Ladybug Knitter

There’s a great new podcast out by Bammer and Coggie, who are both in the knitting group I go to on Monday nights. It’s funny, informative and entertaining with discussions on knitting, spinning and even some crochet. It’s called The High Fiber Diet. There’s even a contest to win some yarn, so listen away!

The other new thing I have is the Zetor Scarf. This project was my vacation knitting project over the past few weeks. I had a couple of weeks off work, did some camping and just general relaxing and this was the perfect project to wind down and relax with. It’s done in some Noro sock yarn that I got from Coggie. We did a trade — some yarn for a book. As far as the yarn goes, I really like the yarn after it’s washed. It’s pretty stiff to work with before washing and there’s lots of thick and thin spots, not to mention lots of knots. But I’ll put up with all that as I just love those Noro colors!

Today my hubby and I ventured to the Michigan Fiber Festival.  Unfortunately I forgot to bring my camera, but I did take a picture of my treasures once we made it home.

I purchased 2 pounds of yummy, soft merino top that will become some sort of sweater.  I’m still trying to decide on a pattern, colors, etc.  More to come on this project for sure.  I also got a pound of Wenslydale wool.  I’ve never tried spinning this type of wool, but I wanted to try something new.

I also got some hand dyed superwash merino from Yarn Hollow.  I walked right past them the first time through the vendor barn.  Fortunately my hubby made me go through each barn at least twice, and good thing, as I missed some of the vendors I wanted to make sure to visit the first time.

My last purchase was a mill end skein of Socks that Rock yarn.   I’ve never used this yarn, so I can’t wait to give it a try.  I already have a pattern picked out for this yarn — the Knutkin sock pattern.

Oh I almost forgot, not pictured, I also picked up a flick card.  I’ve recently acquired 5 pounds of raw alpaca and hopefully this will make the process of getting this ready to spin easier.  This alpaca looks heavenly don’t you think?  It’s super soft too.

I unexpectedly ran into a friend from over 20 years ago at the festival who went to my church when I grew up.  With her was a friend from when I was in band in high school.  Wow, how amazing that they are now knitters too and we just by chance ran into each other at, of all places, a fiber festival!

I’ve stayed away from swaps in the past, but the Stitch-It podcast lured me into the world of swapping. The theme was knitting or crocheting a “little critter” for your assigned swap partner. Luckily I know crochet and with all of the adorable amigurumi patterns available, the only problem I had was deciding which little critter to make for my swap partner.

My swap package arrived from Tasha this week and I was so pleased to find a ladybug themed package!

An adorable little girl with braids in a ladybug costume. I’ve eyed this pattern along with others in this Etsy store. All of her patterns look so adorable. Also included in my package was a cute ladybug bag, mini clothespins and ladybug measuring tape from Lantern Moon.

Here’s a pic of the package sent to my swap partner, Marianne, in Norway. An amigurumi little pig, Some JPs coffee, some organic chocolate from the Holland Peanut Store, stitch markers and the hubby-made, personalized WPI guide complete with her Ravatar name in Ravelry.

Hmmm, these swap things are really great. I may have to try this again

I’m pretty much a one project knitter, other than socks. And this lace has been hanging around on the needles since March, so it’s rather fitting that I finished it on Independence Day. Not to say that I didn’t enjoy knitting this shawl, but it was rather slow and monotonous. I only did 34 of the 40 repeats as it seemed long enough to me and the knitted on lace edging went rather quickly.

Ahh now what should I knit next? I think I’ll stick to finishing some socks for now while I dream of the next big project.

Not all of the swifts the hubby makes are perfect. The ones that are not just right end up in a burn pile. These sure came in handy camping this weekend in Ludington. Nice hardwood burns great for a campfire. Kind of sad though seeing one go like that though

I recently was gifted some lovely Southwest Trading Company Tofutsies sock yarn for my birthday last month. I wasted no time in turning it into socks. The first is the infamous Cookie A. Monkey Sock pattern. I had tried this pattern previously and had failed thinking it was too difficult. I guess the second time is the charm!

Next up is a sock from the book Sensational Knitted Socks by Charlene Schurch. It’s the Baby Cable Rib sock pattern from the book. It’s so super easy and as a bonus, no cable needle is required. I love the way it looks like cables going up the sock. I really need to take another look at this book as there are some interesting stitch patterns that add interest while keeping the sock simple.

My hubby recently made me this beautiful swift made from some gorgeous Padauk wood and has just added some of them in Oak and Pine to his shop. You can get one here. Grab one while you can. They’re essentially one piece and so easy to set up and store. Plus for you spinners out there, it makes a great way to measure your yarn after spinning. Trish already picked one up and made it her own with some purple paint (my favorite color).

Last weekend I picked up some new fiber at MarrHaven. Trish and I went to visit this local farm that raises their own Rambouillet sheep and then sells the fiber and yarn. I had some birthday money burning in a hole in my pocket, so I couldn’t leave empty handed could I? I picked up some Merino Tencel fiber in a light green. Some silk and merino blend in an Autumn color and some 100% cultivated silk to dye. I also picked up some of their own Merino & Rambouillet yarn. I would definitely recommend a visit to this shop if you’re in the area. The owner is so very nice and she has a good selection of natural and dyed fibers and blends.

I’ve picked up the Myrtle Lace Shawl again and have made some progress. I’m almost at the half way mark for the patterned rows. After that comes a knitted on lace border, but those usually go pretty fast.

I’ve also been working on a Monkey Sock which is a pretty easy lace pattern that is easily memorized and goes very quickly. I’m using Tofutsies yarn and I have to say that I love this yarn for summery socks. It’s so lite and feels great.

On the spinning front I’ve just finished spinning some laceweight singles. This yarn is going into the pot today to be kettle dyed a nice lavender color. Trying to decide which lace shawl pattern to use for this yarn. Maybe I’ll give the Swallowtail Shawl another try. If you don’t have this pattern, it is a free download until May 14th on the KnittingDaily website, along with some other favorites from Interweave Knits.

The sock has been found! Whew — I need to keep better track of my knitted items. It was found under a cushion in a chair in the coffee shop. Lesson learned — don’t ask a non-knitter to look for your knitted item

I found a couple of other cool items recently at my local area Goodwill store. First this cool rigid heddle loom for just $10. No, my finances can’t support yet another hobby, so I purchased this to resell on Ebay. Can you believe this sold for $60!

My second find at Goodwill is the salad spinner. I’ve used it after dyeing roving or yarn to get all the extra water out after rinsing. It works great, was just $3 and my roving is thoroughly dry by the next morning after dyeing.

I’ve recently finished a pair of handspun socks. While working on the second sock I noticed that the first one was missing! I vaguely remember having it at knit nite on Monday and wondered if perhaps I left it there. After a quick call to the coffee shop, I was assured that the sock was not there. Next I thoroughly checked my closet, knitting bags and anywhere else that a knitted sock may be hiding. Nope — no sock. Even a check of couch cushions, under furniture and behind items produced no sock

While I’ve contemplated dyeing some fiber to match and spinning and knitting another sock, I know that as soon as the replacement sock was finished, the original would magically appear. Should I knit a new sock, wait for the old one to show up? To be continued …..