Crafting Fail.

I think I'm having a bad creativity day. Or days, even.

Yesterday I finished a sleeve on the cardigan that I'm knitting for a friend. It's all wrong. So I'm trying something different on the other sleeve. Then I'll rip one or both out and go from there. We're going to ignore that I'm really worried about running out of yarn and that I still need enough for the i-cord button loops. Oy.

Today I tried to core spin.

I'm bad at it. It's over twisted and.. ugh. Someone out there might call it an art yarn and be happy with it. I am not. Not at all. Later I may try plying it to itself. For now it's in another room where I don't have to look at it.

This kid. Oh, this kid.

He's got the right idea.

I'm breathing out deeply as I gaze at his face, letting it all go. Today was just not meant for crafting. (Which is unfortunate since the Imp's birthday is tomorrow and I need to put the finishing touches on his gifts)

Er?

It bloggles the mind.

How does he *do* that?

Our weekend was pretty laid back. Video games (minecraft), knitting, errands. Relaxing and fun. Yes. It's just what we needed.

Help!

Okay, knitters. I have a "problem" and need your assistance.

Never mind. My husband came home at lunch and told me to buy the pattern. Crisis over!

I have 2346 yards of a yarn that claims to be DK but really looks like fingering. I dyed it black. I have more in another colorway that I could also dye black. So maybe the amount isn't the issue so much.

I want (desperately) to knit this pi shawl.

Here are some facts:
- I am not a shawl girl
- I am not a lace knitter
- I'm poor and $8 for a pattern seems extreme (okay, I'm cheap. But also, I am not a shawl girl)
- My original plan was to knit this shawl

If I can't decide between the two (or another pattern altogether) I'm likely to scrap the whole idea and put the yarn back in the closet (where it was before a few days ago when I decided that pink and green could be overcome with dye). Help!

Yarn Along and more

I meant to post yesterday, but things got away from me. I will refrain from explaining how I let my husband get me sucked into a video game I swore I'd never play. We'll ignore that I put my kids to bed two hours late because I completely lost track of time. Ahem.

So today I'm linking up with Ginny and all the other great folks for the Yarn Along.

I've started working on the sleeves of this cardigan! Yay! The lovely Taryn of Wooly Moss Roots agreed to a swap with me. I scored these absolutely stunning buttons. I think the larger ones will be perfect for this cardigan! I didn't take a picture of my reading. I'm rereading the Dresden Files series on my ebook reader - who wants a picture of a black rectangle?

Aren't these buttons divine?

I'm also knitting longies. It's weird to be back to a thin worsted after all that bulky knitting. I do love those small, neat stitches, though!

With one week to go, I've finally nearly finished my Imp's birthday presents. This shirt is to go with a mask and cuff set I bought from Her Flying Horses. I think he's going to love it all. He's been on this incredible super hero kick lately.

And this is a rather sad looking attempt at Buneary (a Pokemon). He's been begging me to make one for months. Here's hoping I manage the face soon!

Knitting

Amidst the coughing and comforting of little ones (and the watching of Pride and Prejudice), I've spent my day knitting. I've finished a pair of green board shorts. They were knit with bulky yarn - a fun change from my usual worsted.

Tonight my plans are to brave the grocery store, knit some purple cardigan goodness, and spin at least a bobbin of yarn. We'll just ignore that I have absolutely no idea what to make for dinner.

A photo session

I had a helper while taking photographs for the shop yesterday.

He was being a bit camera shy and quite honestly wasn't feeling so great. It seems that, on top of everything, the two youngest and I have gotten sick. There's a nasty cough/cold thing going around these parts and we've been hit. The Elf had a brief visit with said illness last weekend. Being the trooper that he is, it only had him down for a day. Me? I'm knocked flat. Seriously - enough already!

So of course yesterday, when I could barely croak let alone speak, the doctor called me back. It is now medically official that I had a miscarriage. I'm still doing fine. My father, oddly enough, is taking it pretty hard. Apparently my mother had several miscarriages. I suppose it was very hard on them both. It's times like these that I wonder what it would be like to have my mother still alive.

At any rate, I've photographed and stocked the shop with a few new yarns. Today I'm going to spin my merino/tussah/bamboo heaven. I'm wondering though. How do I label it? Most yarns are 80/20 wool/silk. Or 50/50 wool/bamboo. I can't see myself saying 33.3333333/33.33333333/33.33333 merino/silk/bamboo. Bah. How does one word that?

Yarn Along

Linking up with Ginny for the Yarn Along.

Still knitting away on the lovely purple cardigan. I forgot to take a picture of what I'm reading. To be honest, I'm flitting between books at the moment. I'm reading Botany in a Day and Pursued by Love. Mostly I'm biding my time until I get to the library for all the books I reserved.

I really ought to be working on the Imp's birthday gifts. His birthday is two weeks away and I've hardly even decided on what to make.

Bliss

I have found myself. I didn't even know I was lost until I'd found my way back. Things have been crazy. I know that all things are connected. In my head that all makes sense. But I found it in my heart last night. I had let confusion and fear about some aspects of my life influence everything. I lost confidence in my spinning, saw all the flaws in my knitting, focused on harsh words spoken to and by my children.

I am not perfect. I have my flaws. And yet. I am me. I have purpose and value. Somewhere along the way I forgot that. But now I remember.

What brought about this epiphany? Spinning did, of course. Guilt, duty, and a deadline had me bringing my wheel out last night - poor, neglected Dervish. I plied an already spun single and moved on to the 50/50 wool/bamboo that I'd dyed and carded a few days ago (pictured in my last post, actually). It was instant bliss. As the super soft fibers slid through my fingers I let go. Not of the fiber, of course, but of some weird mental/emotional thing that had been holding my down. I felt free - truly free. The fear of perfection was gone. The fibers flew wild and beautiful through my fingers.

Here is my freedom.

The colors of this photo do not do this yarn justice. I'm not sure what to call it yet. Scarecrow? The Dune Sea? Cowardly Lion? Rapunzel's Bad Hair Day? In any case. I think I know exactly what to do with this lovely, world changing (to me, at any rate) yarn. I'll let you know when it's ready to venture out on it's own journey.

In the meantime, here's a sneak preview of some yarns destined for the shop. I've been on a bit of a Wizard of Oz kick (see Ruby Slippers and Wicked Witch). Meet Tin Man and Emerald City. They still need their twist set and then they'll be off to see the wizard!

Also.

Longies! I do very much love knitting for other people.

Linking up with Nicole today.

The Weekend

From top to bottom: bamboo, tussah silk, and merino. Freshly dyed with Greener Shades and mostly dry. Greener Shades is meant for protein fibers, so I wasn't surprised that the bamboo hardly took any color.

Carded and divided, waiting to be blended into a batt.

Blended and pulled into roving. Now I just need to spin it! This is the softest roving I've ever felt. It's an even percentage of silk, bamboo, and merino. Mmmm.

Bamboo on the right, wool on the left. I used black walnut dye that I've been using and reusing since last year. It's pretty exhausted, hence the lighter colors. The bamboo turned an amazing metallic gold color.

Carded, blended, and pulled into roving. I'm thinking about calling Rapunzel. The picture doesn't do it justice, it really looks like golden blond hair to me. Or sand dunes. It depends on the light, I guess.

For most of the weekend I sat on the couch and knit this pair of longies while B played Dragon Age: Origins (sorry, but I really enjoy watching him play video games). I love this pumpkin orange color. They're going to Australia in the near future. I have another pair or two to knit up first, though. I also worked on the purple cardigan, but pictures will wait until Wednesday for the Yarn Along.

These pictures aren't just from the weekend. The truth is that I've been creating rather than thinking. I've been trying to wrap myself in "the muse" to avoid feeling. That may sound unhealthy. But here's the deal. I'm pretty sure that I've had a miscarriage. The medical communication failure that is my doctor's office hasn't given me an official word on the matter. And while I want their official word, I'm 99% certain of it already. I'm okay. At least, I think I am. All the same, I've given myself a prescription of creativity and rest. And this is what I've done with it.

Yarn Along

Linking up with Ginny.

Reading Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. Actually, by the time this post goes live I will have finished it. No idea what to read next.

Knitting longies, complete with tail. They were intended for the Imp but my math was off (or rather, I was basing them on a pair that I had previously knit with a larger needle.. oops) and they're too small and short. So into the shop they'll go. I'm thinking of knitting a simple kitten hat to go with it.

Longies from the front. Nothing special.

I'm also knitting this cardigan (this time not for me) in a yummy, squishy, purple superwash wool.

I just got an order in the mail today. My last indulgence before we buckle down to save money for a vehicle that will fit all of our children. Tussah silk, bamboo, and merino top. Mmmmm. I can't wait to dye, blend, and spin it into glorious yarn.

Sleepy day.

I think he has the right idea. Despite my deep desire to join the Beast, I've spent the afternoon weighing, measuring, and photographing yarn for my etsy shop. I still can't seem to get the orange yarn to look right. I've conscripted B to help me tonight, maybe he can do a better job.

The past two weeks

For about a week I did nothing except read and feel like crap. This motion/morning sickness thing is no fun. I've been feeling better recently and have managed to get a few things done. Sitting at a computer is not one of them. Scrolling makes me feel sick. Hence my disappearance. Aside from finishing up all the Outlander books, here's what I've been up to.

This is the fiber I dyed in my last post.

Here it is spun and plied.

This was spun from mill ends. I used Greener Shades dyes for the first time after it had been plied. First in sunset orange and then in a very diluted flame red. It's not as electric-colored in real life but my lighting isn't so great today.

The Elf thinks this looks like a swamp. I'm thinking moss or lichen.

My second dye attempt with Greener Shades. I dyed mill ends in ruby red, carded them with some firestar and spun them up. Not sure if I'm going to ply or not yet.

There you have it, my fascinating life.

Fun with Egg Dye

Linking up with Nicole for crafting on.

Today I filled pots on the stove with water and wool. I dyed one pot blue and one purple. The purple left a fair amount of blue water, which I used to dye some more wool a lighter blue.

I plan to blend it all on my drum carder once it's dry.

I think I posted about this blend. It's a bit of hand dyed wool mixed with white and firestar. I think I'm going to call it seafoam - or something similar at any rate.

That's it. It's been a fairly lazy day.

Weekending

What an epic weekend. Okay. Maybe not epic so much.

There was fiber.

Knitting.

Gift making. Yes, five days before the Elf's birthday and I'm just now finishing.

And then there was some doll making.

I've been obsessed with Waldorf dolls for a while. I've never seen nor touched a real one - just the ones that I've made. In the past week or two I've had this.. insane need to own a real Waldorf doll. It's not to be, as I just can't afford one. So I thought I'd try to make another one. One that would make me happy. I'm still falling short. My dolls lose their chins and noses. I've read a bunch of tutorials, but I just can't seem to get it right.

At any rate. I've been scouring Etsy for Waldorf dolls. Torturing myself with all the lovelies. It's been bothering me. I know I've wanted one for a while. But why this sudden urge? Looking back now I think it might have been an unconscious thing. See.. it would appear that I am very likely pregnant. Unintentionally. Which is a new and scary thing to me. I'm not good at not being in control. At any rate, we're mentally adjusting to this and I will admit that I'm even kind of excited (if I ignore the painful giving birth part of the equation). We haven't told any family yet - not even the boys. We're giving it another couple of weeks just to be sure. But there it is. My crazy weekend.

Adventures in Blending.

I've done it. I've finally gone beyond just carding raw fiber. Now it's time to make this drum carder earn it's keep.

My set up.

The blended batt still on the carder.

These are the three colors I mixed. I was going for a tribute to Aang. But the yellow and blue combined more than I expected. This was my first attempt, after all.

I used a diz to pull the fiber off the drum as roving.

This is one I did today. It's a combination of lavender, apple green, and saddle brown. I was going for something that felt like a field of lavender bushes. But the brown took over more than expected.

And here they are spun (before setting the twist). I'm thinking that I'll name them "Melted Crayons" and "Lavender Fields" when I list them on Etsy. I've been weighing everything and making notes so that I can recreate blends in case I ever need/want to make more of something.

Yarn Along

Joining up with Ginny (well, her husband I guess) for the Yarn Along.

Reading The Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon. Or at least, I was when I took this photograph a few hours ago. I have since finished it and am excited to start the next book in the series. Last week I was working on bombs for the Elf's Legend of Zelda bomb bag. I've finished it all and am mostly pleased with it. The colors aren't true to the game, nor is the shape of the bag exactly. But I hope he'll like it all anyway.

And now I'm off to spin more yarn!

More yarn.

Obsession? Yes. Yes it is.

These yarns are slowly being put up in my Etsy shop.

I've finished the Elf's knitted birthday gift. I'll post about it tomorrow. I need to "stencil" some shirts for him and then I'll be done! I'm cutting it close since his birthday is in eleven days. But.. I've been a bit distracted by.. er.. yarn.

Linking up with Nicole.