All you wanted to know about yarn...

might be found in this book:


The Knitter's Book of Yarn: The Ultimate Guide to Choosing, Using, and Enjoying Yarn I'm lucky enough to have received a review copy of the book, and it's proven to be wonderful reading - and fantastic for reference as well :) The book is broken into four sections - Fiber Foundations, Making Yarn, Ply me a River and Putting it all Together.

The first section provides information about protein fibers, cellulose fibers, cellulosic fibers and synthetic fibers - it talks about the origins of these different fiber types, some of their characteristics, lovely drawings (where appropriate) of the originating animal or plant and plenty of photos.

The second section explains the process that goes into making yarns with brief information on fiber prep and different dye methods.

The third section is where the fun begins :) it talks briefly about singles to 4-ply yarns - and after the intro to that particular ply-type, are some lovely patterns with nice engaging photos. Also included in this section are info and patterns for cabled yarns, textured yarns, boucle yarns, brushed yarns (kidsilk haze, anyone?), and chenille. At the very end, there is some talk about felting along with a pair of projects to send you on your way.

The very last section is a nice summary and reference section complete with tips on how to remove odors from your yarn - because if you're like me, you don't like it when your wool doesn't smell wooly ;)

Slow and Steady wins the race...

Well, okay - maybe it doesn't win the *race* but it still allows for a respectable finish, right? :)

Toppled off track by tendinitis (it's better thanks, and now my office looks wierd as the desk height has been changed and I keep a small herd of mice to allow for left and right hand mousing along with my already owned strange looking "ergo friendly" mice)... I have fallen behind on the Secret of the Stole. Some nice relaxing time was spent "catching up" over thanksgiving...though I went and ran out of yarn - I've added another ball on, alternating with what I had remaining of the original ball to try to blend the join more.

As for guessing the name of the stole, I'm definitely clueless - I had several guesses for each of the hints, and I'm still trying to make sense of it! Ah well, I'm enjoying seeing the other finished stoles though :)

Sadly, I've made next to no progress on the other projects on the needles - though once this one is finished and blocking, I'll probably dive back into the Secret of Chrysopolis and Frolic - or even the Mitered Squares...though the miters may have to wait until after I untangle the yarn - one of the cats who never before has shown interest in my knitting bags, upset the one with the miter yarn in it and proceeded to have himself a grand wrestling session. Apparently he's gotten it all out of his system now because he hasn't made eyes at any of my knitting since!

Dayflowers and Leaves - now available!

Closeup of Dayflowers and Leaves
Originally uploaded by WoodlandSprite

Happy Thanksgiving!
My thanks to those who encouraged me to try to actually try my hand at design and typing up this pattern.

I'm happy to report that after a fair bit of work, I think I have it all down nicely and properly and I the pattern is Now available at Spritely Goods

Other than Amigugumi, this is my first official Original Pattern :) and I hope people who decide to knit it enjoy it as much as I did.

Thanksgiving weekend went by with such a blur, though it was a welcome break for me, allowing me to knit happily on my Secret of the Stole (I'm running out of yarn and hope the next skein of CoffeePot Rock matches), nap with the cats, eat plenty (lots of leftovers still in the fridge - btw, green bean casserole, made from scratch with fresh beans and a bechamel sauce is much tastier than any combination canned concoction....), and read. Stay tuned - I have book reviews coming soon :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

To speed you on your way to holiday shopping, the Shop has been updated :) better yet, through the end of this month, you can get 10% off by using the coupon code GobbleGobble07 at checkout :) Happy holidays! Hope you eat well, drink well, nap well and are merry :D

I'm back!

I'm back from a much needed escape to the outdoors :) Almost December, and where I live, it still feels like late summer - with temps still in the mid 80's! My favorite season has always been the fall and it seems I'm destined to miss it as the weather appears determined to stay stuck in eternal summer. Luckily for me, the hiking trip was not only a much welcome break from work, but we managed to get plenty of crisp cool air and the smell of fallen leaves was everywhere :)

Photos have been pulled off the camera, but I haven't had a minute to really sort through them - I'm currently in mad preparation mode for trying to get an update done before Thanksgiving...there's a bunch of yarn still waiting to be skeined and photographed...stay tuned :)

OPK: A lace interlude

Cocoon Lace Close Up
Originally uploaded by WoodlandSprite

Sorry folks, work continues to be crazy, so I continue to raid the gallery for knitting content. There hasn't been much personal knitting going on here, partially due to the crazy schedule and partially due to the mild tendinitis. Fear not, I hope to get a fair bit of knitting done on the Secret of the Stole as well as some of the mitered squares soon....The socks, though with all their twisty stitches are going to have to hold while I see if my hands will put up with less stressful knitting.

As for this lovely lace interlude, it's a Coccon Lace Wrap knit by Blogless Olivia - Olivia is on Ravelry though - so if you're a Raveler, you can go check out her other projects :) Yarn used is limited edition Lothlorien on Fey from Spritely Goods, of course :D

OPK: Peppercorn Cables

Peppercorn Cables
Originally uploaded by WoodlandSprite

Look! Another sock knit by other people! It's another piece of Monica's work :) I really like how the colors landed on this sock :) This is one of my more popular (and one of my own personal favorite) colorways - Peppercorn Blend.

OPK: Dancing Tulips

dancing tulips
Originally uploaded by WoodlandSprite

And now, (because I am frazzled) I shall distract you with other peoples knitting :) My thanks to Monica at Works For Yarn for submitting this photo to the gallery!

It's Spritely Goods yarn in the Manzanita in Bloom II colorway - in a sock of her own design! She sells patterns at the Loopy Ewe" Check em out :)