Mixed blessings.

Hospitals are dreadful places. Hopefully today was the last long day for a while.
I'm exceptionally tired, and mentally and emotionally drained. On the bright side, we're getting more or less optimistic news, and everyone can go home in the next few days. It's still only round one, but as they say, one day at a time.

Knitting helped a little. Home will help a lot. Blogging will resume soon.

You spin me round round

So this was my first attempt at spinning. It's a thick single, which I don't plan on plying, ever. I'm reasonably happy with this, even though it's not as even as would be idea. Considering how confused I was trying to use the spindle, I don't think this is terrible, although if I told you it was underspun, I'd be lying through my teeth.
And yes, I lost the information on this, but I bought it from the Three Fates Collective, at SAFF, which includes Sanguine Gryphon, Dragonfly Yarns, and another woman (I'm sorry my mind is failing me!) Really pretty stuff, and nice folks too.


Take 2 is really just more of the same, but a different color. I figured a few things out since then, but I would like to remember what I did to the roving so that I could spin this. It's just as overspun as the green stuff, but I washed and weighted the green yarn in order to try to set the twist. The blue still needs the same treatment. Also from SAFF, and I can't find my card. Big lovely balls of carded top, I think. Soft and lovely, and I wish I had purchased a lot more.

Now on the spindle is this:


Thinner, but you can see that I still get a lot of variation in the thickness. This stuff is BFL, and I can find the label, but it's not next to me.

Bought a copy of Spin to Knit last time I was at the bookstore, as I couldn't find any other books on spinning and I wanted a reference NOW. I'm understanding that a lot of spinning is really about the fiber preparation, and that's making this make much more sense. At some point in the nearish future, I'll buy more fiber to play with. I would like to be able to spin enough wool to knit a pair of socks. I just think it would be fun.

Speaking of which, still knitting. Green sock is incrementally closer to being done, but at the stage where it feels like you're knitting the foot forever. And suddenly, it's 9:15 and I'm exhausted from my day. At least it's a good weekend for knitting.

Spinning.

It's addictive.

I completely suck, and I've killed some very pretty fiber. Ironically, the largest amount of fiber I was "saving" and having started to spin it up, I don't really care for it. It's variegated. Can you say it with me? I don't like variegated things. I prefer semi-solids.

Photos when I have light. I'll show my progression from thick, bulky crap to thinner, more thick and thin junk. I haven't even thought about plying yet. But I think I'm going to need more fiber. And maybe another spindle. I'm beating this one up more than it deserves.

Anyone have any suggestions? Spinners out there?

Quiet Saturday

Clearly, I am not the most skilled blogger at photographing my own feet.

I've spent most of the morning updating my Ravelry information, adding photos of old FOs, shots of things in progress, basic tinkering. Doing a little bit of knitting, mostly working on a new sock for the husband. This is the Undulating Rib sock from Favorite Socks. It's pretty dull, but since it's done on big needles (3s and 4s) it will be done quickly. Sometimes I do have an urge to knit up the stash, as well as to crank out a quick knit. His feet aren't hugely large, but I'm used to knitting for my own feet. This is definitely a man sock colorway. It's drab.

He's getting a new pair of socks as I never finished a pair I promised him. They were more mosaic knitting, and ended up looking rotten and I didn't like them enough to frog and re-knit. Plus he just managed to full the other pair I made him. He says they still fit, but we had a brief discussion about how he should not assume the socks I knit are machine washable.

Speaking of socks, I wanted to show these briefly before they're finished:

Dragonfly Yarns, Skinny Sock. I wish I had knit them a little tighter. Tons of yardage, and I'll be knitting a pair of kid socks out of the leftovers, I think.

Interestingly, I've noted that I have a tendency to stall on socks after I turn the heel.

I'm a little tense these days, heading out of town in the next couple weeks to be with family for a major surgery. Lots of knitting, lots of casting stuff on, but not a whole lot of finishing. If you're on Ravelry, you can go check it out, but I'm not going to detail it all right now. You can look at it as being very undisciplined, but really, it's more a matter of me trying to find the right things to give me some comfort.

Speaking of which, I've been on a mystery binge. Dark Tort by Dianne Mott Davidson, Cherry Cheesecake Murder by Joanne Fluke, and Murder Most Frothy by Cleo Coyle. If you're wondering, my murder mysteries sometimes don't involve food, but lately not so often.

Back soonish, and hopefully I'll be slightly more interesting....

Still here...

What do you blog about when you're in the middle of several projects that are just taking a long time? Especially if a progress shot, or comments on progress would be along the lines of "look - it's the same as the last time, just a little longer."

Since my last post, I washed and wore my cardigan. To work, even, and 2 people said they liked it, and were shocked that it was something I knit. That pleased me to no end. After washing it, the button bands behaved nicely, but I did notice the neck stretching out a bit more than I wanted by the end of the day. I might crochet a reinforcing line of stitches, just as Yarn Harlot blogged about a while back, or just file that tidbit away for the next time I knit a cardigan. The key question - did I take pictures? Of course not. I completely forgot.

I think I might have finished a sock, but it was fairly unremarkable, and when it comes to unremarkable socks, I'd like to at least have a pair to blog about. I'm still knitting what seems to be miles of a 2-line lace pattern for Juno Regina. My thoughts at the moment are that I really like the pattern, really like the yarn, really hate the color. I think the reds and purples are great, but the blue is too contrasting for my taste. I'm going to finish knitting this, then add it to a gift pile. It seems like I can find homes for my knits, so I'm not going to be upset about it. At some point I'm going to have to purchase a LBD for events around here, and I can actually wear a stole or lace shawl. I will knit one for myself, but this isn't it.

I really have nothing much interesting to blog. I've been spending lots and lots of time at work, trying to get ahead before I have to leave town at an unspecified time to be present for a family member's surgery. Which will take an unspecified length of time. As you might anticipate, I've been doing anxiety knitting, which in my case means casting on a whole bunch of things and seeing what sticks. Lots of easy and mindless knitting, until it bores me or I think I need distraction.

But enough pity party. I have more work to do tonight before I go back to knitting and stalking the MCY thread on Ravelry. It's a sick obsession of mine - but it's fascinating...