Down the Rabbit Hole

Look! Snow, flirting with the desert! Somehow January has nearly passed me by. It feels like I've blinked and ta dah! It's February! How does this happen?! (and no, I haven't been whiling away all my time playing with my iPod ;) ) Stay tuned, I'll share a finished object (sadly not the Squirrel mitts, which have been languishing in one of my numerous knitting bags) and perhaps some lovely fibers from some very talented dyers (no, not me - and not for the shop either....I've been enhancing my personal stash, dreaming perhaps of another handspun sweater).

In the meantime, there have been some updates to the shop - most notably a bunch of new patterns and 5" tips for the interchangeable Hiya-Hiya set. Check out all the new goodies here.

Priorities

Look! My first FO in 2010 - a custom case for my my christmas present. I'm calling it practice for my Squirrel Mitts. Nevermind that I've still got some other knitting that I'm supposed to be working diligently on.

For more photos, pop on over here.

Here's to...

A healthy and prosperous New Year full of good fortune!

I keep this blue fish in my car - fish in my culture are a symbol of abundance and plenty - so perhaps the car isn't best place - but it's kinda one of those "lucky talisman" kinda things...

in the spirit of out with the old and in with the new, we say farewell to my trusty steed. The car I purchased fresh out of college and I have parted ways after 13+ faithful years and over 185k miles. The fish has been moved into a new fishbowl:

one that happens to be matchy matchy :D

Farewell, 2009!

As the year draws to a close, I find myself first wondering where the time has gone so quickly, followed quickly by positive hopes for 2010.

As December winds its way out, I'm enjoying some quiet time spent with my family, away from the craziness that is work and real life all combined. The crazy in the air seems to have (hopefully) worn itself out, and I find myself looking at a lot of things wrapping themselves up nicely.

The last year has been rewarding and challenging in different ways than years past - this year, I focused much more on my engineering career, rather than on dyework. I took on a new role, and it's proven to be challenging and rewarding, though it leaves me with much less energy to do production runs of dyeing.

It appears that while I have been knitting, I was nowhere near as prolific as years past...though I have to say, I think I churned off some pretty good projects, including an array of spectacular socks, a variety of sweaters and cardigans, and some stunning lace, if I do say so myself ;) Not to mention a wee bit of whimsy thrown in at the last minute :)

I attempted the 365 project, but sputtered out somewhere between 100 and 200....I definitely think those that complete the project are fantastically dedicated :) I also tried hooping - and while I've gotten much more proficient at keeping the hoop up, I'm no good at tricks...and I've discovered it takes a surprising amount of space to actually hoop and attempt tricks (I also discovered that my house apparently does not have such a space, and my cats do not enjoy my attempts at learning hoop tricks). Now that I've reached my mid-30s I figure I can throw caution to the wind, chop off my hair, and sample extensions of various hues - I'm ending the year with burgundy highlights :)

I'm looking forward to the "fresh beginning" that is associated with a new year - I hope to get back outdoors, renew my love of dyeing, learn new knitting tricks, and not go too insane with what I see coming down the pipe at work :D

Best wishes to all of you, for a most excellent 2010!

I can't resist...

a wee woodland creature, immortalized on a mitten. I cast on for these shortly before Christmas, managing only a cuff before getting sidetracked. Now that I have some time away, I am endeavouring to knit away and make solid progress before the new year. You know. Because a girl who lives in a low desert valley apparently needs Squirrel Mittens.

A Last Minute Visit

...from the elves.

I think they left their shoes behind.

For those that celebrate, I hope your elves were kind to you this year!

Swift...

...and squooshy! Behold what became of the handspun yarn cakes - details here!

Wishing...

...you a warm and wonderful day with your family. We're celebrating with naps :)

Happy Holidays!

Best wishes to all of you this holiday season. May you all be healthy, well fed, in good spirits and humor. Thank you for visiting my wee space on the internet - I appreciate each and every one of you! Cheers!

Christmas Knitting....

After having spun up those two yarns recently, I had to wind em up into yarncakes...1) so I could see how they looked in cake form and 2) so that I could start knitting with them immediately! Yes, they've been transformed...but I can't say anything more until after the holidays ;)

Play dough!

I've been trying for a very very long time to figure out how to turn out a good loaf with varying results. I think I've finally stumbled upon one that will become my go-to recipe...want to see how things turn out once they are baked? Look over here!

Textured

After I finished up with Audrey, I jumped in with a quick knitting sock project - these fairly flew off the needles - I think they took 2 weeks total, with knitting only on evenings and weekends. Not bad for a pair of socks destined for my husband's feet! More details? Of course! Have a look over here.

It's that time of year again...

When the cats are extra affectionate and enjoy the knitwear as much as I do ;)

Hope you all are staying warm! I'm taking advantage of the cool weather to revel in my handknits! And by revel, I mean piling on the handknit socks, fingerless mitts, sweaters, cardigans and the occasional hat...all while still indoors. (I'm being stubborn and haven't turned on the heat yet).

Periwinkle.

or verbena. or hydrangea....

This is a wheel blended navajo plied yarn - just over 8 ounces :) It's a blend of BFL and superwash merino that I had sitting around in the stash - there was no reasoning for the blending that way other than the colors were similar enough to allow for nice coloring, and something that I could add to the other navjao plied yarn to get enough yardage for a semi-secret project.

This time round, I made a conscious effort to put enough twist into the singles to prevent breaking on plying, and it seems to have gone much better. I'm loving the bounce and squoosh factor of the navajo plied yarn....tho I need to start churning off finer singles if I want the finished yarn to be less chunky!

And once again....

I pushed the yarn usage to its limits :) that would be less than one meter of yarn left over from knitting my latest sweater. She's been done since November 14th, but I've been sorely neglecting my blog...anyone else wondering where all the spare time is going? If you know, please tell me. I need some.

Full details and lots more photos can be found here, on the finished objects blog. The yarn was purchased years ago, well before I was a spinner - at a farmers market in Oregon. I remember asking the sellers with some level of urgency if it was enough for a sweater, and sure enough, it was :) It's been moldering around in my stash waiting for the perfect inspiration to declare what it wanted to be, and took its own sweet time doing so, but I couldn't be happier with the result!

Behind the Wheel again...

After spending a bunch of time knitting, I find myself somewhat between projects - oh, I'm still knitting, but I'm not as obsessive about the projects currently on the needles. Instead, because a good friend has been spinning up a storm of late, I decided I'd haul out the wheel and give things a go...

Behold! My first ever navajo plied yarn! Lots of squoosh - that would be a bulky weight, lofty 3-ply. I suffered a few breaks during the plying due to low twist in my singles - but otherwise, the yarn turned out quite nicely. I can't say I'm smooth at navajo plying - every time I picked up a loop I had to stop the wheel, and there was plenty of cursing when the yarn broke during plying - but I think I'm getting the hang of it. I'm now spinning up another pair of bobbins, and hope to cast on for a lace shawlette when I'm done with the spinning.

Speaking of yarn with lots of squoosh,say hello to Malabrigo Twist - a new 8-ply baby merino yarn that I've got in the shop in six gorgeous semi-solid colors. I have to admit to being awfully tempted to abscond with the whole lot of it and cast on for a slew of sweaters.

Knits for Him

With all the sweaters coming off my needles, I think my dear husband might be wondering if I might turn my attention to knitting another one for him sometime soon.

It was rather fortuitous that I received a copy of Erika Knight's new book: Men's Knits not too long ago. The book features 20 patterns - including 16 sweaters/cardigans/vests, 2 hats, and 2 scarves. As expected, each garment is photographed beautifully - I especially like how the models in the book seem to be span a wide range in age and body shape. The patterns themselves are classic in style, and should appeal to the male who desires simple-looking, non-fussy knitwear. Unlike many womens' styles, the sweaters in this book are designed with plenty of ease to accomodate layering. The xxl size is designed to fit a chest measurement of 44 inches or so, but the actual garment size is usually in the realm of 46-50+ inches for the chest measurement. I'll be handing this book over to my husband so he can pick something out...though for the sake of my sanity (sleeve island on his last sweater lasted forever), I'm hoping he picks something knit out of bulky yarn!

mmm Cake.

After suffering a week long craving for Tres Leches cake and not having any luck finding any single serving pieces anywhere locally (I admit to not calling mexican restaurants and asking after carryout), I finally gave up and just baked one myself.

After referencing various online recipes, I wound up going with the recipe from the Pioneer Woman. The only difference is that I didn't bother to transfer the cake to a platter before dousing it with the milky mixture....and I reserved the excess milky goodness 1) to use in my coffee and 2) to re-moisten the cake if there were any drier bits found during the course of eating.

It was delicious. The only bits to stay focused on are: 1) don't over-whip your egg whites 2) don't overbake your cake and 3) make sure to be liberal with the stabbing of the cake - it helps the sweet milky mix find its way inside :)

A fan on a mission

This past summer, I added Ree Drummond's blog to my google reader list. I think I stumbled into her blog when someone pointed me at a recipe - then I got hooked on her writing - the little glimpses into her life, her photography, and even the peeks into homeschooling. I was pretty darned excited to find out that she's gone and released a cookbook!

The Pioneer Woman Cooks is a lot like Ree's blog - beautiful to look at and a pleasure to read. While it is chock full of recipes (many also on her website), it's also chock full of photographs - of her family, of the ranch and ranch life, and of course, of the food. I'm really enjoying pouring over this book. Of course, when I found out that Ree would be at a local bookstore for a signing, I had to go.

The event itself was a little crazy, and was totally overrun - I went prepared with my knitting (and was caught in the act in one of the captures on PW's blog.) I hear Ree was busy signing into the wee hours - making sure that every copy was signed before she left. It was a pleasure to meet her and personally thank her for such a great read, hopefully she doesn' t think I'm a total nut for having her hold my socks in my photo with her. She was far too gracious to let on if she did think I was crazy. :)

More sweaters...

In most places in the country it's autumn...and has been for a while. In hopes of enticing Autumn back down here properly, I'm casting on for another sweater.

Hello, Audrey, from the fall 2009 Twist Collective. The pattern was recommended by Illanna while I was busy pondering just what to do with some yarn that's been in my stash for ages...it's a handspun yarn from Su-dan farm in Oregon - purchased, if I'm remembering right, on a visit up to the Pacific Northwest for work when I managed to squeeze in a trip to a local farmer's market. This was before I learned how to spin, so it's been sitting in my stash trying to decide what it wants to be for a while.


Pattern in hand, I wound all my skeins into one gigantic cake, and swatched away. The sweater will definitely look more rustic than the one in the pattern photo thanks to the handspun nature of the yarn - but i think it's going to turn out wonderfully :)