Second Spinning Class And...

So, the second of four spinning classes was last night and I have to say, it felt much better last night than it did the week before. It was so long ago that I first learned to knit (we're talking the first time I ever picked up needles to do anything.. not when I started reteaching myself within the past year) that I had nicely forgotten how awkward learning new movements can feel and how frustrating it seems. Second class was a bit better.. I'm more comfortable with drafting, I asked some questions that I had accumulated over the week and I'm feeling much, much better.

The class was joined by the "monthly" spin night at Yarns Etc. We had four spinners join us, all with their wheels and projects and it was really nice to be surrounded by people who were all stricken with the fiber disease. The class and the spinners all intermingled, shared puppy stories, and we got to talking about the fiber community. As it turns out, despite this area having well-defined knitting groups, that same community doesn't exist for the spinners. Mary Ann, our teacher, mentioned that she had been off/on organizing, but that it was just really a lot of work that she didn't feel she had the extra time for.

As I started thinking about it, it just seemed as if maybe what was lacking was a communication system between all the different enclaves of spinners sprinkled around. If we could communicate with one another, events, meetings, spin nights, etc., could occur more frequently and we may be able to create a vibrant and healthy community. It really strikes me as a bid.. odd.. that these systems aren't even in place, but as a new spinner (and one with lots of questions!), having the ability to meet and network with more experienced spinners after the class is an invaluable tool.

With all that being said (!), I've created a group on Yahoo to encourage conversation between spinners in the area:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/chspinners/

PLEASE join and talk! I am really excited about the possibility of this creating a viable spinning community in the area--even if I don't continue to spin forever and ever.

Lots going on in these parts. I had my first spinning class last night. Definitely not a natural, but I feel good about the possibility of improvement! Came home with a bag of fiber (yum!) and the desire to tinker. So far, I've got this



Next week, we'll be spinning a different wool and a little plying. By the 4th week, we'll be spinning top on a wheel--woo! (Christmas present?)

I have been working on Elliott the Dragon hand puppet as a gift for a co-worker and it's almost done. I need to find some good dragon eyes (whatever that means) and sew the two mouth flaps together.. I guess? The mouth construction was very poorly explained in the pattern so I been improvising as I go. Not sure how the mouth was intended to be constructed, but it'll work one way or another.



One last project of note... I got the yarn today for L's scarf. She took me down to Lark last week to show me a scarf she really liked. Realizing I could make it for her, I narrowed her down to a color choice and fiber and now all I need to do is... make it!



Yes, yes. There's still lots going on with other projects. I'm ripping the sleeve from Buttony because I can't remember if I had been decreasing. One monkey sock is finished, the other will wait. (If I work on any sock, it should be mom's.) Sugarplum is still dancing in my head--I need to find a pair of 32" US9 circular needles with a sharp enough point to pick up mohair easily and that won't drag the yarn. I had been trying the Addi Turbos but the ends are too blunt and although they have the fancy new Lace Addis, they don't yet make them in larger sizes.

Now I want to get this scarf cast on...it'll be a good car knitting project!

Thanksgiving

Woo! Thanksgiving! A good time for an excuse to cook everything I can think of, a good excuse not to work in the middle of the week, and a great time to reflect and appreciate everything I have around me!

First, the cooking! What's on the menu today, you ask? A top-secret surprise for breakfast, though J isn't awake and I feel that confiding in you is a pretty safe bet--monkey bread! I haven't made it before and all the recipes I find call for "refrigerated biscuit dough." I am not connoisseur of refrigerated biscuits, but last I checked, there were more than 2 types and so I'm a bit worried that I grabbed the wrong kind in my 10:30pm shopping trip last night (to avoid the nightmarish crowds from the Whole Foods earlier...)

No lunch but we'll be snacking throughout the day.. cheese/crackers and veggies/dip. It's a great excuse to use some of our wonderful wedding presents, finally!

For dinner... cream cheese mashed potatoes (deliciously sitting in my fridge overnight, per instructions!), roasted fennel and carrots, green bean casserole (with white corn instead of water chestnuts, which I find flavorless.. the corn adds sweetness and crunch with a bit more flavor), sauteed kale, a slow cooked cranberry and walnut stuffing, and a Quorn roast (delicious and better than that tofurkey crap). For dessert, a mixed berry pie.. perhaps some spiced apple cider or coffee and a game or two of Uno or Boggle.

Ah, I love Thanksgiving!

My family is very, very fortunate to have grown by 50% this year! (THAT doesn't happen often!) Of course, we already know about my wedding, but last weekend, my brother got married! I love M (his bride!) to pieces and their wedding was beautiful! I got to see a side of my brother that I don't get to see often.. heck, ever! The look on his face when he saw her walk down the aisle, the way he beamed with happiness once they were pronounced married.. how carefully he seemed to look after her, even when she wasn't by his side. The maid of honor gave the most beautiful toast that I think I'll ever hear and I think they're both just wonderful together.



Congrats! I know they'll have many, many happy, healthy and wonderful years ahead of them!

Finally.. the knitting! Almost done with Buttony, though it's been sitting around for a couple weeks now. I just have the sleeves to do and I'll be finished (or.. finished without weaving in all those ends). The ribbing at the bottom will also benefit from being blocked, so, I still have a bit of work cut out for me.



In my Buttony vacation, I did start Monkey which has been moving along quite quickly. I worked on it last weekend pretty fervently, let it sit around most of this week and I picked it up a little last night. Almost done with the first sock, but really, I have other projects I should be working on!



Oh!!!! I am enrolled for a spinning class that starts Wednesday! I am SO excited that I can hardly stand it!

The Start of Fall Projects!

Finally, I have better pictures of my socks! I've updated them to Ravelry and replaced the dark-as-sin pictures that had been taking up space!




I also have been working on the Buttony sweater and have just yesterday taken off the sleeves. I'll be knitting the rest of the body, then come back to finish the sleeves... and then, I will be a nervous wreck as I try it on and hope it fits! I've read in several reviews on Ravelry that the sleeves have been too big, so I took mine off when they just fit, thinking (hoping) that I could pick up a couple stitches where the bottom of the sleeve meets the sweater to provide a tiny extra bit of room and to help tidy up that seam.



I've been thinking, also, about the Sugarplum shrug in the holiday IK. I finally broke down and ordered the yarn for it. I'll be using the Rowan Kidsilk Aura that's recommended in the pattern in a color called Cyprus, which is this icy, silvery blue.

Also in the queue--a pair of socks for mom, a pair of socks for Jeremy and I really, really keep thinking about that shawl in Victorian Lace Today. I think I may save it, though, for a time when I don't have a couple of things that need to be done (which will be... when?).

Fall, Yarn Confessions, SSS?

Fall finally feels like it's here! Three days of rain, which were badly needed, seemed to bring about 60 degree days, a crisp morning andthe never-ending falling leaves. A few days ago, listening carefully, you could distinguish the sounds of the deer moving through the woods. Now they are practically silent, stepping on the soft, wet ground, only visible by their white tails as they run away. Tonight, as I took Q out after dinner, we barely noticed when a deer suddenly darted from right in front of us to back in the trees.



Yarn Confession. Okay, two. I ran a "mysterious" errand this morning -- only to the Hillsborough Yarn Store to pick up the Debbie Bliss yarn I had special ordered so I could cast-on for the Buttony sweater that I have had my eyes on for awhile on Ravelry. I hadn't mentioned it to my knitting partner-in-crime because I was feeling a bit uneasy about my trip. I wasn't certain I had adequately described the color of the DB I had wanted so I thought this was a road to travel alone, lest I get embarassed. AND, I also had to pick up another skein of Cherry Tree Hill to finish up the second sock. I knew if I didn't, I wasn't going to make it.

I am happily working on sock #2. I'm about 13/17ths finished with the leg repeats. I want to get through all 17 repeats before I cast on for Buttony tonight. I also picked up Interweave Knits Holiday issue and am drooling over the Sugarplum Shrug. I think I should get some of these other projects started/finished, though, before I start daydreaming about another.

Oh, and the Myrtle Leaf Shawl from Victorian Lace Today. Stunning.

Back to the sock. J is trying to get me out of the house tonight and if I am being forced to be social, no knitting'll be allowed. Foiled!

At long last, I haven't lied to you, my dear 2 readers! I finally finished up this sock about two hours ago, and I'm excited!

I've only included the first picture because the color is better. It's late and the light in here stinks, so I'll try to snag a better action picture tomorrow or soon.

I was worried about the kitchener stitch, but really.. it wasn't everything I had made it out to be in my mind. In fact, it had a nice rhythm that was easy to duplicate and follow. I absolutely LOVE everything about this sock!

Well, almost everything.. I'm not happy about having two feet and one sock, but I'll cast on soon for the second.

Also in celebration of this event, and because I need more sock yarn (?), I've treated myself to some handdyed merino sock wool from Lisa Souza who has been wildly heralded on Stash and Burn several times. She does all the dyeing herself and even had the time to personally email me back to let me know she had everything in stock and it was on its way tomorrow.

I'm drooling over some of the patterns I saw in Victorian Lace Today, though I know I'm late on that boat. I wouldn't mind casting on one project as an escape from the second sock. We'll see.

The boys are all out. J had friends in this weekend and Q has spent the better part of a weekend splitting my eardrums, so it's nice to have some peace. Pups is asleep on the couch now and probably dreaming of something nice.

I may cast on something before I go to bed, otherwise it's time for me to start wrapping up my night.

An Offering

With the advent of cooler weather, we've noticed an increase in deer activity in our yard. At first, our headlights would just capture the glare of our lights against their eyes. They'd stare, but not move. Lately, they've been a bit more brazen.. wandering through our yard to nibble on our pansies, slowly leaving imprints in the mulch that lies between the back of our house and the woods. As if on a schedule, they'll wander to our yard beginning at dusk and disappear by the time I've woken up.

Walking through the woods, I've been having this amazing feeling of.. synergy.. with the world. These gentle, sentient beings share my house and I am blessed to be living among nature.

Good fall knitting -- almost completed my first Retro Ribbed Sock, from "25 Timeless Designs from Interweave." I've done the heel flap, turned the heel and started shaping the gusset--just working on decreasing stitches now. I'm using Cherry Tree Hill supersock yarn which I absolutely love. 420 yds/skein I thought I'd have plenty for both socks. I've since lost my abillity to recall what the ball looked like at the start of the project, so I'm concerned now that I'll run out. I think this particular yarn has been discountinued (it's been reproduced by another name), but maybe my squishy ball will be enough to get me through.

I think my winter project may be the Flower Basket Shawl by Evelyn A Clark. I've got one skein of variegated lace I purchased on a destash on Ravelry, but I've just to decide if that's what I want to do with it.

Besides, half the fun of knitting is just the thought.

Anyway. I'm off to watch the apple and have a cup of tea. Hopefully soon I'll be able to post a completed sock!