W I P Wednesday

Some of you may already know that Tuesday is Spinning Day in my home. Now, I spin on others days too when I get the chance, but I MUST spin on Tuesday to assure that I will get some spinning accomplished in my busy week. In my last spinning post you saw the beautiful hand-dyed Silk/Superfine Merino from Redfish Dyeworks that I was spinning up. 

It is now finished and yesterday on Spinning Day I began the plying process.  I decided on a two-ply after reading The Intentional Spinner by Judith Mckenzie-McCuin, who recommends a two-ply for knitting lace.  I intend this yarn for a small lace shawl or cowl so I am taking her advice.

I transferred half of my single onto my ball winder using an emptly toilet paper roll as a make-shift bobbin, weighing it all the while to be sure I was getting at least 2 of my 4 oz. on the tube.

And then put the remainder on another tube. Got them on the Lazy Kate and ready to ply.

I was able to start plying last night and will show you the resulting yarn soon!

BUT it is now Wednesday and I have decided to turn Wednesdays into W I P Wednesdays.  If you're a knitter, you know that W I P stands for Work In Progress.  I have so many works in progress, I'm embarrassed to mention them all.  So to force myself into methodically finishing them, I am putting them out there to the blog world for all to see. And for all of you to hold me accountable.  SO, let's begin...

 

A pair of knitted pants I started for my daughter a year and a half ago.  Fortunately these came out very large so they will still fit her and also fortunately they are knit in cotton so she can wear them into spring and summer.  As you can see, the knitting is finished and they are so close to being pieced.  Then I need to fold the wasteband over and add elastic.  Why have I waited so long?  Next...

A lovely pair of socks I started for my mother in September which were intended for her birthday which was in August.  I actually had the socks finished last month but since I changed needles (going from double points to magic loop) on the second sock to save time, and they came out different sizes, I had to start the second sock over again.  Aaarrgghh!  So much for saving time!  I am so close to starting the heel flap.  If I could get the heel turned today, I'd be happy.  And finally...

My dear friend, K, who lent me the Viking, and who was also one of my students in my Knitted Farm Blanket class needs her blanket sewn up.  I offered to do this for her since she has been so gracious about lending me her amazing machine.  Since I will see her tomorrow, this simply must be done today. 

So that's my W I P for today.  Stay tuned and we'll see if they actually get finished. :)

Speaking of that Sweater...

So that sweet little raglan sweater by Fiona Duthie that I referred to in my last post, which by the way is from the Spring 2008 issue of Living Crafts Magazine, was originally knit in a size 2 for my dear little 2 year old Abby last February. The yarn is a beatiful thick and thin single that I spun up
 from Cherry Tree Hill hand-dyed WOOL roving. Ok, what's wrong with this picture? I knit it in February, it's wool, it's a size 2, Abby was 2. We live in CA people! What was I thnking? So did she get to wear it more than for a few hours? NOOOO!

I'm so glad I teach knitting classes because there was no way I was going to be self-motivated enough to reknit that sweater in a size 4 so she could wear it this year. So to get a fire lit under my knitting hiny, I scheduled a Child's Raglan Sweater Class and of course I have to knit one along with all my students. So during class ONE, I rip, during class TWO, I cast on in the round, class THREE, I knit the sleeves in the round and by class FOUR, the sleeves are pieced and the collar is knit and Abby has a new size 4 sweater. Also fortunately for me, I had a good amount of the same yarn left over from the size 2 sweater. FYI, 8 oz. of roving will make a child's size 4 raglan pullover sweater spun into a thick and thin single with very little left over. Just in case you're asking. Here is a pic of the new sweater in size 4 with a little of my handspun thrown in for fun. :)

Did I Mention I Was Published?

So one of my students was talking one day about an ornament exchange in which they had become involved with Living Crafts Magazine. Word had gone out on a craft list that I belong to looking for 12 crafters to participate. She mentioned she had just squeezed in to the last spot. I literally ran home and got on the list. Fortunately for me, they were accepting 6 alternates and fortunately again for me, I knew the woman coordinating the exchange. Fiona Duthie had been in my home a few months before leading a natural dyeing workshop that I had coordinated. Ok, let me back up a little. One of the first issues of Living Crafts Magazine had included an adorable pattern for a handspun child's sweater. I had spun this gorgeous Cherry Tree Hill roving into a thick and thin single and began knitting this cute little raglan sweater when I ran into a part of the pattern that made no sense. I did a little detective work and found the email address of Fiona Duthie who had written the pattern and was also a contributing editor of the magazine. When I wrote her with the problem, she was

so sweet and so appologetic and promptly sent me the corrections.
We struck up an internet freindship and a few months later, she contacted me to say she was flying into LA from New Zealand where she had been on a wool sebatical for the last 2 years (How does one get a gig like that?) and would I like to help coordinate some workshops for her. I, of course, jumped at the chance and voila! There she was in my home dying wool and silks with Austrailian Flax, Cochineal Bugs, Indigo and Osage. I was in heaven!

So here I was a few months later, desperate to be a part of an ornament exchange for one of my favorite magazines and she was the coordinator. Needless to say, I got on as an alternate. She outlined the theme and the medium we should use and I started submitting ideas.

A filet crochet pouch...

Three different Scherrenschnitte designs...

and some hand-dipped pine cones.

All such simple ideas which I was almost embarrased to submit but I thought simple might be better since not everyone who reads the magazine is an experienced craftsperson. Surprisingly, two of my ideas were chosen, the Scherrenschnitte angels and the dipped pine cones. We each had to make multiple ornaments, (I had to make multiples of both) and have them turned in by the end of summer so they could be distributed to the other participants along with all instructions and photographs. When the magazine hit the stands in late fall, I was thrilled to see that my Sherrenschnitte angels had made it in the issue while so many others had not. I was also told that my pine cones would be featured in a future issue! So why the heck did it take me so long to tell anyone? Well, life is so full that I just put it aside and relished it within my own little circle. So I'm putting it out there folks...Let's Celebrate!