He Knits n’ Spins

It’s a great day for the U.S. and the rest of the world!  A new dawn on Capitol Hill!

Sayonara Bush!

“…our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions — that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.” -Inaugural address

I’ve actually got a completed knitting project to show off! I’m excited cuz those are pretty rare for me, especially with handspun

This was a basic 2×2 rib hat from David’s gorgeous “Fields of Gold” in Merino. This thing is SO soft and warm and I am in absolute love with the colors and striping. I split the top vertically into I think 5 strips so I knew the color repeats would be pretty short.

Here’s a picture of the yarn:

And the original fiber:

One of my favorite spindles, Greensleeves Lady Barbara, is currently being used to spin up another gorgeous creation from David. We recently did a batt swap and he sent me these amazing batts of 50% Polwarth wool / 25% Silk / 25% New Zealand Possum. Those of you that aren’t aware, the New Zealand Possum is a totally different create than the US Opossum. Their fur is unbelievably soft. This blend is SO nice to spin!

This was a “wing it” pattern for me to get a pair of mittens done as a Christmas present for my sister in law (started Christmas morning!) This pattern is as accurate as I can make it for now, it may take some improvising with the twisted stitches, especially around the thumb gusset. If you have any questions, feel free to send me a message!

Yarn: Noro Silver Thaw – used maybe 3/4 of the skein
Needles: US7 dpns

Pattern
CO 32 stitches, knit 1×1 ribbing for 2 inches.
Increase row: K4, make 1 repeat around (40 stitches on needles)
Knit 4 rounds even in twisted slip stitch pattern (see below) All remaining rounds will be in this pattern.

Thumb Gusset:
Place thumb where desired, easiest if you start increasing for the gusset on the backside of a spiral. Where spirals intersect the gusset, just re-start the spiral on the opposite side of the gusset…don’t continue spiral through the gusset.

1. K1, place marker, make 1, place marker, knit to end of round
2. Knit next round even.
3. Knit to marker, slip marker, make 1, K1, make 1, slip marker, knit to end of round

Repeat rounds 2 & 3 until there are 9 stitches between markers, then knit even to bottom of thumb.
Next round: Knit to marker, remover marker, place 9 stitches on holder or spare yarn, remove marker, knit to end of round.

Knit even until mitten measures to top of pinkie finger, then begin decreasing by knitting 2 stitches together instead of 1 under the slipped stitch of the twist. Knit an even round between each decrease round. When there is only one stitch between the slipped stitches, K2 together around, then break yarn and thread through remaining stitches.

Thumb
Place 9 thumb stitches back on needles and pick up 6 stitches, for a total of 15 stitches. Knit around until thumb is length desired then K2 together around for 2 rounds, break yarn and thread through remaining stitches.

Weave in all ends and block.

Twisted slip stitch pattern
Left Mitten:

1. K3, place 1 stitch on cable needle and hold to back, slip 1 purlwise from left needle, knit stitch on cable needle
2. Knit around
3. K2, place 1 stitch on cable needle and hold to back, slip 1 purlwise from left needle, knit stitch on cable needle, K1
4. Knit around
5. K1, place 1 stitch on cable needle and hold to back, slip 1 purlwise from left needle, knit stitch on cable needle, K2
6. Knit around
7. place 1 stitch on cable needle and hold to back, slip 1 purlwise from left needle, knit stitch on cable needle, K3
8. Knit around

Right Mitten:

1. Place 1 stitch on cable needle and hold to front of work, knit 1 stitch from left needle, slip stitch from cable needle purlwise, K3
2. Knit around
3. K1, Place 1 stitch on cable needle and hold to front of work, knit 1 stitch from left needle, slip stitch from cable needle purlwise, K2
4. Knit around
5. K2, Place 1 stitch on cable needle and hold to front of work, knit 1 stitch from left needle, slip stitch from cable needle purlwise, K1
6. Knit around
7. K3, Place 1 stitch on cable needle and hold to front of work, knit 1 stitch from left needle, slip stitch from cable needle purlwise
8. Knit around

Errata:

The original post here omitted the even knit rounds in the twisted slip stitch pattern.  Sorry about that!  I’ve corrected it here.

I’m a little late for a “happy new year” post but I was up at my aunt’s cabin in Maine all last week with no internet and really bad cell reception. It was actually pretty nice to be so secluded and out of reach for such an extended period of time. I always love being at the cabin for that reason…no thoughts of bills or work or worrying about keeping in touch with anyone. It’s the perfect excuse to be a hermit for a week!

The cabin is on Kezar Lake on Lovell, Maine and is right on the water with a spectacular view of the mountains, including Mt. Washington. I had my very first ice fishing experience with my brother and even caught a fish, albeit a small one.

I also got to ski one day at Sunday River, would have liked to get two days in but it wasn’t meant to be. Instead, I got to spend lots of quality time with my parents, brother, sister-in-law, nephew, and cousin…so it was a good trade off!

Here’s the little guy helping daddy play Wii

All in all, it was a great new years. Hope you all had a great one as well! Here’s to a happy, healthy, prosperous 2009!!

To see more pics from the trip, check out my Flickr set here.

See my old blog here: http://ironspinner.blogspot.com

Got sick of blogspot and always had issues logging in, so here I am at WordPress!

For two months now, I have been the world’s worst blogger. Ok, maybe not the worst, but if my blog were a baby, it’d be in the protective custody of DSS. Where the past two months have gone, I have no idea. I was working hard trying to finish my bachelor’s degree and am happy to report that I am finally done, 13 years after the quest began. My last class ended on 12/11/08 with a 30 page paper due, and as is always the case, I worked that f’er right up to the last minute. But I am psyched to be finished and am ready to start looking for a better paying job.

Besides that, I actually haven’t been somewhat productive with the spinning…here’s a quick recap of some of the spinning successes:

Top to bottom is 1) Shetland in “Gannet” from Hello Yarn, 2) Corriedale/Alpaca in “Rte 66″ from Spunky Eclectic, 3) Superwash BFL in “Lame Duck Mallard” from Spunky Eclectic club, 4) Finn in “Buckland” from Hello Yarn club and 5) Australian Merino in “Fields of Gold” from Come In Spinner. See my Flickr set for more details on each.

Last month, I also became the proud new papa of a Louet full size fine cloth drum carder thanks to Amy’s Black Friday sale at Spunky Eclectic. I got to drive up to Lisbon, ME to pick it up and was able to spend a good chunk of the day hanging out in the shop. Lots of fun! I’ve been having a great time with the carder making all sorts of fun batts. Here’s a couple…

“Tundra” – Corriedale/Alpaca/SeaCell

“Pistachio” – Corriedale/Alpaca/sparkle

“Insect Wings” – BFL/sparkle

Finally, on the knitting front, I sadly only have a couple things to report as finished…that area has been lacking.

I knit a cowl out of the Buckland handspun…

I FINALLY finished my mom’s Anemoi Mittens just in time for her birthday…

And I designed my very own mittens These were a Christmas present for my sister-in-law and I couldn’t be happier with how they turned out. The yarn in Noro Silver Thaw and is absolutely gorgeous.

I very much plan to be a better blogger now that school is out and the holidays are over!! See you soon!

This year has been one of the first years I’ve actually appreciated, and even enjoyed, autumn. I think Rhinebeck and my complete and total obsession with all things wool has played a large part in this. This time of year means getting to wear all of my favorite handknit stuff…curling up in bed at night with the window open, all wrapped up in blankets…being able to spin and knit without sweatily sticking to whatever it is I’m working on…drinking hard cider…and so many other wonderful things.

This past Saturday I had some time to kill while visiting a friend of mine who lives in Charlestown, right on Bunker Hill, so I got to walk around for a bit and took some pictures. It was an absolutely beautiful New England fall day and the area is so pretty.

I’ve also cast on my very first sweater! Rhinebeck, and all of the beautiful handknit items I witnessed while there, inspired me to venture something bigger. I’ve never knit finished a sweater, I have an awful case of knitting A.D.D. There’s several beginnings of sweaters lying around on my needles but none have made in very far. This time, I’m determined! And I’ve made pretty good progress so far. I’m knitting the Cobblestone Pullover ( ). I managed to get a good 8″ of the body done on Saturday before I gave in to the realization that it was going to be HUGE! And yes, I’m a bad knitter, I did not knit a gauge swatch, so it serves me right. I ripped and cast on again on Sunday with some smaller needles and am now back to about where I had left off.

This is after casting on for the second time, I’m quite a bit further along than this

I know I’ll finish this sucker because I’m already really excited about wearing it out. The yarn is Jo Sharp Silkroad Aran Tweed and is gorgeous! It will be the perfect autumn sweater.

I also got a wonderful gift (from myself) Friday. I came home from work to find my new Golding Tsunami spindle waiting for me. I immediately pulled out some Hello Yarn fiber I had been saving for just such a special occasion, “Frosted Forest” in 50/50 Soy Silk/wool. One flick of this spindle and I knew I was in for a real treat! Words really can’t even describe how amazing this spindle is. It is the most perfectly weighted and balanced spindle I’ve ever had the joy to use…and it spins forfreakingever! Seriously, I have had to actually stop the spinning on several occasions because it was still going and I had no more room to spin. It’s truly incredible and the Tsunami, at only $39, is a STEAL!!! There are a lot of spindles out there that don’t even compare to this one for a quite a bit more money. If you’ve never tried a Golding, I guarantee it will change the way you feel about spindle spinning!

So, if you live under a rock and didn’t already know, the New York Sheep & Wool Festival in Rhinebeck was this past weekend. I decided fairly last minute that I would go, so of course all the hotels were booked, which meant I got to go camping! Usually not my first choice of fun ways to spend a weekend away, especially this time of year in New England (It was FREEZING!), but I survived and had a really good time!

If you’ve never been to the festival, it’s CRAZY! HUGE! CROWDED! And SOOOOO MUCH FIBER!!! It was heaven. Any fiber, yarn, tools, accessories you could ever imagine…beer…good food…great people…I can’t think of a better way to spend a weekend!

I got to meet some Spunquistadors in person…

Spunky Group

David flew all the way from Australia to go…

David and me

And I made it into the photo set on the front page of Ravelry!

I’m in the 3rd row down, center picture, spindling

Here is the actual photo…

Me spindling at the Ravelry party

I made a couple fantastic purchases while there, but I didn’t go crazy. I went in with some strict rules so as not to really go too nuts (because that would have been very easy!). I decided I would only buy something if I didn’t already have any of it and it was something I would have a hard time finding elsewhere. I knew ahead of time that finding some nice Cormo top was mission #1 and I was able to accomplish that mission day one, so I was pretty happy. I can never find any prepped Cormo top online, only raw fleece which I don’t have the time or interest for. After that, I really had no mission. I did end up buying some “Mystery Bump” roving thanks to a bunch of peer pressure Everyone else bought one so I had to. It’s 7 oz of dyed roving and apparently the color changes as you spin your way into the center of the bump. Should be pretty fun! Day 2 purchases included some of the most AMAZINGLY SOFT Superfine Merino/Angora/Cashmere blend top (60/20/20)…it’s so soft you can barely even feel it! I can’t wait to get working on that. Haven’t yet decided if I’m going to dye it or leave it white, I’m almost afraid to do anything with it! Last purchases was a metal swift, nothing too exciting, but something I’ve been needing.

So that’s it, it’s over, I can’t believe it. Already looking foward to next year!

The leaves are starting to turn, the air is getting crisp, and all around are images of autumn and Halloween. In all honesty, fall is not one of my favorite seasons. It always signals the end of summer, which I love, and the beginning of a very cold, gray, snowy/wet winter here in New England. But there are a lot of things I do love about fall…Sam Adams Oktoberfest is out, I get to pull out all my knitted stuff to wear/wrap up in, trips to Salem for a nice cup of hot cider, apple picking and the pies that follow, and this year as a first for me, the New York Sheep & Wool festival in Rhinebeck! A week from Friday I’ll be hopping in the car and driving out to Rhinebeck with my favorite traveling companion, Erin, for a weekend of camping, meeting my online fiber friends, and lots of woolly fun! I’m pretty darn excited…so much so that Autumn is turning into a season I may become fond of going foward

This fall also bestowed upon me an AMAZING batt, in a colorway appropriately named “Pumpkin Juice”, from Josette of Enchanted Knoll Farm. It is a blend of superwash Merino in wonderful golds, oranges, and purple with lots of sari silk strands and glitz. Each draft of this stuff uncovers heaps of little treasures and I am honestly in fiber heaven. If you ever get the chance, grab this fast, cuz it won’t stay in her shop long, especially not with me around!!

I also got a mad dash of knitting done this past Friday night/Saturday a.m. to get a birthday present completed for my friend Beth. I made Porom by Jared Flood, and I couldn’t be happier. It was a pretty fast and easy knit, and the finished product was wonderully woolly and slouchy and chic. Due to the rush I was in (I finished this thing with seconds to spare) I didn’t get a picture of it before gifting it so you’ll have to settle for a poorly lit picture of the hat in use by it’s recipient, who absolutely loved it, by the way

Man oh man, the end of the summer was brutal, as is apparent by my lack of anything going on here. My summer class ended one week before my one and final fall semester class, so I will finally be graduating college in December, 12 years after I started

My brother and his wife had their first baby this past Thursday at 10:30 pm. JJ (Jarrod Jacob) was 6 lbs 4 oz and 18 3/4″ long. So I’m an uncle and very excited about it. He’s the cutest little bugger I’ve ever seen (I might be a little biased).

Some knitting and spinning has been happening, but not much. I finished Jarrod Flood’s Habitat last week and am completely in love with! And because it is getting very autumnal outside and was only 55 degrees F when I left the house this morning, it made it’s inaugural appearance in public today. I don’t want to take it off…ever.

Here it is partially done…I don’t have a finished picture yet, I’ll be sure to do that.