For winter that is. 
I cast on a hat yesterday from some fun Hello Yarn hand spun that I’ve had marinating in the stash for the last 2 years. Chunky yarn, 6 mm needles, boom – a hat in a night. How cool is that?
Next up? A scarf using some other hand spun that I spun and dyed with kool aid. Hmmm, it’s also about 2 years old.
I really have to start knitting more with my hand spun and not keeping it ‘for good’.
Like this:
Yesterday was amazing and warm and sunny and breezy and perfect. Hubby cut the grass and my toes were just begging to feel the blades of lovely green. We were hoping to get a tonne of yard work done yesterday but it turned into a day of errand instead. Groceries, library, pet food, signing the new mortgage, etc. etc. etc. You know how it is.
In the afternoon the dogs and I decided it was pre-summer lounging time.
Apple blossoms - I'm going to eat your babies!
Gunnera on the grow
Gunnera
Dancing frogs
Stella is still coned, but pretty happy nonetheless
Got some lovely Polwarth spun up
Mr. Beentsy contemplating what needs doing in the yard
Jane concurs, it was a lovely day at home
Apparently today will not be nearly so easy-going. I think the chipper is coming out for a repeat performance. Eep!
Oh, and the killer bright sock? It’s Socks That Rock lightweight in the Spawn of Braun colourway. I’m almost done the first sock.
And Mrs. Quimby tells me that Guy Gavriel Kay has a new book. I’m #8 on the reserved list from the library. Now, go see Mrs. Quimby’s completed Viking Sweater of Doom. It’s finished, it’s gorgeous, and it’s ready to go do some pillaging. 
My Blue Faced Leicester is almost dry. I did some of that mathematic magic (counted strands and entered the number in the spreadsheet I created for such things), and it turns out that this big boy is 795 metres/869 yards.
Um, that is the most yardage I think I’ve ever got out of 8 ozs. Boorah! It also feels super nice. I think this is my favourite yarn that I’ve spun thus far.
Yep, it’s official, I’m completely won over to this whole spinning 15 minutes a day. Once you sit down you almost always spin more than 15 minutes. Then, suddenly, you have a some snazzy new yarn. Sweet! Now, what to spin next?
Posted in spinning
then surely Mickey Mouse is the father. To explain my point, Exhibit A.
He made it himself and he’s ever so pleased with it. We couldn’t possibly have unevenly sliced bread maker bread. Could we?
Why so many pictures? I thought it was important that you got to see just how many pictures he took of it. Oh yeah, we’re cool!
In other news, that whole spinning for 15 minutes a day thing? Totally working out. Mainly because I have a supervisor who makes sure I’m getting it done. Actually, I have two supervisors.
I got the job done though. Eight ounces of Blue Faced Leicester. It’s from the Spunky Eclectic fibre club and the colour is Myrtle. It’s really nice stuff.
I don’t now the yardage (is it metreage in metric????) yet. The skein is currently having a nice soak in the bathtub. Now, what to spin next?
Well, the Olympics are over and I’ve been just sort of feeling a bit funny and having trouble finding my normal rhythm. It feels sort of like a hangover, with less chance of vomiting and/or a walk of shame home in the morning.
I loved the games. I’ve never watched so much tv in my life. Example, I watched 3 hours of curling last Sunday. I liked it. Enough that I googled afterwards to see if curling is normally a televised sport. That’s really not me! Then, I was in Tim Hortons getting Timbits for the office (everyone, say it with me, mmmmmmmmmmmm), and what should I see? A poster advertising the Tim Hortons Brier! Dude! It starts tomorrow! Phew, I’m saved.
In other news, I failed to complete all my Ravelympics projects. 2 out of 3 to be exact. Which, as Melanie pointed out, totally makes me want to sing Meatloaf. I did manage to medal in Aerial Unwind, in that I dismembered a no-go Noro cardigan and in WIP’s Dancing by finishing a Lacy Baktus. The project I failed to medal in was my lovely beaded lacy fingerless mitts. I’m planning on finishing those up during the Paralympic Games. It looks like Team Canada is going to be fielding a small contingent of athletes.
Here is my semi-victory shot:
This was just before the closing ceremonies began with my flag, cider, finished Baktus scarf, and unfinished beaded mitts. Immediately after this is was back to the TV for said closing ceremonies. Who loved the giant inflatable beavers & hockey players??? I DID!
Since then I’ve been trying to spin at least fifteen minutes a day. Baby steps, right?
Currently working on some Blue Faced Leicester in the Myrtle colourway. One of the club colours from Spunky Eclectic. Very nice stuff. So wish I had more than 8 ozs.
While I’m spinning, Abbie the Guardian Sun Dog, perches on the arm of the other couch and stares out the window behind me in a menacing manner. Not sure what 13 pounds of Jackapoo would do to an intruder but I bet it would be epic!
Occasionally, she glances at me to see if I’ve magically made any cookies appear.
As you can see it’s very sunny here. It’s been pretty gorgeous most of the week. For the last two days I’ve had the front and back doors open in the afternoon. Hubby and I really need to get moving on those raised vegetable beds. The growing season is imminent!
Posted in Abbie, Ravelympics, spinning
Our view:
A view of us:
It was lovely and warm and sunny and windy. All of which seems to created a perfect storm sunburn. Oh yeah, I look great.
Posted in spinning
Instead of prcrastinating on that whole plying thing, I decided to git ‘er done! Said in my best Larry the Cable Guy voice. WIthout further ado, here she be:
I don’t even know the yardage/metrage yet. I know that I”m quite smitten with it though, so that’s good. I’ll give it a soak and hang it to dry tonight. 8+ ozs will take a fair bit o’ time to dry I should think.
The big skein is 8+ ozs of two ply, prolly about a sport/dk weight. That wee skein is the leftover from the last bobbin, about an ounce and a half that I did up in Navajo ply. I love the look of the n-ply but it’s just too much work for me to do for an entire pound plus of yarn! Plus, I don’t think I could N-ply for that length of time. I get a bit spastic when I N-ply and tend to treadle so fast it’s insane, giving my yarn a wicked over twist that soaking and hanging almost doesn’t deal with.
Okay, that’s enough of that. Today was a bit challenging, as in I think that pre-pubescent boys should not be allowed on transit unless on a leash or in a box, so I’m going to go have a nice bath now. Happy Tuesday all!
That whole Knit in Public Day that I missed? Well, it wasn’t a total loss. Mr. B worked on Saturday and then was fighting a nasty cold on Sunday so I had a weekend off. Sweet! Look, I spun up a little over 9 ozs of IGOR.
83% Island Grown Organic Romney and 17% silk. You may remember it looked like this last year when I acquired it from Hummingbird Fibre Arts (sadly, no website):
This stuff was fun to spin. I had 2 x 250 grams of it. Turns out they will be more fraternal than identical, but that’s totally okay. Now I just have to ply all that up. Sigh.
Posted in spinning
Um, yeah, every day on transit is knit in public day. Today, I just could not face taking transit for more than an hour each way to hit the sort of local WWKIP event. I know all my knitting peeps (gosh, I’m so hip) were all there. Me? I was here:
Spinning this;
I also had some company:
Then later, there was more company:
Then I was overwhelmed with company:
Turns out, I’m wicked popular with the four legged/hairy set! I think it’s because my opposable thumbs can open their bags of treats.
Oh yeah, we also built the final kitchen island the other day:
We ended up rotating that far right cabinet and made it into a drawer cabinet instead of a shelf cabinet. Now we have a place near the fridge for pop…and chips…and pretzels…and cookies…damn, I just gave away the snack drawer. Didn’t I?
Island? Um no, that’s a continent. I’m going to call it Australia. Wait, that’s not been used, hasn’t it? Hmmmm, okay, how about Beentsylvania? Right, I like it. Today we built some drawers and stuff and now it looks like this:
That’s my favourite spot to sit and read, Internet, snack, everything really. I’ve spent more time in the kitchen in the last week than I have in the last year. It’s just so much nicer than it was before and I’m deeply, madly, passionately in love with this little corner of it.
There are shelves and doors for the left hand open space and an end cover piece for that light coloured bit on the right. The entire thing is something like 6 feet by 5.5 feet. We’re prolly going to cut it down to about 5.5 by 5.5 feet. That seems somewhat more logical for a household of two people! That way we can seat 6 comfortably. ‘Cause we’re always having dinner parties for 6. ANYWAY…
We absolutely over planned and over built this entire kitchen. Story of our lives. You should see when I make chili. I could feed a football team.
Okay, I’m going back outside to spin some more. I have 8 ozs of that fibre and it is calling me and begging to be made into yarn so I can knit it up for something lovely.
I forgot to take the late spring blog contest prizes with me to work this morning so I could post them on my lunch. Mind you, it was so busy I didn’t get lunch anyway. I’m sorry guys. I shall remember them tomorrow for sure. See, they are already in my bag! This ensure I shall not fail tomorrow.
What else? Hmm, oh yes, the Terminal City Yarn Wranglers met up yesterday for an afternoon of food (and champagne!),
very cute socks by Mrs. Quimby:
And attempts to nick skeins of yarn the size of, well, about 40 weeks actually:
A wonderful time was had by all. Everyone brought amazingly yummy food and then we had a wee yarn sale & swap and I came home with a completely different bag of yarn than I took there. Total win! The festivities were held at Damselfly’s abode. A veritable garden of Eden in an urban city. It was gorgeous and I so want to go and live with her. I didn’t get picis of her looms & wheels, because I was all gobsmacked with fibrey lust. It was basically Disneyland for fibre junkies. I kid you not!
Then when I got home from work today it was a fibre bonanza from Canada Post! Thank heavens, seeing as today was a dentist day!
Anyway, there was a puffy package waiting for me. A most spectacular gift from Heather. We’ve done a couple of fibre trades, dontcha know. You must check out her spinning! I don’t know how she does such gorgeous work, particularly considering that she has a wee one on her lap sometimes when she’s doing it! Look at the pretty she sent me:
Mmmmmmmm! Finn! In all the colours of the sunrise! Heather, how did you know my colours! LOL. Thank you so much, I love it, love it, love it! I sense it becoming something wonderful and firey for winter wear. It’s from Gnomespun. I’m so jealous, he’s in her knitting group! Can you imagine having access to that level of lovely in your knitting group? We’d be eating mac & cheese every day! Okay, dinner time, must go.
