An AMAZING four days off...

I took Friday off, it was Ken's birthday and I just needed a day off. I spent the morning spinning and finished this, my favorite handspun that I've made. It's the first handspun that I actually want to knit with.



It started off as plain white merino top roving, which I dyed with food coloring and then spun up into roughly 4 or 5 ounces of sock-weight-ish yarn. I think. I'm not really sure of the "weight." I should figure that out.

Any suggestions on what to knit with it would be greatly appreciated. I am leaning toward socks, however I'm open to anything. It is about as soft as it can be, I may just keep it looped around my neck, to be honest. I'm kind of in love with it. :)

I also went to my second acupuncture appointment. This was with a different acupuncturist than the first appointment. I didn't like him as much, and what he did (staying away from the problem area- my sciatica- and treating me remotely) didn't help me as much as the first one, which is actually REALLY too bad, since that means I'm going to have to go back to being bare-ass-up on that table while the guy who I could have gone to high school with and who knows my boss sticks needles right into my dimple-butt (as it's affectionately known 'round these parts- I embrace my cellulite, people.) I don't know if you've ever seen my ass, but I assure you it's not my greatest feature. Why couldn't the cute acupuncturist decide that my back will get better if he sticks needles into my ample and luscious bosom or much better yet my sparkling sense of humor? Sigh... Must remember to exfoliate...

So Ken came home from work (what? It's okay if I take his birthday off and he doesn't, right?) and we went to Wally World to pick out a patio set



then out to dinner at The Loft in North Andover, which is famous for it's Lobster Mac and Cheese. Rightly so. Excellent corn bread, too (enter: dimple-butt). Then we went to go see Indiana Jones, which was certainly entertaining. For the first 10 minutes I was aware of how old Harrison Ford is, but after that I kind of let that go and bought it. I definitely recommend it, it's a fun two hours in the theater.

Saturday I went with my knittas to WEBS and then to the Mass Sheep and Wool Festival, and despite a VERY annoyed back I had a ridiculously awesome time. I bought entirely too much loot and couldn't be happier about it. My newly acquired fiber and I had a little photo shoot the next morning on the cedar swing in my back yard, which is my new favorite place.



Two hanks of roving and my gorgeous new Kundert spindle


Let's see that spindle again


8oz of astonishingly beautifully dyed merino which spins up in a way that kind of makes me weak in the knees


Merino/Tencel roving. You can practically feel it from this picture. I bought it because I want to be like Lucy


I was drooling over this skein of naturally dyed sock yarn when the woman who dyed it told me it was half price AND pointed Ariel and I to the woman who makes the dyes. I bought the yarn, then Ariel and I bought the dye kit.




Two ounces each of blonde and brunette Alpaca/Tussah silk roving...


...which will be spun and plied on my new gorgeous cedar Kundert spindle!


Yeah, I really love the spindle. Though, I will say that the hook is a bit fragile. I've dropped the thing a few times (why do you think it's called a "drop spindle," heh) because the single slipped off the hook and then the hook got a little bent. I'm not loving that. Everything else, though, I'm loving. It spins beautifully, and I am so in love with the wood he used. It changes and even glows in the light.

After leaving the sheep and wool festival, we continued with our now-tradition of stopping at this ice cream place/nursery on the way back home. I got a delicious (and HUGE) malt sundae, plus two little 6-packs of Alyssum and a small pot of Rosemary.

Sunday we had Ken's family and my mom over to celebrate his birthday. The new patio set held up beautifully and the steaks were delicious. Then Monday Ken and I celebrated our anniversary (which is technically today) by spending the morning drinking coffee on our swing and coming up with baby names for his brother's unborn son and doping out our plan of defense in case of Zombie or Velociraptor attack. Our plan is very good, but must remain top secret, since there is the remote chance it could be considered offensive by pretty much anyone. But hey, you know, when it comes to life and death situations one can't be too careful and must be willing to go the extra mile, no matter how distasteful that may be. I will say, however, that we both decided that we would be able to shoot each other in the face if the other turned into a Zombie. I feel good knowing that Ken will be able to put his feelings for me aside should I ever decide to try to eat his brains.

For the afternoon we decided to take a drive up to Gloucester to see what we could see, and ended up checking out the ocean for a while, then taking a lovely drive around Rt 127 before stopping for dinner at Tom Shea's in Essex. We ate on their back patio which docks out to the channel so that people can drive their boats to the restaurant. I didn't have my camera with me then, which is too bad because it was beautiful. Their Lobster Pie was really, really amazing, as was their Blue Moon.

Here are some shots of Ken and I in Gloucester, sitting by the sea

Smiling for the camera


Smiling big for the camera


Smiling fake for the camera


It was a lovely day



Plus, when we got back home, Ken gave me a present, a Lazy Kate for my wheel with three new bobbins! Now I can make 3 ply yarns. Muahahahaa.....


As dusk fell we decided to make a fire and end the day back out on the swing. Really, really wonderful day.

...distracted...

The Central Park Hoodie has been placed officially On Hold for the following reasons: Noro Socks and Portable Spinning. For these are my two most recent obsessions.

First off, I could not be more psyched about how the Noro sock yarn is knitting up, with one exception. I should have either knit them up on US1s (I'm on 0s) OR, added just a few stitches. They are just a TAD bit snug around that undefined part of the foot that no one thinks about but sock knitters. You know, that point of widest circumference from the bend of your ankle around your heel and back. However, I am willing to make the sacrifice and just pray that it stretches out a bit.

I took the ball of Noro, skeined it, then wound it into a center pull ball, and now I am knitting in 5 row stripes from either end of the skein.






Regarding the portable spinning, I got an interesting comment yesterday from the Stalked-by-Comcast Spinnifer. "Pretty funny you being so excited about 'portable spinning'. Centuries worth of peasants would laugh."

True, true, spinning was a chore for those folks. I mean, Columbus's sails were woven from thread spun on a drop spindle, however that is precisely the reason I love it so much. It's something my ancestors did. Well, my ancestors weren't Spanish and surely didn't help with Columbus's sails, but my ancestors surely did this.

Wait, I just found out that Columbus was Italian, and, as easily as I burn in the sun I do have Italian blood, so that right there is irrefutable PROOF that my ancestors helped with the sails.

So, while my ancestors were spinning Columbus's sails and doing all the very hard work that people in that era did simply to survive from day to day, they were NOT working in an overly air conditioned office spending 40+ hours a week creating mock ups in Excel, trying to avoid soda, remember fish oil and increase their intake of dark green leafies, and having argumentative debates about the perfect web based software applications to support the future of the mystery shopping industry. Good for them, really, because while the certainty of food on my table every day, warmth in my house every night and the assurance that I'm not about to be raped and pillaged by evil, corrupt nobles is a luxury I am eternally grateful to have, the software industry and all the rest of it starts to seem a little pointless after a while.

So, I spin because it puts me in touch with a simpler, more meaningful yet much more difficult time, when the hard-won victories and every day drudgeries that people devoted their lives to actually mattered on a very personal, concrete level. Plus, it's fun, it's calming and it centers my mind.

Having said that, I agree with Spinnifer. Though these peasants, upon seeing the ease with which we live our lives and the ridiculously superficial things we fret over on a day to day basis might actually be closer to irritated than amused that I'd be so excited about the ability to do for fun what they had to do for survival, while in a car that goes WAY faster than horses on the way to a movie theater to watch some film in which the very same peasants were grossly misrepresented by Hollywood production companies who simply didn't bother to do enough research.

(Is it obvious that I have several huge projects I need to start on? Really, my name should be Daft Procrastinator).

So I filled up my spindle (or, possibly, I was just so excited to unwind it that I'm just calling it "filled") and wound the single into a ball. I found this awesome suggestion on Rav about taking a paper towel roll and cutting/taping it to fit snugly over my ball winder, then winding the single onto that. So I've done that and have just started spinning the second spindles-worth. Once that's done I guess I'll just spin up as many singles as I can, then ply them together in some way.

This is what I have so far. It takes SOOO much longer to spin on a spindle, but I still really enjoy it.



And here's the second spindle JUST begun



Oh, squee.

So, I've been kind of absent lately, even when I'm present. Sorry for those of you who are desperate for me to post (snarf), and apologies as well to those who see me in person and have to put up with my not-really-theredness and constant-bitching.

Life has its ups and downs, and while the love and friendship arenas of my life are aces right now, for which I am incredibly grateful, currently in the health, job and family departments things are a bit stressful (and often downright painful). Back pain, stressful projects that won't end and take up half the weekend, and an uncle in the hospital. Blech.

However.  Today was Mother's Day, and after a nice brunch I took my mom to the New Hampshire Sheep and Wool Festival and, as Sheep and Wool Festivals are wont to do, it made for a pretty awesome stress-free (if not entirely pain-free) day. I'ma gonna take a few moments right now to listen to some chill Indigo Girls and show off a couple fun things.

So, unfortunately I didn't bring the camera with me, which is too bad, for the cute animals were abundant and I could take no M&M pictures of the day (M&M- Mommy & Me. No matter how old I am or how seldom I refer to her as "Mommy," {that would be never} we will always have M&M days.) Still, though, we had a great time. She was so psyched to see the sheep dog demos, which are always really interesting. I was psyched to see all the yummy yummy fiber!

Speaking of yummy, my first purchase of the day is currently a hotly debated item on Rav. I am personally positive through past experience that I will side with the "deliciously awesome" side of the debate, as opposed to the "horrifyingly awful" side. The question, of course, is "What's it like to knit with Noro sock yarn?" Well, now I can find out for myself!



Hohhh man... love it.


I also bought some lovely roving, whose colors aren't necessarily accurately displayed here, but it is four ounces of Merino gorgeousness, and to go with it I bought a drop spindle. The second I had purchased the drop spindle I started spinning with it. While walking, while sitting, on the drive home (wasn't driving, of course). I don't know why I didn't think of this earlier, I've just never been attracted to the idea of the drop spindle, but I spoke to this wonderful woman there who was spinning on one and immediately knew it was the answer to all my problems.

Hello! PORTABLE SPINNING! IT'S FUCKING GENIUS!!!




Speaking of spinning, I picked up two more bobbins for my Minstrel (I had planned on 5 but forgot my damn checkbook so only had enough cash for 2) and I found this antique (according to the woman who sold it to me, of course) print of a wood carving. I absolutely love it. I can't read the name of the artist. Harris Fehnersomething perhaps? It's called "A Difficult Decision" and something about it just spoke to me. Ken, of course, took one look and said, "Heh, you just love it 'cause there's a spinning wheel in it!"

That may be partially true. But only partially.




So that was the wonderful day at the NHSW festival. Very nice.

Meanwhile, I'm knitting the Central Park Hoodie by Heather Lodinsky and I've recently finished the back.



Mmmmm, tweedy, cabley goodness! Wow. What an Ariel thing to say...

Ryan Seacrest is entirely too tan

FIRST! THE FIBER FEST!

So, as you may know, I purchased a Fall fiber share from the Martha's Vineyard Fiber Farm, and this past weekend was their Spring sheep shearing festival. Here's what I have to say about that.

Susan Gibbs is my hero. She decided she wanted to be a shepherd, so she just... became a shepherd (it was THAT EASY, too!) She's the kind of down to earth that you don't realize is missing from so many people until you see it again, and she's funny and was so welcoming and sweet to us, and thankful that we bought shares into her business without really even knowing what we'd be getting. For some reason, I simply didn't have any doubt at all that it would be quality. But really, it wasn't just a fiber fest, it was a full on love fest as well. Starting, of course, with the star of the day, Basil, 2 months old (and HUGE):

Basil and I have a little snuggle:



Jess is in her element:



The handsome Roquefort:



Roquefort and I totally making out:



Ken and our charge for the week, Sandy (with whom I have fallen in love and almost cried when we had to give her back to Ken's mom Sunday). Yes, that's a mohawk. Because I can, and because she let me.



Look how fluffy she is! I LOVE this dawg.



Nothing like a man and his (mom's) dog



So, you may be wondering what the yarn looks like- the stuff that comes from those wacky animals on Martha's Vineyard. Well, I happened to get a skein! This is a GORGEOUSLY soft worsted weight in an incredible variegated green called Parsley. I insist you all go immediately to Susan's Etsy store and buy some for yourself.

The current combination of this yarn and size 7 circulars is producing the Sofia Cowl from One Skein Wonders with it, designed by Jessie Dotson.



Also on the needles is a plain vanilla pair of socks, knit in one of my favorites, Austermann Step, with a Trekking XXL heel and toe just for the hell of it.



And finally, the finished Eyelet Swirl socks (that rock.)

Okay now this is just crazy talk. It's been a long time since I've updated, and I even have a couple things to FO off. I don't feel I have anything particularly interesting to say, so I'll just break the block by putting up some pics. It's been pretty busy, though, I gotta say. The weather gets a bit warmer (FOR THE LOVE OF CHRIST THANK GOD), little sprouts start springing up (see figs. A and B), my back gets a little worse, then a little better, and people in my department start using their vacation time, selfishly leaving me with more work to do. Don't they think of ME when they are making their plans? Inconsiderate...

fig. A


fig. B


But look at that sprouting! And these pictures were taken about 2 weeks ago. There are actual FLOWERS now! Or, at least, little flashes of purple, if not full flowers.


In knitterly news, I've completed my Embossed Leaves socks, which I knit with the Trekking XXL I got from Ariel last Christmas, and which have become my favorite socks. Heh... I just got that...






In addition, I've started on my second pair of Socks That Rock, mediumweight, in the Socktopus colorway (you remember good old Socktopus... she used to be so innocent...) This isn't an established pattern of any kind, I just took a stitch I liked from the Vogue Stitchionary Vol 1 called Eyelet Swirls, I converted it to knitting in the round, figured out the gauge and started knitting. This was a bit tougher than usual, given that the mediumweight is really too thick to use on usual sock patterns, and not quite thick enough to alter them by removing a full repeat of normal patterns. This pattern makes the socks a bit on the large size, but I'm okay with that. They're slouchy. :)






And finally, the most recent papercutting I've done. I've been holding back on the papercuttings, mainly because I'm having trouble finding the kind of paper I want to use, and also, trouble finding suitable frames. I got this image somewhere on the web. Couldn't find an owner for it, so I just printed it and cut it.

No real spinning news, mainly because I've too many projects and not enough bobbins. I desperately need more bobbins to spin my way out of the rut I'm in. I simply have nowhere to spin anything TO. Must resolve that issue... And fast!

I still smell like a beer

So last week I scored two tickets to see the Dropkick Murphys on St Patrick's Day at the Paradise in Boston. Needless to say, I've been buzzing with excitement since last week. I surprised Ken with them, all he knew was that we were going Somewhere on Monday night and we would be out late. He did figure it out yesterday morning, but that was okay, because that way he got a full day of the Excitement Buzzing as well.

The show was really amazing. A bit rowdy, since we found ourselves in the dead CENTER of the little mosh pit that started out of nowhere when the DKs came on. I have fun in that situation, it's fun to be kinda thrown around a bit, and to keep your balance and shove people back, but when I looked up at my very quiet tempered boyfriend to see if he was having as good of a time as I, he looked positively ALARMED. I looked in front of me again and realized that it had changed from a fun little bit of moshing to an all-out testosterone infused, beer-and-aggression fueled, sweaty man-fest in about the blink of an eye, so we moved to the back. I still got knocked into several times, but about half way into the show I realized that if I just kept my fists ready at waist level, if some stupid boy knocked into me I'd have the perfect opportunity to do something I've always wanted to do but have never had the opportunity or guts: randomly throw punches without any recourse to speak of, since my punch would simply be an anonymous one of many.

:D

So the Dropkick's were way cooler than I ever thought they'd be. So much fun! I find that one of the better feelings in life is knowing a song well enough to punch your fist in the air and scream "OI! OI! OI!" at all the exactly right moments. It fosters a warm sense of camaraderie, much like when you've crashed your plane into some snowy, mountain-top tundra and you band together with your fellow passengers to kill and eat the most annoying one of the bunch for survival.

I've also realized how incredibly OLD I've become. We left and instead of talking about how KICK-ASS the show was and how PUMPED we are and LET'S GO GET MORE BEER AND TEAR UP THE TOWN! It was all "Oh my goodness I thought those boys were going to hurt themselves!" and "man is my back sore" and "what?! speak up! I can't hear you for all the ringing in my ears!" Not to mention a few choruses of "It is NOT 11:30! Oh, my god, it is WAY past our bedtime!"

Yeah. So there you have it, my old-lady-already slash young-kid-still experience of last night.

Meanwhile, some friends of mine really came through on the Belated Birthday Present front last Friday night. I got 2 kickass books and the current issue of Interweave Knits Magazine. One of the books is about opening a specialty business, something to read when I'm getting closer to opening a yarn shop. Still a dream for me.

The other, however, is a REALLY amazing book on fiber dyeing.



I also received this in the mail last night, which I purchased off of Amazon for like $6.



Also a really great book.

I plan to bring both to SnB tomorrow night, should anyone want to look them over, and maybe plan a dyeing day sometime soon.

On the sticks: I have one and a half Embossed Leaves socks completed, knit in the Trekking XXL I scored in our Secret Santa Swap. I had actually put it down for several months while I did other things, and I picked it up to transfer the stitches to another needle, so I could use the needle it was on to start the Monkeys I'm planning on with the recently-deflowered Socktopus, however when I picked up the Embossed Leaves I found I couldn't put it down, so I decided to finish them. I finished that sock that night and am now halfway through the second, so hopefully by this weekend I'll have a new pair of socks, and be started on my second pair of Monkeys.

Aaaaaaand that's it.

FO FO Callisto!

I am so glad to say that after months of work (and months of letting it rest) I have finally finished this wrap, and am so immensely happy with the outcome.

I love the ruffles, I love the yarn, I love the size, it's just beautiful.

Pattern: Callisto, by DoubleHelix (I'll give you her real name when she gives me permission to do so on this here innerweb.)

Yarn: The RIDICULOUS Noro Silk Garden. Absolutely ludicrous, this yarn. I had a damn yarngasm every time I touched it.

Meanwhile, I just got to work, threw on my At-Work-Slippers, and noticed this. Today, I am wearing these socks:



...with these slippers:


  (not my photo- I swiped it from somewhere on the internet:  http://snarkittome.blogspot.com)

I'm wearing my Monkey socks with my sock monkeys! Isn't it an exciting time to be alive?