A post from the Past: March 10, 2009

I am transferring my blog post from Live Journal over here to Blogger. I will start with the newest first so that the last post I post will be the oldest one from LJ.  That way you can scroll down and read it in order. 

March 10, 2009

I have a few finished projects. Here is a scarf. I love this scarf. I can't stop looking at the colors. The yarn is Noro Silk Garden. It is Silk, Mohair & Merino wool. I used 3 different colorways




Then on the weekend I stayed up way past midnight because I was spinning. I was spinning some Blue Face Leicester (BFL) wool. They are very cute sheep, a breed developed in Northern England. Then I 
2-plied this yarn. The fiber was from Crown Mountain Farms. Here is my finished yarn. 






Now my latest project is a sweater. Yes, wool again but it is so pretty. We still have some cold days, remember June Gloom? Anyway this morning the temperature was 45 degrees F. This sweater is made with heavy weight yarn of Socks that Rock merino wool. The color is called My Blue Heaven. Yes it is the same color as my beaded socks. I like this color. I still have the sleeves and body to knit. It is going pretty fast because the body and sleeves are a lace pattern.




This sweater has 3 buttons at the yoke. I am looking for some wood buttons. I do have other projects on knitting needles. I am just really trying to finish this sweater first. The other projects are a pair of green socks. A lace scarf and a pair of alpaca fingerless mittens. 4 projects on needles. And I want to start more. It is addicting to start projects. I love them all. 

First blog on iPad2

This is my first time to blog on my iPad2. Yesterday I had to take my MacBook Pro laptop in for repairs. The DVD drive was not working. So how could I go a full week with no Internet?

I use my computer for business and financial stuff. I don't have a smart phone so I decided to buy an iPad2. I have wanted one ever since the first iPad came out.

I am trying to get use to this touch keyboard. I'm use to typing without looking at the keyboard but with this touch screen I do have to look. Or maybe this is my learning period?

Update on Oliver. He is still missing. We have walked the whole neighborhood and can't find him. I miss him so much.
I'm not letting Coraline out anymore and she is kinda crazy. She stares out the window. She runs through the house like a maniac. She is bored too and sleeps a lot.



Here is some knitting I am doing. This is the back ok the Cassidy sweater. The yarn is Madelinetosh DK. I love the color but not sure if it is too variegated.
The cables are easier than I had anticipated.

I'm also working on some gloves and a hat at the same time.

Well I do like this iPad. It is different and I'm glad that I have the Mac for serious typing. I also don't know yet how to see all the blogs that I usually read from my mail.

Have a great day. It is windy here with the Santa Anna winds keeping us cold and with hair that looks like we put our finger in a light socket.

Happy Knitting!
Carol

Knitting at the Los Angeles County Fair 2011

The Los Angeles County Fair is in full operation this month.  I entered 7 items to the Knitting category and one item to spinning.  Here is what I submitted and what they won.
I'll start with the best awards first.
Here is a sock pattern named Chuncho. I knit it in BMFA Socks-that-Rock wool yarn.
I won the Judges Award of Merit and a Blue Ribbon 1st place.



Here they are at home after I finished them.


Next: This pattern is called Rimefrost by Anne Hanson. She is one of my favorite designers. The lace pattern is like snowflakes. I knit it in BMFA Socks-that-Rock wool yarn.  I knit my sister Susan a  pair in this pattern but in pink.
I won a Blue Ribbon 1st place.

See them there by my boob?

Here they are at home.


Next: This pattern is called Tree of Life Mittens.  The purple yarn here is BMFA Socks-that-Rock wool and The Woolen Rabbit Harmony merino wool in gold.  This is a fun pattern.
I won a Red Ribbon 2nd place.

Here they are at home.


Next: are my NMH#3 Selbuvotter Mittens by Terri Shea.  They are knit in blue/green Noro Silk Garden Sock, and in Jamieson's Shetland Spindrift color Rye.  This was my first stranded knitting project. Ever.
I won a White Ribbon 3rd place.

At home:  The front side

At home:  the palm side.


Next: This pattern is called Cadence. It was the ravelry group SKA 2010-2011 July Sockdown mystery sock by VeryBusyMonkey.  She asked all of us for suggestions for the name of the sock. I knew that she had horses and she did dressage.  So the term Cadence was just right. Of all the suggestions she picked mine.  The yarn is The Sanguine Gryphon Skinny Bugga. It is merino wool and cashmere. Very soft.
I won a White Ribbon 3rd. place.

Here they are at home:


Next: This sock pattern is called Winnie.  They are by designer Carrie of IrishGirlieKnits. They are named after her beautiful aunt Winnie who they called Mimi. She just went to be with Jesus this week. Bless her heart.
The socks are knit in The Sanguine Gryphon's Skinny Bugga merino wool and cashmere.
I won the White Ribbon 3rd place.


Here is Winnie at home:


Next: And then some handspun yarn.  This is YAK from Crown Mountain Farms. I spun it to a light worsted weight. It is a 3 ply, navajo plied.  It is so soft. The top is from Tibet and then Klaus of CMF dyed it to these beautiful colors.  This Yak was a contest gift from Klaus. It was my very first time to spin yak. I spun it from the fold because the fibers were rather short and downy soft.
I won a White Ribbon 3rd place.

At home:

And at home in the roving/Top stage:


Next:  The last item I entered into the L. A. County Fair knitting competition was a sweater. I thought it would do very well and I will tell you why in a moment. This sweater won NOTHING.  I'm not being greedy.  Or snobby.  I just know that I worked harder and longer on this project than any of the others.  I can see that the judges love stranded color-work knitted items.
First before my rant I will show you my sweater.








This pattern is named Sprossling by Anne Hanson. Anne writes a great pattern, precise, with diagrams and all the math you need. Very clear directions.  I used a beautiful yarn. The Sanguine Gryphon's Bugga of merino wool and cashmere.  Here is what Anne says about this sweater on Ravelry:
A close-fitting, ribbed lace cardigan in seven sizes (XS, S, M, L, 1X, 2X, 3X), with set-in sleeves, jewel neck, and offset body shaping. All pieces are knit flat, bottom up, and seamed.


This sweater took me 9 months to knit. There are 5 pieces, 2 fronts, 2 sleeves, 1 back. Then you knit the button bands including buttonholes. You then knit the neck.  There are 4 vertical darts knit into the lace for waist shaping.  This is not an easy task.  I kept the lace pattern going at the same time I decreased the stitches in a column to the waist and then I increased back to the original stitch count to make the dart. 
Every piece is steamed blocked. Then seamed with the mattress stitch so it looks like it was knitted at the seams.  The sleeves are set in like when you are sewing a jacket.  After seaming the sleeves, sides and shoulders you knit the button bands. I wove in every dangly yarn end. 
The sweater takes some time to finish but the result is lovely.  


I added some grosgrain ribbon behind the buttons. I wanted a sturdy band to sew the buttons onto. I didn't want any sagging or stretching of the knitted fabric.  
I steamed the whole sweater with a damp towel laid over it and holding the steam iron above the towel. The sweater came out really lovely. 

A nice lady on the Ravelry Knitspot group told me that this sweater looks deceivingly simple.  But still I just don't understand why a mitten knit in all stockinette stitch (my color-work mittens) wins a ribbon but a lace sweater with vertical darts, lace, seaming and massive work does not. 


End of rant. 


 I really am totally surprised that I did win as many ribbons as I did. I had to enter this Fair in June 2011, then take my knitting to the fairground in July 2011 and then wait to see what won in September 2011. A long process so my mind was thinking of what would do well. I guess going off of what other knitters think and commented on my Ravelry page I thought my only hope was my sweater and my chuncho color-work socks.  Go figure.


So that is the blog of my very first fair experience in all of my life.
This fair, L.A. County Fair is the largest fair in North America according to the Los Angeles Times newspaper.  So I am pretty thankful.


Have a great day and Happy knitting!!!!
Carol

Spinning Tour de Fleece, Knitting and Garden

I was so lax in blogging that I missed the month of June. So I want to blog more this month.
What have I been up to lately? Well this month is Le Tour de Fleece over on Ravelry. I am on 3 teams. Yeah.
I am spinning some Perendale Top from Crown Mountain Farms. The color is The 5th Element.  I love it.  The fiber is long and fluffy. It is so easy to spin I probably will buy more of this perendale in the future.
Here is the cute little sheep.  The fiber came from New Zealand. It was prepared in Michigan into luscious Top.

The top:

And my spinning singles:



I will be spinning every day that the Tour de France event happens. We have 2 rest days.  It goes from July 2 to July 24.


In other happenings at Casa de Carol is the garden. I got the garden planted. It is growing so fast. We already have zucchini on the bushes and blooms on the tomatoes.  We also planted; sugar baby watermelons, cucumbers, pumpkin, and several types of peppers.

Do you see the wire?  That is a hot wire to keep Bob out of my garden. He chews and digs everything.  The hot wire keeps me from having to stress over loosing my garden to a puppy.  It works very well.

I planted the garden late. We had so much rain that I was waiting for a clear day to plant.  It was only 2 weeks ago that I got the veggies in.

Yes, this is Bob the dog. He has grown so much. He looks too sweet to be half beaver.  But believe me, he can chew up anything in a split second.  My new hose is in about 10 pieces.  
Today I went out to start the BBQ and all I could smell was gas.  Bob had chewed the hose under the BBQ.  I have my BBQ directly plumbed into the gas line of the house. I'm lucky that my son Roland had put a shut off valve which I always have in the off position when I am not BBQing.  Today I had to cook indoors. My chicken and corn on the cob were good but not how we wanted it because of our "beaver" dog.  I will have to get a new hose with the metal braiding on it I think.

Bob is afraid of the pool.  He will come to the edge but he puts on the brakes if you try to get him in the water.  I did put him in once to show him how to swim to the stairs.  I was hoping that he would like the water, he is a lab. No, he told me, "mom I don't want to swim!!!".  


On the painting front. Ok, so this isn't watercolor but it is painting.  I have this table.  (imagine it standing up)

And this oak table has been with me for a long time. It was in my kitchen in Yucaipa. It was moved to the livingroom so we could eat in front of the TV.  It came to my new house after my hubby died.  I gave it to my daughter Sierra and she had it in her kitchen. When she died I got the table back.  It has been on my patio for a few years. Ok, more like 4 years.  I decided it might look awesome if I painted it an aqua blue, Tiffany blue. So I started. 
It needs a second coat. It has just been too hot. The paint wants to dry on my brush so I will wait for this heat wave to pass to finish.

Look at how good it matches my old metal chair.  That is from my old house too.  I might paint the chair to give it a fresh look.  I love the color. 


I have been knitting too.  

This is a sweater based on the EPS, aka Elizabeth Zimmermann Percentage System.  I am doing a KAL (knit along) with a Ravelry group. I have finished the body. Now we are going to work on splitting for the sleeves.


I finished my Sprossling Sweater.



Now it is too hot to wear this sweater.  Maybe I can wear it to the movies?  Except I never go to the movies. LOL


Happy 4th of July to all of you tomorrow. We will be at church for the annual event. They will have the blow up water slides for the kiddies for FREE!!! Music, Hot rod and motorcycle show. And In & Out will provide the food. Yum.
They usually end this gathering around 3 pm or so.  My sister Susan is with us on July 4th every year since '05 or '06.  She has a new job and has to work. Boo Hoo. I will miss having the swim races here at home in my pool and BBQ.  Last year Susan, Peanut and I were in Idaho with Dustin and Bambi. We sat at the park to watch the fireworks in their beautiful town. It was fun.


Happy 4th !!!!!



Does Bob need a bigger Dog House?

Knitting and Spinning update

In looking back at what I have been blogging about, there has been a lot of time passing without any fiber news.  I have been knitting and spinning a lot.  I have many projects on the needles too.
So lets begin with the spinning.

Here is some Merino from Crown Mountain Farms  that I spun up. It is 2 ply and DK weight yarn. This merino is from Australia. I gifted this skein to my sister of  Design Diva Susan . She is working on a project for it now.
Info from CMF:

Merino Top

Australia where the real merino boom started.

What a fine fiber - staple length of 3-4 inches with a micron count between 19-24.Not to forget the crossbreeds with merino - the finest fiber from sheep. A delight to every spinner and knitter.

Above is what the Merino sheep look like.

Below is my fiber from the Norwegian sheep.

Here is fiber also from Crown Mountain Farms. I love the dyeing that Haas does. He is an artist.  This is Norwegian fiber (wool) from the fiber club. The color is called Mandala
Here is the description from CMF website.

Norwegian Top

The old norwegian sheep - also called Villsau - was widespread all over Scandinavia, the Faeroes and Iceland.

A special sheep breed to the famous vikings who made their sails out of wool to conquer the world in their ships.

Staple length of up to 4 inches and a micron count of 32 makes this fiber very interesting to all hand spinners.

Or better said to all spinners in the northern hemisphere who have to deal with cold winters and snow -

we here in the Pacific Northwest of the USA have sometimes no idea what a real winter is and therefor do not

understand the real value of some fibers - we just want it soft and softer - like our brothers and sisters in the South.

Above is the Norwegian sheep. He is from Norway.
Below is the norwegian fiber spun up. I navajo plied it.

Spun to a heavy Worsted weight.   I wish I had spun it thinner because it was hard to find a pattern to show off this beautiful fiber.

Knit into mitts.  I was surprised how the colorway turned darker on me.  I tried to mix up the dark and light as I spun but I guess I need more practice.
Also in this photo is the beginning of my watercolor/sketchbook.  It is a Moleskeine.

With the left over yarn I knit this granny square. I love how the colors look like a watercolor painting.  I only had enough yarn to crochet this one square.

Here is some Welsh Top.  It is also from CMF.  LOOK at the moss growing in my yard. I didn't plant it.  I really love it.  I love this fiber. It's coarse but rustic looking.
Info from CMF:

Welsh Top

From the mountains and hills in Wales comes this small, hardy sheep.They can withstand extreme weather conditions like high rainfall and freezing winter conditions. Their fleece is course with a staple lengthof 3 inches and a micron count of 36.You will find the fiber mainly in carpets and rugs.Hand spinners may create nice outer garments with the Welsh Top.Good for felting projects as well. 

These are Welsh sheep.  I really am loving spinning this fiber.

This is Welsh Top. It spins like a dream.  It is a little scratchy. I might use it to knit a purse or some French Press slippers.  Or perhaps more granny squares. 

This is Corriedale Top.  I will spin this after I finish with the Welsh Top.
Don't you love it?  It is also from CMF.  The colorway is Chinon.
Info from CMF:

Corriedale Top

The legend has it that Innanas (Ishtar) husband Dumuzi was the God who took care of the livestock in ancient Sumer - thousand of years before there was even a mentioning of the bible. But be it as it may - from Mesopotamia (Irak) one of the finest sheep breeds conquered the rest of the world. The phoenicians brought the merino sheep to North Africa and the Arab Moors brought it into Spain - which gave Spain  an advantage for many centuries over their rivals in the midevil worlds.

Of course the royal houses were interconnected so at some point in time the merino sheep from Spain made its way to France (Rambouilett) and Germany (Saxony Merino) and then to the colonies like Australia where the real merino boom started.

What a fine fiber - staple length of 3-4 inches with a micron count between 19-24.

Not to forget the crossbreeds with merino - the finest fiber from sheep. A delight to every spinner and knitter.

Here we have a perfect fiber for the spinner and felter - even the dyer. A staple length of over 3 inches and a micron count of 28.

Somewhere in 1860's on the South Island of NZ a new breed was created by crossing Merino dams with an english lincoln longwool sire.

A fabulous result for future generations. In 1902 the name Corriedale was given as the development started on the Corriedale Estate of Otaga.

In 1916 the first Corriedale Society was founded in Laramie, WY - USA.

Since then this breed spread throughout the world and adapted mostly in the Southern Hemisphere. From there we get our great fiber quality today.

This is a Corriedale sheep from New Zealand. 

I'm still knitting.

This is a sock knit in Bugga yarn. I have turned the heel and I am decreasing the gusset.  I have one more sock to go before Christmas.

I knit these mitts for my son in Idaho.  I finished these in October for his birthday.

They are of 2 colors of Bugga yarn. They are my own pattern and very soft.

Still working on the Farrow scarf.  It is of Malabrigo merino/silk DK. I only knit on it when I am in the car. Slow going.  Kinda boring.

Still working on my Sprossling Sweater by Anne Hanson.  I am using Bugga yarn. I love the colorway and the feel of the sweater.  When I work on this sweater exclusely then I really make progress.  I just get so distracted by my metal crafting and stuff like Christmas.  Good stuff.

The Sprossling sweater has finished:

1. Back 100%

2. Left front 95%

3. Right front 0%

4. Two sleeves 0%

5. Button bands 0%

6. Seaming 0%

7. Washing and Blocking 0%

Why do I feel like I am almost done?  I guess because the back is the largest piece of knitting and I am almost down with the left front.

I am going to knit the sleeves at the same time so that my tension is equal on both.  My last sweater has a tight sleeve and a loose sleeve because I let my tension loosen on the 2nd sleeve.  By knitting 2 at a time I will have the same tension. If I get loose then I will be loose on both sleeves.

I will wind up 2 cakes of yarn and knit the sleeves on my #5 - 3.75 mm needles. I'm not sure if I will use the straights or the circulars.  Both will give me enough room for all the stitches.  I'll use whatever floats my boat at the time.  I am leaning towards the circulars.

So that is all in my fiber world.  I am itching to cast on for the blankie that Christine is knitting.  It looks so fun.  I have a lot of left over yarn too.

I think I need to catch up on my projects before I begin something like this.

So now I will go and I will leave you with some photos of my Roses in Winter from my yard here in So. Calif.

This is BELLE STORY, a David Austin rose.

Here is THE PRINCE, a David Austin rose.  The fragrance is so mmmm yummy

And here is PERFECT MOMENT, a hybrid tea rose.  She is the whore with red panties in my yard.  Very gaudy but she does grab your eye in the yard.

Happy knitting

hugs Carol