Entirely Overdue!

Q's leg has seemingly completely healed itself. It's a good thing I'll never have children--I don't think I'm designed to handle the worry. I've been sneaking in some glucosamine and chondroitin and I think it's helped. He's up to his usual self.

The most exciting thing that's happened is that it's actually VACATION time. The word seems almost foreign to me. Vacation. To be honest, I'm so utterly exhausted that it has yet to full sink in. Vacation... No work until July 7th!

I woke up early this morning and ran to the farmer's market to pick up my CSA box. With the weather being so strange (lots of rain, no rain, 90s-100s, 80s), I think the harvest has been equally odd. This week, we had a bag of deliciously ripe tomatoes, a bag of green tomatoes, red/white/blue potatoes, a pint of cherry tomatoes and a big huge bag of basil.

I also spent the morning at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop. HYS is such a cute store. Great yarn, always friendly. It may be my current favorite (or, perhaps, it's my infrequent visits that make me really appreciate it). She's got a great selection of yarn--Noro, Debbie Bliss, Malabrigo (swoon!), Rio de la Plata, Dream in Color, Manos... it goes on and on. I spent a huge chunk of time in there this morning, but I did manage to score the second and third volumes of Norah Gaughan's Berroco patterns. I am especially in love with Violette-le-duc , Veil and Porthos.

In actual knitting news (and not just dreaming-of-knitting news), I received my first package from my secret pal on Ravelry! She sent several things, but one of the most exciting parts was a skein of the new(ish) Noro Kuryeon Sock yarn!





I really like the Ziggy sock pattern from the new Knitty and this is exactly what I need to be able to cast on!

I've been working on a lot of projects, but as usual, it's not quite time to share them. Tour de Fleece starts in about a week; I've been working on figuring out exactly what I'm setting aside to spin over the next couple of weeks.

Fiber of the Month Tinkerings

"Chocolate Covered Cherries," 1.8ounces, mill ends.

So, Thespian Quinn is at it again. I woke up around 3am this morning to find my giant puppy stretched out right against me with his head on my chest. Oh, the drama! When I woke up three hours later, he was downstairs and had put his sleepy, dramatic self on the couch. As I went to take him out, he just sat up, looked at me, jumped down from the couch (and I was watching his feet as he did it). As soon as he walked a step closer, his tail went between his legs and did the tiny wags and began limping again!

I have no doubt that his leg is still sore, but I do also believe that he's milking me for all I'm worth.

In other news, I've been thinking about starting a Fiber of the Month club through my Etsy shop. It's something that I had in the goals when I first started selling my fiber on Etsy and I keep coming back to it. Now that I have a carder, too, I can do a lot more with kettle dyed fibers, which is a bit faster a process than hand painting wool.

Not that I'm having problems keeping up with readers' comments (thanks dragonflyducky! :) but here are some things I'm thinking about:

1. How much fiber should there be every month?
2. Should it be batts or roving? Maybe half of each?
3. Should the club be based on a theme, or just random?
4. Should each person receive the same shipment, or should I try to tailor each month for each person? (Given that this would be small, perhaps 5-10 people at first)
5. Is this sincerely a good idea?

That's just the start and these questions are more to force myself to think about these issues and questions before I jump in.



"Ice Skates" 2 ounces, mill ends.

I'm feeling a bit under the weather, so it's to the couch to watch Keith Olbermann and drink some ginger tea.

The Things I Can Share...

I think the untold consequence of working 60+ hours in a week is a deep-rooted selfishness for the "weekend" to consist of nothing other than sitting on the couch and dividing my time between knitting and carding. I don't want to make dinner, fold laundry, feed the dog (ok, ok, I'll feed him but only because he's cute and he'll stomp around if he thinks dinner is coming later than 8pm), or even change the channel.

I've parked my satellite signal on MSNBC to watch the continuing coverage of Tim Russert's death. I had two knitting projects at my side--one a secret (for now), and I've exhumed Sugarplum from her grave:



I've roasted garlic, carded up a new batt (see it below!),



I've had a facial, spoke with pops, given a random shoulder massage, and watched Q sadly twist his leg on the couch trying to get off. Being a closeted thespian, this has given Q full opportunity to limp around the house and look gingerly at me as I get his treats off the refrigerator, bring him water, and rub his leg. What a queen. (Thanks, mom, for the motherly advice!)

I spun up a funky single that didn't photograph quite so well. It's a blend of about different fibers--it was hard to draft smoothly, so I just let the uptake grab it as it felt the fancy. The result was a funky, nubby little yarn that I've named "C'est La Vie." 1oz, 60-something-or-other-ish yards.

I'm undeniably in love with my drum carder. Despite the occasional knick (yes, there has been blood), I am still in a perpetual dream, wanting to card wool and bamboo and firestar and angelica and.. well, you get the point.

Latest creations:



"Ghttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifeorgia Peach Gone Batty!" -- the batt namesake of "Georgia Peach" one of my Etsy shop's best selling colorways. This has the extra touch of glittery metallic. Absolutely love it!



"Chartreuse Caboose." OOAK batt. I can't even remember how I came to dye up such an odd color wool. Was it koolaid? Was it a second dye bath? No memory. But anyway. This is fun in its own way. Corriedale/bamboo blend.

In other news, I'm about 90% finished with a big, gigantic knitting project. I've completely finished another knitting project. (These are both secrets so I can't share just yet!) I restarted the Sugarplum Shrug (from the Holiday IK) and I'm about two inches in the lace pattern--fun! I just got some great sock yarn from Knutty on Ravelry:



.. and I'm itching to start socks. I'm telling myself to wait until I'm 100% done with this massive project and I'll be free to start a pair.

We've been constantly around people the last two weeks, so I'm finding it hard to really find a ton of time to devote to knitting (and that isn't being taken over by the drum carder). With company in town for the last two weeks, company over for dinner.. it'll be nice when I've got some time to sit around, drink coffee and just knit.

As usual, I can't share a lot of what I've been working on, but I will share these two small, tasty bits of fiber heaven:

"Verd"igo - 1.5oz mill end wool batt



and "Underwater Treasure", 1.7oz mill end and firestar batt



I'm using the next two days off work to really keep my dye pots busy and I'm in the middle of processing my first raw fleece! It's a Babydoll Southdown fleece from Puddles, via the description a "curious" creature who apparently likes to roll around in the dirt. And other stuff. (I'm leaving descriptions out) The fleece is on its third wash and slowly looking more like fluffy wool and less like Puddles' 3 am party. I got the fleece from .

I've got lots of spinning in the queue. Lots finished, too, but I'm waiting for various packages to arrive in their new homes before plastering the pictures here.

In the next week, I hope to finish up a pair of quick-knit socks and get started on some other projects. We'll see. :)

Recent Yarns!

Following are two of my recent yarns. The first is "Hailey the Mermaid" from Noelle's Noodles on Etsy. It is Romney and it was a lot of fun to spin. The resulting colors are very heathery and I'm really happy with how they plied together.




This was a yarn I spun for a private swap on Craftster. The Craftster had tried to take up spinning and didn't really enjoy it, so she sent me the roving her friend had hand-dyed for her and I spun into yarn! The was a Finn top, also a lot of fun.. Great staple length, easy spin.

Summer of Yarn! Love Info

Do you knit or crochet? How long have you been at your craft?

I learned to knit over 10 years ago, but I've only been "seriously" knitting for the last two years.

Do you spin? What type of spinning?

I do spin on a wheel. I love spinning wool, alpaca, bamboo. I'm not interested in spinning cotton. (I hear it's a real pain and sometimes wool gives me enough trouble.)

What are your favorite yarns/fibers? What are your least favorite yarns/fibers?

My favorite fiber is definitely wool. It doesn't matter what type it is, but there's something in feeling a springy wool that just feels... like nothing else, really. My tastes in yarns has definitely changed since I've started spinning-I appreciate single ply yarns more and I like textures that mimic handspun.. Malabrigo, Rio de la Plata, etc. (I am especially a fool for Malabrigo) I prefer solid colors over varigegations, unless it's a tone-on-tone.

My least favorites are acrylic and cotton. I don't like knitting with either, really, unless they're blended with another fiber.

What are your favorite colors? What are your least favorite colors?

My favorite color is definitely green. My eyes are always drawn first to greens. My second favorite color is that mustardy yellow but I have no idea what to do it with since it looks awful on me. (I can still like it, right?) I also like blues and browns.

My least favorite colors are orange, anything pastel or neon.

Are there any yarns/brands that you are dying to work with but never have?

I have been eyeing the Noro Sock yarn forever, but I've got tons of sock yarn and it would seem like a sin to add to the stash. I always eyeball Tili Thomas yarns, but never have splurged. I have no idea what I'd do with it.

What is/are your favorite types of projects to knit/crochet?

Well, almost anything, really. I like starting all sorts of projects. Finishing is another matter.

What are you currently working on? Anything you plan to work on this summer?

What am I not working on? Lots of secrets. Some other things. You know. I really like the Wallis cardigan in the new IK, but I've got the yarn I'd like to use for it. Maybe some shrugs? Who knows.

What is your favorite FO? (Post a pic if you would like.)

Hmm. I really like the Retro Rib socks I made. I'm too scared to wear them, so they just sit around the house.

What is your oldest UFO?

My oldest UFO became my first official completely frogged UFO. So, there.

Are there any techniques that you want to learn?

Nope. Well, I'd like to learn how to finish lace--once you've knit the main part and then go back to pick up stitches around the edge. I'm pretty sure it would involve a bottle of Advil.

Are you on Ravlery? What's your ID?

Yes! Lapoli over there.

Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?

Sure. Foot measurments? I'd say I have a daintly small woman's foot.

Do you collect anything?

Yes. (We're talking besides yarn/fiber, right?) I collect gnomes and my collection is happily increasing every month. :)

Do you have a yarn winder and/or swift?

Yes! (And a good husband! :) )

Do you love sweets? What are your favorites?

Of course, but I'm definitely a salt person. I'll eat cake with the next person, but I'd rather eat a bag of potato chips, probably. I like chocolate covered things. The best present, ever, was someone who dipped salted potato chips into chocolate. THAT was a good present.

What are your favorite scents?

I really like lavender, vanilla. Not fond of very strong florals like geranium. And if you're wearing a Clinique perfume, I'll be leaving the room.

Where do you keep your needles/hooks?

I've got most of them in a yarn, separated by straight and DP. I've got a set of Denise interchangables that sit in a basket, alongside the rest of my pre-Denise circulars.

Do you have a wishlist (Amazon, Etsy, etc?)

I've got some favorite stored on Etsy (I'm at http://lapoli.etsy.com) and a Wist: http://www.wists.com/lapoli

Having a birthday this summer?

Nope.

Are you allergic to anything??? Please let your pal know!

Pollen. No pollen!