but I am realizing that each is a UFO because it was a problem. With each one, I hit a snag and lost interest in the project. Something about it ruined my ability to see it as a viable finished garment. I may end up frogging more of them then I originally intended. The list in the side bar was culled from all of my UFO's as being the most likely to be completed, but I may find more of them get 'repurposed' then I thought.
Anyway, this project was a roaring success...

Name of Project: Sunrise Scarf

Weave: Plain weave

Warp: Purchased handspun

Weft: Handspun BFL, fiber from the Spunky Eclectic. Worsted spun, 2 ply

Rowan Kidsilk Haze, color Blush

EPI: 12

Width in reed: 10 inches

Finishing: Edged with Herringbone stitch.

Thrown in normal wash cycle, then pressed.

Final Destination: Christmas gift for my mother. She loved it.
And finally, a little handspun I finished before the first of the year. It is a merino/tencel blend from Chameleon Colorworks that I purchased at SOAR 2006. It is navajo-plied to preserve the color changes and I am very happy with it. I don't know the yardage off the top of my head.

Hell week

2008-12-18T05:36:00.003-06:00

I am at the end of my third call in the last week. Fortunately, this was a quiet call and we did not a single delivery during the entire 24 hours. The complete opposite of watching the blood flow out of a young woman who did not want to receive blood products. I will never forget the grace and courage with which she and her husband faced the likelihood of her death, just after the birth of their son. Mike writes it off as pure stupidity, bordering on psychosis but I think they have something that many of us strive for but never near. Call it peace, or faith. I don't know, but it was a night I will never forget, and I hope never to repeat!

I am way behind on FOs. Fortunately, there are FOs. I had a big push just before the new year because I wanted to shorten the list of things to finish in the coming year. I want to enter 2010 with no FOs that are older than six months. That seems only fair to the projects that have been languishing in the closet for years.

When my mom visited over Thanksgiving, she fell in love with the yarn I was spinning and I promised a scarf for her for Christmas. The yarn on the left, below, is a 2-ply spun from a Spunky Eclectic club shipment. I think it is BFL. I spun it worsted, to practice that technique, and should have plied it a little more tightly but it ended up working well for this scarf. The warp yarn is on the right, a yarn I purchased on Etsy, I don't recall the seller. I used every last yard of the 200-and-some skein and warped my rigid heddle loom. My handspun, combined with some Rowan Kidsilk Haze, is the weft.

I was so in love with the end result that I could barely part with the scarf. I have enough weft to weave another, if I can find another suitable warp yarn. Ahh, a success!

2008-12-17T05:39:00.003-06:00

I carry a thousand thoughts and stories in my head, but when I sit down in front of the computer...nothing.
We have been shivering through a breath of Arctic chill over the last few days. Today, it will warm up to a balmy 11 degrees F. We had a blowing light snow last night. The kind of storm that shocks you because it makes the world seem so silent, even in the middle of a busy city at rush hour. Despite the storm and the driving conditions, there were many cars headed towards Target for after-work Christmas shopping.
Christmas always seems to catch me by surprise, and before long, I am so overwhelmed that I decide that there is really no need to decorate the house, or bake Xmas cookies, or... Over the last few years, Mike and I have been trying to establish some traditions for our family, given our hectic work schedules. This year I am not working on Christmas, and only a 1/2 day on Xmas Eve. We are planning a really nice dinner on the Eve, and then gourmet foods from Zingerman's to snack on for Xmas Day.
Gift knitting is coming along quite well. I had planned two sweaters for E, and am on the first sleeve (body is done) of the second sweater. Pictures to come. Back to the knitting for now!

2008-11-12T06:24:00.001-06:00

I just came back from an absolutely wonderful weekend in Chicago with my sister and several of her friends. We shopped, ate and drank--all were done to extremes. Although my sister and her friends are not fiber freaks, they were tolerant of my need to knit and to seek out the nearby yarn stores. I managed to hit three shops, picking up several skeins of yarn at each. The 'moment' of the weekend was during dinner at SusiSamba. My sister and her friend were getting a little heated talking about politics, it was getting a little tense. I, in a slightly drunken stooper, decided to pull out my knitting. THis elicited screams of laughter from the other two women at the table who thought I was making a statement about the political converstation. I just wanted to knit, but it ended up breaking the tension and was really quite funny.

With the flights and early morning awakenings, I managed to cruise along on a sweater for E. She chose the yarn and pattern, but I don't think she will expect the FO as a present under the Christmas tree.

This is a pic of the back. The front has lots of bobbles but I did not think those would be comfortable when sitting in a chair so I omitted them from the back. I am almost done with the back. Then there is a wide ribbing at the waist and a large turtle neck. The body is knit side-to-side. It is going quickly, I started it last Thurs and expect the back to be done today.

The other pic is a little dark but it is a closeup of the Florin vest I knit for a friend's son. A quick, easy knit. This was done in Halcyon yarn's Botanica. I want to do one for me, perhaps in Cascade 220.

2008-11-05T05:34:00.002-06:00

We ARE a country that can put aside our fears and our prejudices. WOW!
A finished Christmas present. Okay, almost finished. A few ends to weave in and loopy detail to add at one end. This is the Stone City Scarf from the most recent Interweave Crochet. I used Noro Silk Garden Sock, about 1 and 1/4 skeins. It is destined for my friend Doneka. A quick and satisfying project, great for dragging to E's after-school activities.

2008-11-04T12:23:00.004-06:00

Today is the long-awaited end to the election season. I've voted, and am so glad to be done with all of this that I really don't care who wins. Two years of campaigning! There ought to be term limits on a campaign!

Time flies between posts, as usual. I've had a lot of fiber fun over the last several months. I spent several days in both Sept and October playing around with natural dyes. I pulled my recipes from various books, mostly relying on Trudy Van Strachen's book and was (mostly) delighted with the results.

These are various skeins of handspun shetland, in various natural colors, that I started throwing into the exhaust baths of various dyes including cochineal, and logwood. I love how many colors you can acheive by varying the mordant or the after-bath. I especially love ammonia dips, probably because I like the whole red-blue-violet spectrum.

These are the mini-skeins of Belle yarn, several dyed with cochineal, one with logwood, and one with weld. I am very happy with the results and am planning to knit these mittens with this yarn.

This very dark picture shows mini- skeins of merino lace-weight yarn dyed with Brazilwood, with a number of different mordants and afterbaths. Each skein is about 200 yds and they look beautiful together. I have no idea what I will do with them. I also managed to spend some time at the Textile Center and carded some of my Shetland-Border Leicester fleece. I spun this beautiful worsted-weight yarn that is soft and spring-y. I can't wait to get back to carding somemore of this fleece so I can really get going with the spinning.

I have been surprisingly productive with knitting and weaving for Christmas presents as well. I am well into my list of projects and may add a few more if this pace continues. I need to get pictures of the WIPs for my next post.

2008-08-21T15:58:00.000-05:00

Well, I didnt actually get in to the Ravelry swap, I did not send in complete info in time. Oh well. I am still going to try to blog once per week to keep the blog going. My spinning binge has continued. I am spinning my second batt of merino/silk from Ewenique Fibers but am spinning this singles a little thicker then the original batt.
I did not like the way my thin yarn was "muddy", none of the original colors really stood out. I am hoping that with a thicker yarn, the colors wont blend as much, they are really to beautiful to lose. This is a sinfully wonderful batt to spin, very soft. The batt weighed two ounces and I split it in half length-wise, spinning each on to a separate bobbin. I will finish the second bobbin tonight or tomorrow and be ready to ply them together this weekend. This is the fingering weight yarn I spun from the first batt. The colors really blended too much.

The second picture is from the second batt, and is a dk weight that I am very happy with. It is a soft, springy yarn. I keep hearing Judith MM's words in my head to underspin and overply a woolen yarn and it really works to get a great yarn.
I am accumulating quite a stash of handspun fiber and I think it is time to see if I can sell any of this. I am thinking of setting up an Etsy store. As a prelude to this (hee, hee), I am doing some marketing research that I will post more about later. I cant believe there is even a market for this but it appears to be true. I also think it may be time to destash some of my commercial yarn on Ebay or Ravelry. There is no way I can possibly use it all. So on my agenda is some photography of my stash, and some sorting to figure out what I can part with.

My other major venture is getting into the natural dying. I have been fascinated by this for a while and should have some time to experiment with this during my vacation in September. So I have ordered a stash of dyestuff and mordants to experiment with.

This last picture is the last of my four samples from my Bellweather sample club. It is from a great batt from Crosspatch Creations and is very vibrant. I just wet-finished it today.

Spinning fest

2008-08-17T07:11:00.000-05:00

I decided to participate in a swap on Ravelry. I have been seeing examples of other swaps as I surf the blogs and decided to give it a whorl. This swap requires blogging at least once per week, I could stand to have that kind of pressure.

Here are the required questions:

Do you knit or crochet? How long have you been at your craft? I mostly knit but do crochet on occasion. I have been doing both for too many years to count (since grade school).
Do you spin? What type of spinning do you do? I have been spinning for about seven years and spin both on a wheel and spindle.
Are there any other crafts that you participate in? I also love to weave but haven't had too much time to do this.
What are your favorite yarns/fibers? I love animal fibers of any kind. Plant fibers are more difficult to spin and to knit so I don't like them as much but I do occasionally enjoy a good challenge.
What are your LEAST favorite yarns/fibers? See above
Are there any types/brands of yarn that you are dying to work with but haven’t gotten a chance? I love Green Mountain Spinnery yarns but haven't had a chance to experiment with them.
What are your favorite types of projects to knit/crochet? Really anything. I have been on a sock kick lately but love sweaters.
What are you currently working on? Anything you plan to start this autumn? You name it and I am probably working on it. I like to work on lots of different things at a time.
What is your favorite FO? (Please, post a picture if you would like.) Hum, tough to decide. Perhaps some of my older colorwork/fairisle. I don't have the time or attention to do much of this right now.
What is your oldest UFO? Wow, don't want to admit that it is probably about five or six years old. I've been trying to clean up some of my older UFOs this past year. Most of them involve colorwork and are time-consuming projects.
Are their any knitting/crochet techniques that you would like to learn? I have not done any felting. I would like to experiment with this.
Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements? Love socks, but I have extra large feet. I usually use medium patterns (I have a narrow foot) and knit to fit my size 10.5 feet.
Do you have a yarn winder and/or a swift? I have both.
Where/how to you keep you needles/hooks? One box for circulars, and one box for straights.
Do you collect anything? ...yarn, fiber
What is your favorite type of music? Are you MP3 ready? I like pop, rock, jazz. Really anything but country. I have an I pod
Do you like sweets? What are your favorites? I love, love LOVE good chocolate. Next best are chewwy candies like Bitohoney and Tootsie Rolls.
What is your living situation like? Any pets? Children? Hubbie, five-year-old daughter, 88-year-old demented mother-in-law, one dog (very sheddy german shepherd) and one cat.
Are you allergic to anything? Not that I know of.
Do you have an online wish list (Amazon, Etsy, Loopy Ewe, etc.)? Please include links for your swap pal. I don't have any online wish lists.
Are you having a birthday during this swap? Nope
What is your Ravelry ID? lafall

Thanks to Tour de Fleece, I have spun quite a lot during the last few weeks. I have finished spinning all of my first sample pack from Bellweather. It is part of the Crosspatch Creations fiber club. I LOVE their batts. I first got experience with one when I picked up the SOAR special blend in 2006. Here are three out of the four samples. The first I spun as a lumpy singles from a tricolored roving. I can't recall the name. The second is a 2 ply from a batt. It is called Montana State Treasures. Definitely my favorite. The third is called Mountain Berries and is a fine singles.

I also finally finished spinning my merino multicolor that I got at Shepherd's Harvest, again in 2006. I don't know what I will do with this yet. After sampling a number of techniques for a learning exchange, I spun most of it as a fine yarn, then navajo-plied it to keep the colors in line. I am very happy with the results. The final hank weighs just over 2 ounces and is about 320 yds.

The second monkey on my back that I finished is the merino/tencel roving from Cameleon Colorworks. I spun this worsted, and then plied it as a three ply and came up with a yarn that is fingering weight. It allowed me to solidify my worsted technique. I think it came to about 600 yds for the four ounces of roving.

Knitting has been rather unfocused although I did manage to finish some mitts from my handspun merino superwash from Cameleon Colorworks. Otherwise, my WIP list on ravelry has grown, but my FOs have not. Oh well.

2008-06-18T14:03:00.000-05:00

Here is a not so recent pic of Elizabeth trying to learn to ride her bike without training wheels.

Crazy quilting

2008-06-16T13:38:00.001-05:00

100_1621, originally uploaded by drlafall.

Here is some of the quilting I have been messing around with. Elizabeth chose all of the fabrics and insisted I make something for her so I made a 'blankie' for her and one for Max. Max's is still sitting in my studio, waiting to go out in the mail...probably tomorrow. These were kind of fun and gave me a chance to experiment with my walking foot before moving on to some serious quilts.

I am officially over socks for the time being. And I'll finally admit that I don't like STR for making socks. It is too harsh, especially the heavy weight. So I have a lovely skein of yarn in purples, supposedly for the Cleopatra pattern, that I will be converting to a scarf or shawl. At this point, I really need to FINISH some of my un-FINISHED projects, but have not had the motivation. I did finish two of my towels, hems and all. Still four more to go...

Its a beautiful Monday, although slightly chilly for June. After work, I will be ferrying E to swimming and then to Karate. I'm still loving Karate and have a ground defense class tonight. On off days, I am picking up some pilates and toning classes at Energy Pilates, and really enjoying it.

2008-06-16T05:47:00.000-05:00

I've been working without a purpose these last few weeks. My knitting has not really had a focus and I haven't been able to focus on getting a specific project done. I have done a lot of organizing. I now have a pile of projects that only need minor finishing (such as buttons or a few small seams). I have tried to avoid starting a bunch of projects but did start http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEsummer08/PATTshetlandshorty.html lovely little sweater using some of my Alaska yarn. It is a slow knit because of all of the K2tog but the yarns are gorgeous and I am enjoying it.
The other thing I've been able to knit are squares to make an afghan out of my fingering scrap yarn--mostly leftover from socks. The squares are a la Oliver's blanket from the Mason-Dixon website, and in this green era, it makes me feel virtuous to put all these little scraps of yarn to a good use.
I spent Fiber Friday working on basting the quilt from Last Minute Quilted gifts.

Next will be the actual quilting, likely to occur during the next Fiber Friday. I also started to pull together some stash yarns and fiber for a throw for our bedroom. I love the warps that Sweet Georgia makes and want to do something similar, completely spontaneous and simple, for this throw.

Here is some of the fiber I dug out of my stash. Some is Romney, Color Bits from Judith McKenzie McCuin, I got it at SOAR last year. Some is random dyed scraps from Detta's Spindle, they just happe to be the right color. Since I tend to spin with a high twist when I drop-spindle, I am spinning these on a drop spindle. I have one small skein completed, about 30 yards. The weft will be a solid color, perhaps a fine mohair. I will have to play around a little. And I will definitely make a small sample.

More later

Mom's Day

2008-05-12T05:22:00.000-05:00

What a way to spend a Mother's Day! You've got to love a place that has a fiber festival every year on Mother's Day weekend! Another reason why I LOVE Minnesota. I tried not to go too crazy with purchases. The biggest extravagence was the final purchase of this fleece I could not resist.

It is six pounds of the most beautiful Shetland-Border Leicester cross, and it is more black then the picture shows. It is soft and springy and I can't wait to get some of it scoured. Other purchases that I couldn't resist were this ball of beautiful Merino. It is about 14 oz worth.

Next to the merino are a spindle and inkle loom. As you can see, I was spinning some roving while Elizabeth was watching the sheep shearing. I bought to small bags of Icelandic lamb roving, unbelievably soft! But not as soft as this Angora bunny!

Elizabeth had a great time seeing all of the animals and watching the sheep shearing. She loved seeing the border collies herding the sheep. My last few purchases were yarns. I couldn't resist the Kimmit Croft fiber booth. I have been in love with their Angora/Rambouilet blend ever since I knit my first bohus sweater. The blend is now Angora and Merino but is still delightfully soft. Of course Elizabeth had definite opinions about what yarns I should buy to make something for HER and initially grabbed some baby blue and pink. I managed to 'redirect' her and persuade her that the following colors would make great mittens etc.

Next to the Kimmet yarn is some fingering weight Alpace in four different colors (the black skein on the bottom faded into the background). Believe it or not, this was 'restrained' purchasing. Oh, and I might have agreed to take home some Angora/Merino roving from Kimmet--the salesperson didn't wnt to have to take it home, so she gave me a pound for about $10. What could I say!?!

New directions

2008-05-07T05:29:00.000-05:00

This always happens. Whenever I limit my yarn purchases some other obsession overtakes me and I end up spending money on that instead. This time the obsession started with the innocent purchase of this book

...which then led to the purchase of this...

....and this......some of which became this... As we have been remodelling the lake house, I have been thinking about bedding for the two main bedrooms. The patterns in the book inspired me to look for fabrics to make quilts for both of these rooms. Six hours of sewing later, I have the quilt tops done. I have some fabric cutting to do for the backs and then can proceed with the actual quilting process. I keep telling myself that it is all justified because I am never able to find what I want in the catalogs. If everything comes together, it will be worth it.

This has also led me to explore the idea of coming up with some simple quilt designs and market my skills in the various textile venues (knitting, sewing, weaving) to make textiles for homes. Terri sounded enthusiastic about having some throws, towels etc in her shop. I have a couple of other projects brewing including a throw and a quilt for the Master bedroom in Woodbury. I have to warp my table loom so that I can do some samples for the throw, and I need to go on a quilting store expedition to look for fabrics for the quilt.

Also in my thoughts are some table linens to match our new dining room chair fabric:

So far it has been hard to find fabric so I may switch to thinking about some woven mats etc. I am also working on keeping a design journal as I work through these projects so that I have something to show potential customers in the future. Of course that led to the idea of making a folio for my design tools so I have ordered some fabric for that as well.

Hum, the yarn stash is stable to slightly smaller, but the fabric stash is increasing.

2008-04-28T09:13:00.000-05:00

Dear Carmen--You have been in my thoughts a lot lately. I guess it is just that time of year. It's funny, I have whole converstations with you in myhead, but when I sit in front of a keyboard to put them down, I am stymied. I'd love to let you know about all that has happened since you left us but I am afraid that I will start crying here in the middle of Caribou coffee.

Caribou Coffee is kind of where Minnesota starts for me. About a month after we moved here, I sat outside at Caribou. It was October and I was knitting. The sweater I was kntting then is still unfinished--not too surprising as it is a complicated fairisle pattern. I think it was early afternoon and I was waiting for it to be time to pick up E from daycare. It was a beautiful afternoon, but the surprising thing is that, while I was sitting there, a woman approached me and asked to see what I was knitting. She expressed appreciation in a way that demonstrated that she too was a knitter. I knew at that moment that I had found a place that would be accepting of my quirkiness. That was in 2004 when knitting had not achieved it's zenith as THE hobby. Knitting in other places we had lived was still associated with grannies and acrylic yarn. But here in Minnesota young professional women are avid knitters. Knitting in public does not garner odd stares, but questions about what I'm knitting, and whether the onlooker has ever tried a similar project. This was an "ahh" moment for me.

I continue to love Minnesota, although this winter has been somewhat challenging. TOday, the end of April, it is just 33 degrees, with highs projected in the mid-40s. Despite the weather, there is much to love here. There is great diversity here, not only among the people but also in the sporting and cultural offerings. THis is the first place Michael and I have both loved. This is manifest in our purchase of a second home, on a lake up North. Our Breezy Point home is a physical commitment to this area, it says that we will be here for a long time.

I wold normally be at work today but I am recovering from a mild case of pneumonia. The reason I am at Caribou is that I am hiding from the cleaning ladies. I am going to return home soon for a big nap. I have missed some time at work due first to a cold virus but then to superinfection with pneumonia. It is fortunate that I have a doc in the house to quickly diagnose and treat me, otherwise I'd probably still be languishing in bed, trying to decide if I needed to see someone.

During this sick time, I have been able to get bits and pieces of projects done. I finished spinning the Belle fiber into singles and will ply it later this week. The second batch of carded fiber was more difficult to work with then I anticipated. A lot of neps. I hope the final yarn turns out. It is kind of a dirty white, so I will definitely be dying the finished yarn. Probably in multiple colors. I still have to assemble my dye equipment so that I can really begin natural dying. I have lots of yarn accumulated that I want to dye.

I also worked a bit on the merino/tencel top. I still don't know how I will ply it. I have been spinning it in no particular order, so I may Navajo ply it to keep the colors intact. This fiber seems to go on and on. I am getting a little tired of it. Other outstanding spinning projects include the rest of the varigated merino and my alpaca.

I have finished two pairs of socks--the gluttony socks and the leafling socks. These were two of the projects in my "April" basket--a basket of knitting projects to work on in April. I also finished my handspun sweater and am very happy with the outcome. It is an oversized, comfy sweater, just as I had imagined. Other projects in the April basket are the solstice table runner (about 1/2 way done) and the Northern lights shawl (this one is slow-going at over 500 stitches per row and growing). These two items remain in the basket for May, with the addition of the Phoenix socks, and an old bobble sweater (an Annie Zilborg design and kit that I purchased at MD Sheep and Wool, 2004).

I haven't even gotten to my newest passion--designing textiles and accessories for both houses, and hopefully for things to sell in Terri's shop. Right now, I have plans for two quilts (for the two queen beds at the lake) and a throw/afghan for our bedroom here. And lots more plans in my head. TOo bad I actually have to work for a living.

2008-04-13T06:15:00.000-05:00

So I spent a lot of my knitting time yesterday correcting a mistake in my solstice shawl. I had to pull back two rows--doesn't seem like a big deal, but since each row now contains 500 stitches...this represented quite a bit of knitting. I've been struggling a bit with this pattern, the graphs are incorrect and this threw me until I decided to correct them. In addition, the continual increases mean that I have to do frequent stitch counts--A bit of a chore with this many stitches. Add in constant interruptions from E and M, and there you go.
We are up at the lake this weekend. There are icicles hanging from the roof and about six inches of snow on the deck from our recent snow storm but the temp today is supposed to get up into the 40s. Spring may finally be here!
This has been a long winter and I will be glad to be through it. It has been a tough few months and I am only now realizing how stressful it has all been. I haven't spoken to anyone in my family in months--a real indicator of how stressed I have been. having learned so well to suppress negative feelings, I can't call anyone when I don't have good things to talk about!
Actually, there are good things to talk about. Karate is going well, and I continue to love it. I will probably get my purple belt the first of May and am loving the challenge of learning all of the new techniques. As I progress, it becomes clear how important strength and overall fitness become if you really want to be able to do all of the maneuvers! Trying to incorporate a regular fitness routine into my schedule has been a bit of a challenge but I am becoming more committed to it. It helps that the days are longer and it is light out when I get up before six in the morning!
Wendy continues to deteriorate. Yesterday, E found her trying to put a shirt on as though it were pants. A recent visit to the dentist revealed that she needs reminders about brushing her teeth. Thankfully, I don't need to do it for her. I am having enough trouble with the fact that when I ask her if she has brushed her teeth, she gives me a toothy grin to let me see how she has done. I find this kind of intimacy so abhorrent! THis has been a large source of my stress. I don't know how I will handle it when she really needs help with hygiene issues. It is bad enough that today I will need to supervise her in the shower.

The Third Weigh-In

2008-03-24T22:35:00.000-05:00

Stats: 202 lbs (down 26 pounds since start); chest 44 (down 4 inches); waist 37 (down 5 inches); about an inch off thighs, calves and biceps. Body fat is down from 27.5% to 20% and my goal weight is about 172-177. Slowly getting there. One more week of torture. Then it is time to figure out what to do at home which is going to include zone chefs for food, much training for that damn Ironman in Nov and finally finishing that off.

End of Week 3

2008-03-23T18:40:00.001-05:00

This is the end of week three, and this week was not as horrible. I think I am getting used to the different venues, and my intensity was ratcheted down due to a hamstring injury. Suspect my weight loss will not be as impressive as the last two weeks, but tat is to be expected. I do believe I will be under 200 before I leave. Took this PM off to rest the legs and plan for one more hard week before returning home. No new pictures today as whoever is reading this has seen most of the venues. Will try to tie things together over the next week. Also will attempt to get before and after pictures to post after I leave. Will reflect on this month after I leave.

2008-03-22T07:17:00.000-05:00

Look at the monkey climbing the wall. This is from the playground that was near the Ritz. As you can imagine, we spent quite a bit of time there. What an improvement in her comfort in the water! She had a great time jumping in and swimming back!
Here is the proof that she actually DID put her face in the water and did a little swimming.
And she even started to get comfortable with being in the water without her goggles.
We are now settled back at Angelica's. Faye and Melo actually keep an eye on your Mom. She has lost her sun glasses so I had to pick up a new pair. I am not sure it matters that they are not prescription. Hope you are having fun!

The New Facility

2008-03-19T07:22:00.000-05:00

We moved into the new facility on Monday of this week, and it was a bit of a logistical nightmare, although a big improvement. You can see the warehouse style we now exist in and one of the abs classes. I threw in a picture of Big Al, who despite how he looks claims he is not a wise guy. He has been here the same time I have and had a great first week, but then started hitting the town at Spago's and other fining, and his second week was less productive. Don't thing Big Al gets it! There are many like him, who are perfect for the first 9 hours of the day and then resume the binging, eating and other crazy shit that got them here. I hate em al'.

Week Three Part 1

2008-03-19T07:16:00.000-05:00

Here are the trainers. There is "Fat Tim", Areligh in the black, the taskmaster Greg in the Grey Sweat Suit and Blair in the yellow. IT does not really matter who you are dealing with they find a way to make you work, other the Fat Tim who is new and an underling. Week Three started off with a weigh in seeing me having lost about 20 lbs to 207.5. Lost some inches and my waist is 37.5, chest 46 and the rest does not matter, but about a half inch off hips, thighs and arms. So it is working, and now less then two weeks. This place sucks.

Miammmi!

2008-03-17T14:11:00.000-05:00

We arrived at Angelica's at about 2 in the morning but the next day, E was up by 8 and eager to get in the pool. Of course she insisted in having the pool skimmed of leaves before getting in ("Do you ever clean your pool?"). The water was a titch cold but that did not deter E or Coco, the deaf chocolate lab.

Your mom got up a little later than E and looked a little shell-shocked.
At about 1 pm we left Angelica's and drove over to Key Biscayne. We checked in and then checked out the pool and the beach. E is not too enchanted about getting sand all over her, and the waves definitely freak her out. Hopefully she will get used to them as the week goes on.

End of Week Two

2008-03-16T13:47:00.000-05:00

Two more weeks of this torture! Tomorrow is weigh in number 2, and I am starting to feel a bit different. Have not had a drink in 14 days which is the longest time without booze since 2002. Also, feeling a little leaner, so we shall see what the scales say tomorrow. My brain is waking up thankfully, and the doldrums of my thinking may be lifting. I am getting some ideas :) always dangerous. The pictures here are of a park where we have done some training. Very nice community of Manhattan Beach.

Day 13

2008-03-16T13:43:00.000-05:00

What you see here is from Day 11, and is done every Friday, known, appropriately, as "The Dunes." Basically ride your bike to the Dune and go up and down as many times as possible in one hour. These pictures do not quite give the truce grade which is very steep. Another form of torture at Camp Technique.

Day 10

2008-03-12T07:34:00.000-05:00

This is day 10 and a few things have happened since my last post. First, weight in on Monday was successful with a drop of 12.5 lbs down to about 215, my lowest weight since last 2005. This is a good start. Also, chest down to 46 from 48 and waist from 42 - 40. Little change on calves, things and biceps as those did not seem to accumulate the fat, as is typical in men, as the waist and chest. These suggests I maybe able to get home under 200 lbs. The days here continue to be brutal, long and unrelenting. Definitely miss all you beasts in MN and look forward to coming home in 2.5 weeks. Today brings the usual torture. I am less sore through the day, but the nights and morning are no picnic. This really is a boot camp and there is always the next things to do. Never again will I resort to this.

2008-03-11T13:08:00.000-05:00

Here are a few pictures from our MOA trip on Sunday. You should be proud of me. I am using my photo card reader on the computer at work. I tried to get E to smile for you in the next picture but of course she looks goofy.
The next couple are pictures that E took. She apparently got a hold of the camera and had a good time. My favorite is the hot dog. And I didn't want you to forget what your mother looks like:

Here we are organizing our yarn stashes. This is when she told me we ought to split the yarn equally.
Hope you get a laugh out of these! We are going to have a quiet night, early to bed after a long bath. E hasn't bathed in about 4 days (and you were worried about your mother!). Miss you!

End of First Week

2008-03-09T18:40:00.000-05:00

Overall this was a fairly brutal week where I was perpetually tired and sore and still am. For me, Saturday was kind of a rest day since my injured hamstring kept me from the super intense stuff the camp was doing and I really did a lot of Zone 2 work. Sunday is a supposed to be a light day, but I did the bike-hike-hike-bike as a nice weekend training session. I and the group you see pictured rode the 11 miles past Venice Beach and Santa Monica and climbed the mountain at the end of the ride, these are the views seen in the picture (unfortunately a smoggy day). One guy and I did the hike twice and it was fairly brutal. Week two coming up. Weight in and measurements tomorrow. It is obvious who the two trainers are and who the two campers, but each of them have lost around 35 pounds and, despite me being a lightweight compared to most of these guys, they are easily as fast as me up these hills (and they are 25 years younger), but by the end of my four weeks they won't even be close.

2008-03-08T07:39:00.000-06:00

Here are the graduation photos. There are more at http://www.flickr.com. Elizabeth took th epics of my graduation and did a good job!

2008-03-08T06:33:00.000-06:00

Elizabeth brought her finished journal home from school the other day. I tried to download the pictures yesterday but encountered technical difficulties. I am a TD magnet! I also can't get E's Ipod to charge. I have to work on that today.
BTW, in thinking about the Miami trip, I was thinking it was time to get another portable DVD although, when I was at Best Buy yesterday it occurred to me that an Ipod that plays videos might work as well, for a smaller price. What do you think? I thought I would get on I Tunes and see if they have movies available for download.
I like the waffle in this picture!
Next will be the pictures of the graduation! If you are feeling sorry for yourself today, just remember it is a frigid 2 degrees here in MN!

Day 5

2008-03-07T20:25:00.000-06:00

I started this day unable to walk, and wondered what I would be able to do. I warmed with a 2 hour zone 2 bike to Manhattan Beach. This was followed by 1 1 hour boot camp, but I was 50% at best still so sore in the legs that each step was pain. Then was a lecture, and I started feeling better when I did 60 min on the elliptical, still zone 2. Had a nutrition meeting to plot my course to 177 lbs and 6% BF. I will be about 1/2 way there by the end of this 4 week block. The last thing of the day was a partner workout (i.e., one trainer and two people). This was moderate in intensity and good for this day. Very sore right now as I write this and we have a solid day of training from 9 - 3, then I have a massage at 6 to cool down. Sunday is a light day/rest day and then weight in on Monday where not only weight, but body fat, and measurements are taken. We shall see. The goal is 7 - 8 lbs.

Day 4

2008-03-06T21:33:00.000-06:00

I do not have any interesting pictures today, but will be biking to the beach tomorrow so will try and get some. However, today was brutal for me, but only because I dd something I have not done for 20 years. The day started with a 3.5 mile run done easily at 8 min/mile. Then went onto 30 minutes of core/abd followed by the pool. I felt great in the pool doing 2000 m of various intervals. I was again stomped by Fern. Following the pool was a nutrition session and then the trouble began. They have a game here called TBA, and it is a combination of flag football and ultimate Frisbee. The movements are all short and explosive, and not the long endurance predictable stuff we usually do. Hence, I could not walk after the game (1.5 hours of playing) as my quads and hams were broken. I was too miserable to eat my late afternoon meal and could only stomach a protein shake before boot camp, where I could only walk up and down Admiralty Park.. Came home, soaked in the hot tub and called it a night. Tomorrow is brutal. hope I can walk.

We're still here.

2008-03-06T05:36:00.000-06:00

No pics today. The printer can't read my memory card--it must be damaged. We had a little 'incident' yesterday. Elizabeth helped herself to an extra fruit snack pack while Mrs. Anderson wasn't looking yesterday. Her reason--"I knew she would say no". As a result she lost Hannah Montana. And then the tantrum ensued, complete with hitting, kicking and tight holds, although as Elizabeth pointed out later, it did not last as long as usual. So then I missed Karate, and then I had some red wine. Or maybe it was the other way around. Anyway, no HM doll until the end of the school year, provided there are no other 'incidents'.

Arwen no longer howls for you. The house is quite peaceful actually. Paula has been doing a great job keeping up with the laundry and keeping the kitchen clean which is a big relief when I come home at night. Maybe she could be our housekeeper as well as dementer watcher. It snowed here yesterday, just an inch or two but enough to make the morning commute miserable. My clinic morning was absolutely hideous, but the pm was better as I was the preceptor for the residents. In L&D all day and it promises to be a busy day.

I am going to try a different memory card, so hopefully there will be pictures later. Hope you have a good day!

Day 3

2008-03-05T21:46:00.000-06:00

Today started out with a beautiful ride to the pier on Manhattan Beach. Took about two hours total. Following that there was two training sessions, one group and the other individual (arms and back). I was then supposed to do 60 min of cardio on my own, and had about a half hour of free time and promptly fell asleep for 90 minutes. Missed the cardio, but no worries. Spent 1.5 hours at a boot camp in the sand running suicides. Massage was part of the day, but, unfortunately, in the middle so I could not totally relax. Holding up alright, although calves are a bit tight, but not cramping. The pictures include a small view of the houses overlooking Manhattan beach, and their cost is probably in the 10 M range. The next is the pier i biked to and the ranger station, the water was dotted with dozens of surfers.

More sites

2008-03-05T06:19:00.000-06:00

Here we have the little office/break room where we hang out between sessions(and a view from the outside) and gobble a meal or a shake. The second picture is Admirality Park, right behind our apartment where some of the boot camp takes places. It is constantly filled with bikers, joggers and dozens of dogs.

The Venues Part 1

2008-03-05T06:08:00.000-06:00

Here you can see the grimy little office at 2905 Washington Street in Marine Del Rey. There is no elegance to this place at all, just pain and starvation. Also, there is the van that drags us to different venues like the Santa Monica Community College Aquatic Center which has the beautiful long course pool. This was probably the most relaxing thing of the day. You can also see a few people relaxing before the swim. Some more fit then others, usually corresponding to the time they have been at camp. Most people stay for 4 weeks, but there is an extreme weight loss group that is often here 3 - 4 months or more. One guy I met yesterday has lost 112 lbs in 16 weeks. This is certainly an interesting experience. There are some really beautiful beach and mountain locations that I will photograph over the next couple of weeks. Day 2 will be beginning soon.

Day 2

2008-03-04T21:13:00.000-06:00

There is little to say about this day other then how will I manage 26 more. This was essentially 10 hours of hard training. The morning started out with a group run, 2 miles in the sand and then 2 miles back on pavement. The Second half of the run I was with someone in a bit better shape (see picture of Fern, a much more accomplished triathlete) and was notching a HR of 165-170 for 20 minutes. I guess my AT on the run is a little higher then I thought. Then came a 30 min abd workout and was challenging, followed immediately by a one hour steady swim. That was the morning. The afternoon started with a bike-hike-bike which sounds pleasant enough. The first bike part was indeed pleasant. Along Venice beach and Santa Monica ending in a 1.5 mile 10% grade hill to the parking lot of the steepest hike I ever did. 1.75 miles up, and it was an intense grade and the jog down, get back on the bike and head back to the camp. Snarf a meal and go to boot camp until 700 PM. I was done before boot camp started, but it was a merciless 60 min of jogging and SCW and I was ready to quit. Tomorrow is a little easier, but today just about got me on a plane home.

Day 1

2008-03-03T22:08:00.000-06:00

Well after getting here and relaxing (this is the pool outside my apartment in the courtyard of the complex that I will never use) I was picked up by Nicola at 300 PM and we did my fat boy assessment. Weight was 228 (mid-afternoon after lunch), and she took all measurements. chest = 48, waist = 42, Hips = 43, thighs = 24, biceps = 16 and calf's= 16. Big time fat boy. Then was the fitness assessment where you run a mile (I did this in 10 min), then 20 push-ups, 100 crunches and pull ups assisted, all of which were pretty easy for me from the gym work I have been doing. Then a few minutes break, and then 2 hours on the beach doing sprints and other forms of torture. Heart rate was consistent 140 - 160 for the two hours. Definitely hard work, and Day 2 is a steady eight hours of work. The food is good, but very little. 4 small meals and 2 protein shakes. People are losing about 4 - 5 pounds per week so I am hoping to come back well below 210 and then take it from there. Hello to E-butt and L-Butt. Congrats on the black stripes. By the way, they took all my pictures as well so we can see the progression. Good night

Whew-hew

2008-03-03T20:50:00.001-06:00

I got my third black stripe this evening so E and I will both be graduating on Friday! We are now off to bed. I hope you survived the first day!

E--elizabeth. i love you

Goodnight!

2008-03-03T14:48:00.000-06:00

And here is the sleepy room, Elizabeth will not be able to torture me here!

2008-03-03T14:44:00.000-06:00

This is the view outside my apartment. The ocean is just past the buildings. The front is much prettier then the back!

I have arrived

2008-03-03T14:40:00.000-06:00

This is the living room of my apartment. The flight was amazingly early, and I got here with no problem. They served a tiny lunch of Thai salad that was about enough to fill my big toe. Got workouts all evening starting at 300 PM PT.

Gone

2008-03-03T10:43:00.001-06:00

Well, I already screwed up. I forgot to give Elizabeth the popsicles she was supposed to take to school today. Fortunately, I figured this out on my way to work, and stopped and picked up more to take over lunch. No other disasters so far...\

2008-02-25T09:51:00.000-06:00

Blocking a sweater never fails to amaze me. You can take something that looks like this:

And turn it into something that looks like this:

I have grafted together the shoulders and have only to finish up the seaming and then do the neck band. It should be off of the WIP list very soon!

I have had to leave off the small gauge knitting for a while because that really strains my elbow. I don't think my socks will be finished by the end of this month. I have been working on this instead:

My version of the modern log cabin from Mason-Dixon Knitting, knit in Noro Silk Garden. Easy garter stitch! Both of these projects are getting a little too big to carry around so I may need to drag something else out of the WIP pile to work on.

Mike leaves for his month-long trip next week. We will use this blog to communicate via pics. It will be a challenge to see how us girls survive without him around!

Ambitions

2008-02-08T06:10:00.000-06:00

I guess I have to come to grips with the fact that I will never be a daily, or even weekly blogger. I still am enough of a techno-dork that I am intimidated by the technology and have not gotten very far in understanding all that this medium is capable of.
I have been a little limited by what I can knit as I am trying to let my elbow heal from a bad case of tennis elbow. I think it started in December when I spent two days winding warps for towels. I also started karate in December and that didn't help. Add in feverish knitting to try and keep up with the Spring Shawl Surprise, and I was doomed. So, for the last three days, I have knit almost nothing. This has given me some time to get going on weaving those towels, and I have been able to do some spinning.
This is what I got for my 43rd birthday! My first real belt in karate. I am inordinately gleeful about this. Not only are the classes fun, they are a good workout. Since you are always striving to perfect new techniques, it doesn't get dull. And it is satisfying to know that I am learning skills that may be useful at some point in my life. I hope to acheive green belt status by the first of April.

Elizabeth has transitioned to the juniors Karate program and is really enjoying it as well. She was a little bored with the Preschool class.
I am well into the first of the STR Sock-of-the-month. The yarn is not a colorway that I would ordinarily pick, but I am actually enjoying knitting with it. This is the project that I have been carrying around with me, knitting a few rows per day so that I don't work my elbow too much.
The colors look a little dark here but you can get a sense of the amazing dye job that resulted in the stripe pattern where the light pink is framed by the darker orange-red. This sock is finished and I am working on the ribbing of the second sock.
I finished the little hat below as a baby gift for a friend, and am using the rest of the skein of Peace Fleece sock yarn for a pair of socks for Elizabeth, one down, one to go.

These mitts were a quick knit out of Mountain Colors Mountain Goat. I have been unable to get a good picture but there is a central cable up the back of the hand. I have worn this a ton already, although with temps in the (-) range lately, it is too cold to wear them. This pattern was modified from a pattern in one of the One Skein Wonders books--a mitten pattern that I turned into mitts. Despite both mitts having the same measurements, the end of the mitt falls at a different place on each hand and this bugs me tremendously. The next time I make mitts for myself, I will take this into account.

This is the beginning of my SSS, abandoned for now because of my tendonitis. I am actually much farther into it, working on clue 3 (or 4, I cant recall). I am downloading the clues as they become available and will probably slowly finish this over the next six months.

So: My To-Do List for Feb/March is the following (allowing for minimal knitting per day)

1. Finish STR January socks
2. Finish handspun sweater (front and back done, 1/2 way through the sleeves) including blocking and assembly.
3. Finish the six towels currently in progress on my Mightly Wolf.
4. Finish the Grant Ave vest
5. Finish the socks for Elizabeth from the Peace Fleece.
6. Work on my current spinning project--Merino/Tencel
7. Work on my 3-ply alpaca yarn, using up the Alpaca I used for my LX

Could be a might bite ambitious, aye!

Two in one week!

2008-01-16T11:57:00.000-06:00

Two posts in one week!

Im just home from my D&C, and floating on vicodin and fentanyl--such a lovely feeling!

One of my GOALS OF THE MONTH is completed--last night I got my third stripe in Karate and am ready to test for my gold belt at the next graduation the beginning of February. The karate has been great for me. I am making amazingly rapid progress in getting back in shape and increasing my cardiovascular fitness. And it is so much fun, I hardly realize how hard I am working!

I have been trying to limit my knitting a little to try and get rid of my tennis elbow, but it is hard to stop doing something you love so much! Still working on clue #2 of the SSS. And my jitterbug sock for those moments when I need mindless knitting. I am anxiously awaiting my first delivery from one of my SOTM clubs--can't wait to see what the first month will be like.

No new pics for now.

2008-01-14T09:39:00.000-06:00

I've been meaning to post for so long! I have been thinking about my New Year's resolutions since the middle of December but still haven't gotten around to committing them to paper (or type as the case may be). So here they are

1. To knit/weave/spin from my stash and NOT BUY ANY NEW YARN, realizing it may take me two years to make any substantial dent in my stash. BTW, this includes weaving yarns as well. The only exceptions to this are the following:

Two sock-of-the-month clubs that I absolutely couldn't resist (I know, I already feel guilty).

The purchase of raw fleece with the intention of spinning for my COE in spinning.

That should significantly curtail my purchases for the year.

2. To work through my WIP (AKA UFO) pile and make substantial progress on determining a fate for each one (either knit or frog).

3. Study Chinese. I still haven't worked out a schedule that is feasible, primarily because I am still trying to figure out how to juggle everything given...

4. Study Karate. This is a project I started in December and am loving! I will probably test for my yellow belt the first week in February.

5. Do the Iron Girl Duathlon in Bloomington in September. I realize that it is unlikely that I will get back in the pool--it is inconvenient and difficult, and I hate it. So instead, I will focus on the bike/run, and sell my wet suit on Ebay! I submitted my registration today, after running a 5k yesterday it seems a do-able goal.

I like NY resolutions, as I am very goal-oriented, and I seem to be more productive if I have a list to work from. So my to-to list for this week is

1. Attend SPCO concert Friday Am

2. Clue #2, and 1/2 of Clue #3 on my surprise shawl

3. Finish jitterbug sock

4. Karate Mon/Tues/Thurs this week.

5. Other workouts Fri/Sat/Sun

6. Chinese--Lesson 2 pimsler. Newbie #2 (3?) Chinese pod. Vocabulary and characters for each.

A couple of pics of WIPs:

This is a sweater I am making from my handspun Romney-corriedale cross fleece I purchased and Maryland Sheep and Wool in 2004. It needs some stiff washing as there is still some grease in some of the skeins of yarn. The front and back are finished. Two sleeves to do next. Making up the pattern as I go, using EZs percentage system for stitch counts, although this is not knit in the round.

This is a baby hat for Mr. Pruden's baby-to-be. They have been so nice (I know it is their business, but 'nice' is rare these days) that I couldn't resist whipping up a little hat. The hat is actually finished, just have to weave in the ends. The remainder of the yarn is becoming socks for Elizabeth.

Finishings

2007-12-02T10:22:00.000-06:00

At the beginning of November, I decided that November would be the month of finishing things, that I would start no new projects for a whole month, but just finish so many of those projects that only needed a little more knitting, or just another sock etc. So by the end of the month, here is what I had finished:

These are Elizabeth's Christmas socks. I had to reknit the first one after E couldn't get it on her foot (OOPs, 4-year-olds have rapidly changing feet). Consequently, since she had to try them on to see if they did fit, she has already worn them even though I tried to tell her they were intended to go in her Christmas stocking. She generously told me that I could still put them in her stocking and she would wear them again on Christmas day.

The next picture is Elizabeth wearing her China Flower sweater. I finished the last sleeve and the button band. In the picture she is wearing it without buttons, but I have since put them on. It looks great on her, and just in time because this will be the only winter she can wear it!.

This is the stole-that became a table runner. This is my project for the spinning exchange. I originally thought it would be a great stole, but when I wove the border parts, it was clear that it would not have enough drape to be appealing. Although, once I had it off the loom, I realized it might have worked fine as a thin scarf. The warp is navy shetland, with two bands of white shetland/pale green handspun in a "random" arrangement. I did not like the effect here, as they were not as random as I wanted, and just look like threading errors. I ran out of the navy shetland right at the end of the warp and had a knot in the last warp end that I naively thought I could coax through the heddles, and indeed I did. The reed was the end of it though, and I ended up with a broken warp, and nothing left to fix it. So my selvedge is pretty uneven. UGH!
The main weft is Jagger-spun Zephyr wool and silk, used double. I love this but even with some wet finishing, it did not really lock in place and there was some shifting of the pattern (by the way, a twill). I have a couple of threads to weave in today and this will be done!. The deadline for this project was two days ago but fortunately, the meeting was canceled due to bad weather.

I finished several other things that I will post later. I also frogged and reclaimed the yarn on several projects, and decided that several more will never get done (I don't like them anymore). The sum of all of this activity is that I am down to 13 knitting WIP, four weaving WIP and two spinning WIP. Very successful. So successful, in fact, that I am going to limit my 'new starts' this month to small, one-skein projects, and try to tick off a couple more items.

Other "finishings" occurred in November, namely Charlie died. It happened quite suddenly. He bled a lot from his bladder, and this may have precipitated a cardiac, or neurologic injury, but within one week he died. We were able to keep him at home, with the aid of Hospice during the last few days. The aftermath has been surprisingly calm, with everyone doing remarkably well. We have been bringing Wendy with us on many of our excursions and she is enjoying this. She is really too demented to leave alone, except for short periods of time. This morning, Mike reported she really didn't understand how to use silverware to eat breakfast, so she may be rapidly deteriorating as well. I am taking her in to see her doctor tomorrow.

I spent the last two days attending my first weaving class, towels with Louise French. I missed the first day due to chaos at home (jewelry and identity theft perpetrated by one of the cleaning ladies from Molly Maid). All I really accomplished was making two warps, on 6 yards, and one 2.5 yards. I decided not to warp a loom at the guild because things have gotten so crazy, I am not sure I could get the weaving done by the January 7 deadline. I managed to beam the 6 yard warp on my mightly wolf last night. I may be able to find a block of time tomorrow to thread the heddles and, who knows, I may be weaving by next week.

Catching up part 2

2007-11-07T04:27:00.001-06:00

100_0957, originally uploaded by drlafall.

I HAVE been busy, just not with posts. The yarns above are part of my current learning exchange (HGA), Alpaca. The yarn on the right is a three-ply, woolen spun. When I was spinning the singles, I thought it was going to be too fuzzy, but the final yarn is quite soft and the fuzz is not overwhelming. The yarn on the left is a four-strand cabled yarn, worsted spun. It has a harsher feel to it but I want to knit up samples to see what they feel like in an actual swatch.

This is the up-close pic of the two different yarns, but I had a hard time with the focus. I wanted to show the difference between the cabled yarn and the 3-ply. I bought the alpaca as a box of sample blends, back in 2001 when I first started spinning, from http://www.angelfire.com/va2/fibers/us.html, Stony Mountain Fibers in Virginia. (As you see, I continue to be technically challenged!) I still have the rust top to use for the actual samples for the exchange.

The China Flower sweater is done! with the exception of buttons and blocking. In this pic I have yet to sew the hems etc but I completed all of that work yesterday. Yippee! And just in time, as Elizabeth is just the right size for it. I started this two years ago, and am now on a fairisle jag, so I might be able to make substantial progress on the Grant Ave vest before I get the urge to pick up big needles.

All this leads up to the idea that November is going to be a month of finishing things. There has been so much talk on Knitting Daily about unfinished projects that I actually have the urge to pull a few of them out. Next up will be the Grant Avenue vest!

This is Belle's fleece, along with some mohair top, ready to be carded. The spools are the spun singles. I am spinning this with a worsted draw, planning a three ply yarn for mittens. With the addition of the mohair, I should have about 8 oz of yarn, plenty for mittens. I am concerned the yarn will dirty fairly quickly and become a dismal white with use, but I am also considering dying small samples and doing a fairisle design. I plan to finish the carding on Friday, as I have to go to the Textile Center to use the carder.

These last two pictures are what I plan to use for a wrap/scarf as my spinning group's exchange project. The top pics are the weft yarns, the balls are the yarns I drew in the exchange. The green is a mohair/merino/silk roving I bought from Huacaya Moon in 2006, at Shepherd's Harvest. I spun some light sport weight, 2-ply. The white is shetland, again a 2-ply light sport weight yarn. This is part of the original shetland I bought, planning to do a shetland sweater in natural colors. The yarn is not my best spinning, it is under-plied and not very consistent, but it should be fine for weft.

The second pic is the warp yarns. Two mill-spun shetlands and some of the Huacaya Moon roving spun as a two-ply fingering weight yarn. The pattern will be based on Sharon Alderman's Grand Canyon Throw that was in a recent issue of Handwoven. She used a simple twill weave. I am determined not to overthink this, and just let it happen. Otherwise, I will never finish it. It must be completed by our December meeting!

But, before I can put the shawl on the loom, I have to finish this:

It is the second of three towels from my waffle weave towel kit from Halcyon Yarns. This was purchased quite some time ago. The weaving goes quite quickly so I should be able to finish the weaving this weekend (GULP!). If only I wasn't on call on Saturday! I may take my warping board to work with me so I can make the warp for the shawl. There is usually some down-time on Saturdays. EEK, that would be a first, making a warp while on call.

Catching up

2007-11-06T17:57:00.001-06:00

Emailing: Max Pumpkins (1).jpg, originally uploaded by drlafall.

My beautiful nephew Max!

SOARing

2007-10-08T17:07:00.000-05:00

The first day of the workshop is coming to a close. I am taking a class with Judith MacKenzie-McCuin called Primative Breeds. It is similar to the Retreat Class I took last year in that it is all about sampling various fibers. The real meat of this workshop is gleaning all of the spinning and fiber tips from Judith. She has a wealth of knowledge as she has spent her life with her hands in fiber. The history of sheep breeds is very interesting though, but I doubt I will seek out fleeces from these primative breeds.
I am now relaxing in my room with a glass of wine. I will head to dinner and the after-dinner talk in the next few minutes. I am still frustrated by my inability to post pictures while I am here!

2007-10-07T16:06:00.000-05:00

Yesterday--Driving home from Breezy Point, the light is golden and the trees are amazing. Tomorrow I leave for Michigan, for SOAR. In the meantime, I have been trying to finish up a few projects, in part to free up some bobbins to take to SOAR with my spinning wheel! I just finished spinning some roving I bought at Shepherd's Harvest in 2006. It is navajo plied and I am very happy with the resulting yarn. It is a 50/50 Merino/Tencel blend, and it feels very much like silk. I may take some with me to swatch on the plane, if it dries in time! I am curious to see what kind of drape the fabric will have. I just bought a pattern for a sleeveless sweater in silk, and this may work for that pattern.
I have finished all of the pieces of the Central Park hoodie and have only the button bands to do. I can't decide whether I want to do buttons, or want to stick with my original plan to put in a zipper. I may need to completely assemble the sweater to decide. That will have to wait until after SOAR, it is too bulky to take with me. I am half way through a pair of socks for Wendy for Christmas. I unfortunately misplaced the first sock and cannot proceed with the second until I find it. I just rearranged my yarn room and it's in there somewhere! So much for getting organized!
I am still ploughing through the variegated Merino and I love the resulting three-ply, sock-weight yarn. I dont know how the stripes will look though because the length of each color block varies quite a bit. I dont know if I want to use this yarn knitting socks, it seems too fragile. Perhaps a triangular shawl.
Finally, I am working on the second sleeve of Elizabeth's Starmore cardigan. Yippee! The sleeves are torture because the transition point between yarns has no steek, any uneveness in the stitches surrounding the transition shows up quite well. I am knitting on two circular needles so that I have fewer transitions. We'll see. I am going to have to do a lot of adjusting of stitches during the finishing and weaving in of the ends. I'm just glad to be close to completing the sweater. I have been thinking about what I want to do with the Autumn Rose Cardigan. I think I will stick with the idea of a turned hem instead of ribbing, but I still can't decide whether I should change the shape and make a cardigan instead.

Today--A day of travel to get to Shanty Creek Resort for SOAR. I am tired and cranky. I cannot locate a picture card port on this @@!! computer. Nor can I get my Sprint broadband to work. Fortunately, there is a LAN here. But no pictures to go with the post. I am looking forward to the workshop tomorrow, but I think I will skip the dinner tonight and just go to the opening presentation this evening.

2007-09-13T17:14:00.000-05:00

Every fall, as the weather gets cool at night, I am overcome by the desire to knit the perfect, knock-around cardi. The cardi that can be worn everywhere, and sturdy enough to throw in a corner of the car if it gets too hot. I envision something with cables, maybe something with a hood. I see tweedy yarn, a classic fabric with a more modern fit. Last year, I just couldn't find the right pattern. I did find a yarn that I fell in love with, well I fell in love with the color. The yarn is really a marine blue with flecks of green and purple with the overall effect being a bluish-teal. I snapped up eight skeins, hoping it would be enough to make a cardigan, and stowed it in a stash box.

So this fall, when the desire to knit that great cardi came again, I pulled out the yarn and got on http://www.ravelry.com/ and searched the data base looking at what other people were making with this yarn. I kept seeing CPH, central park hoodie. Upon more investigation, I realized the pattern was in a back issue of Knitscene, conveniently filed with my other back issues of knitting mags. Amazing--pulling a new project, yarn AND pattern, from stash, no $$$ spent.

I started a front last night and it is such a quick knit that the one side is now done, and I would have started the back except I was stuck at work and didn't bring the smaller needles to do the ribbing. So on Friday, while waiting to have my LASIK surgery, I was able to start the back, and by the next morning, had this much done: Clearly, the LASIK didn't help me pay more attention to my knitting, as I screwed up two of the cables. I am almost up to the armhole shaping today. I also finished the second Papa sock, except for grafting the toe, that should go quickly. Here is the intended recipient

He doesn't usually look this stern, and I swear my house is not crooked, but I was in a hurry to snap the picture.

Elizabeth has abandoned her idea of being Darth Vader for Halloween. She saw a witch costume at Gymboree and had to model it for us when we got home.

Lastly, I started the Nanny socks for Christmas. I was going to make a pattern from Knitty, but forgot to take the pattern home with me after I printed it at work, so I am making it up as I go. The eyelet pattern is a little tedious to knit and I may not keep it up for the foot of the sock, we'll see. The yarn is Cherry Tree Hill Sockittome. I've never used this yarn before and I used my typical needles, 2.00mm. It is a bouncy yarn that is slightly thicker than the usual sock yarn. So far I am enjoying these. As you can see, I have had a flurry of starteritis, and keep burying the UFOs under the new projects. I am starting to feel as though I need to come up with a schedule to finish the UFOs!

Smooth sailing

2007-09-07T10:08:00.001-05:00

This will be my third attempt at completing this posting. The program crashes every time I try to add a pic. Of course, this is usually after a bit of typing, so I lose the typing every time. I am therefore going to add the pic first:

This is the yarn I drew at the last Whorling Spinster's meeting on Tues night. I am to make something from it, to be exchanged at the December meeting. The cream yarn underneath is from my stash. I have been poring through books this am looking for ideas. The yarn is a springy, 2-ply yarn, about 8-9 WPI. I will likely make a hat or mittens out of it--WARM for the Minnesota winter.

Another interesting thing that came out of the meeting is that I met a woman who was looking for a triangle loom. After emailing pics of my loom to her, she and her partner picked it up today, leaving me with a check and a smug feeling. I no longer feel guilty every time I go to my yarn closet as the unused loom is GONE!

I also posted some of my stash yarn 0n E-bay and within 24 hours made my first sale! A box of Noro Cash Iroha in a disgusting grey was mailed out this am! Hurray! I bought this yarn years ago on sale and was disappointed when the box arrived. I thought of overdying the yarn, but I have had this thought for over a year now and was still sitting there in all of its disgusting greyness. Two other items on E-bay haven't seen much action.

I have been knitting along on the baby sweater and have finally gotten back to the part where I discovered my original mistake and had to rip back. Here is the progress:

I still have my doubts about this sweater, and am putting all of my faith into the blocking. We shall see.

Now that the nights are getting cooler, I am getting excited about large wooly items that will provide lots of warmth and comfort this winter. I have pulled out another WIP, my Noro version of the Mason-Dixon Moderne Log Cabin Blanket. This is a project that is hard to love up close but I fell in love with it after taking the picture and getting a distance view. Here it is draped over the couch in my bedroom:

I am working on panel 7 (ten panels in all) and figure I am maybe 1/2 way through. It should keep me busy through much of the winter.

I also decided that it was time for me to establish a schedule and work through the samples for the Master Knitting Program through The Knitters Guild of America. I started, and then abandoned, this program years ago because it was tedious to knit the samples. I have since realized that it is the idea of being a 'master knitter' that I like and if I work through this in a scheduled fashion, perhaps it won't seem too tedious. Here is my first sample, my assignment for this week. The second sample is started, but I intend to do the paperwork stuff as I go along, not leaving it all for the end. My "Papa" socks are rolling right along, as is Papa. I have turned the second heel and working down the length of the foot. Unfortunately, when I started the heel flap, I used the stitches originally designated for the instep, so the rib pattern over the instep of the foot doesn't quite match the other sock, but I don't think it will be very noticable. I happen to be a knitter who thinks that mistakes are a part of the charm of a handknit item (this may just be because I am LAZY!). The second sock looks like this:

Lastly, I finished blocking the Tomato sweater. Here it is draped over the now-sold triangle loom. Not bad eh...?

We are off to the lake this evening. The weather is cool and pleasant. Hopefully this will continue. Have a great weekend!

knitting as fast as I can

2007-08-28T14:40:00.001-05:00

Every so often, I start feeling as though I am somehow falling behind. All of my current projects start crying out to be finished, and a dozen ideas for new projects are clammoring to be cast on, written down or researched. That is the way I have been feeling for the last few days. My knitting bag/work bag/purse is crammed with at least five projects all in various stages of completion. Today I thought that finishing a few things would somehow make me feel better. Accordingly, this is what I have done today:
I have finished one wide-whale sock (my own pattern). Trekking XXL, for my father-in-law for Christmas, should he live that long. ( I have a backup recipient if he does not. Afterall, he is 92 years old...then again, he may be too crusty to ever die.)

This is the Scotch Thistle Lace Stole I started in May. (Pattern is by Jackie Erickson-Schweitzer.) All I had left to do is the pull-over bind off. It is supposed to be invisible. Hum...maybe it will be once it is blocked. The stole now joins the pile of things to be washed and blocked (along with my tomato sweater, the baby bolero and so on...).

Here is my layette sweater, ironically from Knit Simple. As you can see by the balls of wrinkled yarn, I had to frog back quit a lot when I realized that I had incorrectly cast off the stitches for the neck. Unfortunately, I was 2/3 of the way through the sweater when I figured this out.

Lastly--here is the Autumn Rose Sweater (Eunny Jang, from the new Simply Shetland book). As you can see, it looks nothing like the pictures in the book. That is because, after finishing the ribbing (torture ribbing in two colors) and completing 1/3 of the first pattern repeat, I realized that 1) I was making the wrong size (a VERY fitted sweater) and 2) who wanted to wear a fitted shetland sweater anyway. I decided to use the yarn and a modification of the fairisle pattern to make the sweater I have been imagining for several years. The sweater will be based on my favorite cropped, fitted sweatshirt measurements, with a wide fairisle border and a textured, solid color body. As you can see, I am working on the stocking stitch hem right now. I have some swatching to do to see if I want to combine dk weight shetland (for the main body) and the spindrift (fairisle part)