MMMM..... Fiber....

Knitting The Creatures of the reef shawl is coming along nicely. Slow, but steady anyway. The seahorse/crab chart is complete. I haven't been working on Jim's socks much lately because, well the shawl has my undivided knitting attention right now. I absolutely love working on it. There will be more of these in my future!

Spinning We were out on Sunday looking for chopsticks (who knew that a nice-ish set would be hard to find) and ended up in Pier 1. I love that store. Anyway we started looking around and I sat down in one of the chairs. I mentioned to Jim that it was almost perfect for spinning. It was just a little too deep. I am a little on the short side and I don't like deep chairs. I want something I can rest all the way back so I can sit up straight. If I can't reach the back then I slouch. So he looks at me and says to try a different chair. Next thing I know I have tried just about every chair in the store. The sales lady is helping and everything. Well I found it. It is the right heighth and depth. It kind of comes around the sides of the back and feels like a hug, but the back isn't in the way. It was love at first sit. So we bought it. We weren't going to buy any furniture because we are moving in December and we are pretty well getting rid of what we have, but I guess we are also buying a truck, so it doesn't matter. The chair can move with us. I moved my wheel back downstairs to the living room and have been attempting (unsuccessfully) to learn long draw. Everytime I think I am getting it, something happens and I realize that I am not really getting it at all. But I am not too frustrated. I know it will come in time. I spoke with the gentleman from the alpaca farm not far from here and he told me about the spinning guild that meets about an hour and a half from my house. They meet every third Saturday so I am going to try to make it down there next month. It is kind of difficult since my husband and I share a vehicle, but I am going to go anyway! I am hoping that someone there can help me. I am very self conscious of my spinning. I didn't take a class or anything to learn, so it makes me a little nervous that they will tell me I am doing it all wrong. I guess if I am, someone ought to tell me though! I spin a fairly balanced yarn at this point and although it isn't as thin as I would like it to be, I am still learning. Anyway. I am taking my stepson to the alpaca farm with me on Saturday and we are going to get to tour the farm and meet the alpacas. I would like to come home with some fiber, but since my husband put in his two week notice at his steady paying job so he can start his sales job full time, it may not happen. I am glad he is going to be doing the other full time, but when you start working for mostly commission, it can be a little scary. I have full faith in him though. I am hopefully going to be teaching my stepson to spin soon. I told my husband that I feel confident enough in what I am doing that I think I could teach him correctly. He has asked several times. I think I am going to try to get a new drop spindle at some point and give him the one I have now. It isn't great, but I don't know if he will stick with it or not. Fingers crossed.

Sewing and quilting Did I just say quilting? Yup. One of the things that I thought I would never do, and here I am addicted to the fabric store and finding more quilting patterns than I could ever possibly make! My best friend in the whole word quilts and I finally broke down and asked her to teach me. Really it isn't so bad, except I think I am going to have to modify the pattern just a tiny bit because I should be getting enough out of the fat quarters to make 3 squares, and I am finding myself coming up just short. I am measuring and cutting everything correctly, so I don't know what is wrong. But I don't care really. I am also thinking that instead of making it 5 squares by 7, I am going to make it a little more even. 35 squares means that I would have an orphan square. I am a little on the OCD side and I think it would drive me insane. So I am thinking 5X8 squares. As far as sewing is concerned I completed my first ever top. I have sewn other things, but never clothing I actually intend to wear. There were some last minute alterations that I needed to do, and the alterations didn't come out so hot, one side is a tiny bit crooked but I am the only one who has noticed, but it is done! I haven't decided how I am going to go back and change it to where it is perfect, but I have to tell you I love to sew! Not just a little either. It is not as much fun to me as knitting, but I believe that there will be many, many more hand sewn clothes in my closet. I need a dress form. Not just for sewing. I would like one for knitting so I can work on patterns a little easier. It is hard to see what something is looking like when it is ON me. I never really thought that I would want to be designing clothing of the non knit variety, but I do! I guess I just want to do it all. But knitting and spinning are still more fun for me and I still intend on them being my focal point. I doubt seriously that I will ever try out for Project Runway, but I think that I will have many made for me clothes in the future.

Well off to knit! It has been a long stressful day and I need some relaxing!

Shawl update no pics

Well I am almost through the seahorse/crab chart. It is taking me quite a while to get through it because I haven't gotten to knit NEAR as much as I would like to. I was hoping to get more than two rows in yesterday. My best friend and I were sewing yesterday and I didn't know it was going to take us until 11PM last night to finish the blouse we were working on. I will post a picture at some point. The shawl is getting much easier though. Really the pattern is not difficult at all, just easy to not pay attention and get lost. The stitch markers are a tremendous help. I will definitely use them again. I will also probably be knitting this shawl again in the very near future for my mother. Maybe. If she is nice. I am kind of sleepy and we are going to see the new Harry Potter in a little bit so I am going to keep this short and sweet for now. I am either going to take a nap or knit. Or both.
Have a happy week!

Creative Juices are FLOWING!!!

I am working on some designs right now for a line of knits. I am on a lace kick right now so they are starting out as a few different lace shawls and then maybe I will go on to a few sweaters and maybe some socks from there. I am just sketching on them right now. I still have some decisions to make as far as what I want them to look like and all that. I am in the middle of knitting a shawl right now that I would really like to finish first. I am excited because I have never done much designing before so this is going to be my first "real" design. I have done some small stuff before but nothing on quite this big of a scale before. It feels very good to get this creative side out and exercising it a little bit. I am also wanting to spin the yarn for these. At least for the final products, not necessarily for the "trial" ones. I have colors that I am working on in my head that my limited amount of colored pencils is just not allowing me to show on paper right now. Mostly because I am thinking probably doing heathered colors since I LOVE heathers. I have one of the colors pretty well picked out, just have to spin it up and go. I might play with some dying next weekend. I don't have much time during the week right now to dye. My supervisor just had a baby so I have to stay an hour later at work every day (OT for me!) and it really cuts into my evenings. Plus I am usually so exhausted that by the time I get done exercising and eating dinner, it is time for bed. I may try to soak some yarn tonight and have it dying while I exercise tomorrow. LOL! Maybe I will take my crock pot to work with me and dye there! It is just going to be a very small amount because I am experimenting with it. I need to buy some more fiber. *sigh*

The Creatures of the Reef shawl is coming along nicely. I finished the first chart last night and ran a lifeline. I am three rows into the second chart. I have to say I really enjoy this pattern. It was designed by Dorothy Siemens and she has several others that are very lovely. I will definitely be knitting the peacock feathers shawl, maybe later this year. I may try to get a blog post going later on today or tomorrow on what all I will be trying to knit for the remainder of 2009. It will be kind of short right now because we are going to be moving in a couple months and I am trying to not buy much yarn/fiber right now so that there will be less to pack. Since we have a soft top Jeep we can't rent a pull behind UHaul and we don't have much we want to take with us. Most of our stuff will either be sold or donated. We already donated what amounted to 6 or 7 lawn sized bags of clothes, and there are still more to go! Oh and there was close to one bag of unmendable, stained, or otherwise undonatable clothes. So basically if it is not in my stash now, it won't be for a couple of months (maybe I will buy enough to knit another shawl). I am trying really hard to destash what I have now. I am knitting an afghan for my aunt to destash and I am going to do a couple of charity projects as well, if I have enough yarn that I can do it in. I have lots of single skeins. The rest will probably be donated or something. Just keep my good yarns.

I am feeling like my brain is working a lot better right now than it was. I wonder if it is because I have cut way down on the amount of carbs I eat. I really hate admitting that because I am a self admitted carboholic and I kind of miss my carbs. I am doing pretty good on my diet. Not that I have been perfect, but even the times that I have been "bad" I have limited myself and, well, I am proud. It has taken a long time for me to get to this point, where I am in control of what I am eating. I think I am driving my husband crazy with it though. He is the one "helping" me with the diet and there are times when I get kind of cranky when all I want is a big bowl of pasta. I don't mean to make him feel bad. I really do appreciate what it is that he is helping me do. It is getting easier and I have been losing weight. I haven't done so hot this weekend. I haven't worked out once and I have had steamed WHITE rice twice and I am not admitting what I ate at Village Inn with my dad the other morning. Pancakes and fried potatoes may have been involved. But other than those minor setbacks I am still good. Oh and I have not had enough water this weekend. Oh well. I will drink some in a bit.

Creatures of the Reef Cast on--- again

After the unfortunate accident last time with my pretty beachy shawl, I have decided, finally, to start over. All 400+ stitches have been cast on. The set up row is done. I am already running a lifeline. I think I have decided to only run one at the last row of every chart, but I may do it more often than that. I may do an additional life line after every WS row. Decisions have not been made on that yet. I hope that I can get this thing going pretty quick. I would like to get it done very soon. I have a couple other projects that I would like to get going. I have an afghan started for my aunt. It is just basic crochet granny squares that I am making out of Red Heart and Caron Simply Soft. She will need something machine washable and I have had it in my stash. I wish I had really nice stuff to make something for her with. I need to find some good baby yarn. I want to make a pretty baby shrug for my cousins new baby, Emma. I would also like to find something to knit for Becky's baby that is about to be born or has just been born. I don't know what to do for him. I have some pretty green cotton yarn left over from Jacoby's baby sweater that I knit. Maybe I will make baby Ryan one too. I don't know because I really want too work on this shawl and I tend to be a pretty monogamous knitter. When I worked on it before I got through the first 3 charts pretty quick, but I wasn't using lifelines then. Lifelines take me forever to place. Oh well. No big deal. I have plenty of time to finish it.

Lets see on the spinning front... well I haven't gotten much spinning in. I am still working on the Kiwi colored Kraemer Yarns, Mauch Chuncky roving. 60% New Zealand Wool, 40% Domestic Wool. I love it. Really it isn't my favorite to spin, but the color is so pretty on it. I have decided to make it 3 ply so it is going to be a little thicker than I would like it but since I have no clue what it wants to be turned into, it really doesn't matter at this point. I was going to make it into a sock yarn, but the 2 ply was just not right. I made it a 3 and it was amazing. I haven't checked WPI on my sample yet, because it really doesn't matter to me right now because I like it 3 ply no matter what size it is. That is probably a bad habit, but it is what it wants to be so I am not going to fight it! : )

As far as my nonfiber life is concerned, Jim has been painting a motorcycle for a friend. The guy stripped the paint and everything before hand. We had some set backs. There was some shipping problems with the paint. We ordered the primer and a couple days later, the actual paint. Lets see this was just before Memorial Day. It took the primer a week and a half to arrive and the paint like 2 and a half weeks. The paint was apparently not in stock. I finally had to call to see why I hadn't received a tracking number. She said it was because they ran out of paint (several days after I had ordered, btw) and they would have more that Friday. I was not very please with the fact that there was no email or phone call or anything saying that it had been backordered so it was very frustrating. The paint actually didn't get here until the first day of our Florida trip. Jim was wanting to have it finished before we went on vacation. So there have been some set backs, but it is all done now. There are no more motorcycle parts in our kitchen. We have our garage back, although Jim said he was going to clean it out today and since his is upstairs napping and we are leaving to go swim before the birthday party in about 15 minutes , I don't see that happening today. Oh well. He isn't painting the bike anymore so he will have cleaning the garage tomorrow to look forward to.

Florida was amazing. Our discovery trip went really well. We found some apartments that we like. Now we just need our lease to be up here and find jobs there. I have my resume done and ready to go. Since I guess our lease isn't up until October 1 (how did we end up with a 13 month lease?) we have PLENTY of time to do all of that. We have decided that most of our stuff is not going with us. We already have a buyer for the 62' TV and our queen size bed. I need to make a list of the rest of the stuff that we are selling for our buyer. She said she wanted to know what all we were getting rid of because she may want more. That will at least pay for the trip there. I am debating selling my wheel. I can't make up my mind on it. We would like to have everything fit in the Jeep. I know that sounds crazy, but most of the stuff that we have we don't want anymore. Most of it is stuff from our pasts that we don't want. Like the TV was kind of a symbol of his bachelor days. It was kind of a rebelion against his ex. Stuff like that we just don't want. We have donated a bunch of clothes. There will be more. I am hoping to lose some serious weight and then I will be able to fit into some of my cute clothes again. I didn't keep much that doesn't fit. But there is some. I am trying to work through my stash. I don't have much and what I do have is mostly crappy acrylic. I wasn't allowed to buy nice yarn when I was with my ex so I really don't want most of my yarn either. Books are going to be the hard part. I love my books. I love my bookshelf. I am probably only going to take my favorites and my knitting books/mags with me. Like one box of books. I can do that. I am going to weed out some of my books and what is left will go in a box in mom's house for when she moves. We went through our movies and got rid of about half. We took them to the used game/video store and traded in for a couple new games and movies. Since we don't have cable anymore, we NEED movies! At least our favorites.

New blog.

Welcome to my new blog. How cheesy is that? I guess for post #1 I should do a little introductions. My former blog was http://ladyknitsalot.blogspot.com/ My name is Whitnee. I am addicted to fibery things. I have been knitting since about 2000 or 2001. Ok that is a stretch. I taught myself to knit then, but really didn't fall in love with knitting until probably 2004 or 2005. I also learned to spin (kinda) in 2006. I have been spinning nonstop since probably the beginning of 2009 though. For a long time I was kind of alone in the knitting world. Obviously this was because I was hiding under a rock because there are so many knitting resources out there that I was just previously unaware of. Believe it or not I hadn't even heard of Ravelry until just several months ago. Alright well I really don't know many people that knit around here anymore. I co-founded a SNB locally, but I kind of went through some schedule changes and some different priorities in my life so after a year and a half I had to stop going. I have tried to go to another group that meets at a more convenient time for me, but I really like to spend weekday evenings with my husband so I don't usually go. Especially because a month ago today his oldest son passed away. So right now I need to be with him as much as I can. My husband is my best friend in the entire world and we enjoy spending time together. We would one day like to open up a yarn shop of our own. He wants to start designing wheels. Especially painting them. He will be painting mine soon! : ) That makes me very happy! Just as soon as he finishes (or even STARTS) painting the motorcycle parts that are laying on my kitchen counter. Smells like gasoline in there because of the fuel tank.
Lets see what other boring things can I think to tell about myself.... My favorite color is orange, however I really love all colors. Like I said I am a fiber enthusiest. I am a vegetarian. I just stopped liking meat about 10 years ago and no matter how much I would like to eat it, I just can't bring myself to do it. I love to read, though I rarely make time for it. I love to walk. Although I have quite a bit of music on my iPhone, I listen to knitting podcasts while I am walking. Usually Stitch It!! Podcast. Not that I don't listen to others. It is just that that one and The Knitmore Girls seem to be the correct lengths for my walks! And they are two of my favorites. The whole podcast thing is another thing that I am new too. But let me tell you the underside of that rock I was hiding under was really nice and cozy. Hee Hee. I also have a sweet little Yorkie girl named Maddie and a handsome little black cat named Jack. Since I have no kids on my own, and no intentions of having any, they are my babies. I am currently living in Northwest Arkansas. I am from Texas and will always claim that as home no matter where I live. However, my dear hubby and I are getting ready to take an exploratory trip to Florida because we want to move there. I have family there and we would be closer to my hubby's family. It will be wonderful. And there is that beach thing. I love that idea.

Behind on Blogging.

I have been neglecting my blog a little bit. To catch up, I have been mostly spinning lately, with some knitting sprinkled in here and there. Lets see. Ispent most of the last month spinning up all of my gray wool. I was doing the Yarn Everyday in April group on Ravelry so most of that was spent spinning mass amounts of thin (for me) gray yarn. I didn't really like working with it at first because it kind of resembled dryer lint. It would have pieces in it that were on the extra fuzzy side. No big deal. I worked around it. It is about 408 yards plied and I still have a little left on one bobbin. I don't know for sure what I am going to do with it but I am thinking of Navajo plying it just to get a free bobbin. I need to buy more bobbins as I only have the two regular ones and then the one big one for plying. Of course I would really LOVE to get a new wheel... *sigh*. It isn't that I don't like my babe, it is just that I would prefer a wheel that is a little bit steadier. If that makes sense. Anyway besides the gray I also have a little purple and yellow that I have been spinning for a single. I don't think I care much for it. At all. I just went yesterday and bought some more of the fiber like the spice that I spun before, only this stuff is bright green and yellow! Happy colors. I have been playing some with my drop spindle. I really am trying to make it work for me. It is getting better I suppose. What else? Lets see I decided that for Easter, instead of dying eggs, I would try my hand at dying yarn! Since orange is my favorite color I decided to dye it orange and yellow! I was very pleased. I used food coloring and vinegar. It was super easy and I was suprised at just how much I enjoyed doing it. I also tried dying some fiber with KoolAid and um.... was less than happy with my results. I don't know if I did something wrong. I didn't agitate or anything, but it seems that it felted a tiny bit in places. Not all over. In fact that is the purple and yellow that I am spinning up. There were just a few small pieces that wouldn't spin. No big. I haven't been doing much knitting. A couple dish cloths. I started a sock for Jim that I really don't like the yarn for. I have started a lace shawl. I am knitting http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/creatures-of-the-reef-shawl right now. Since we are moving to Florida I thought that it would be appropriate. : ) This is my first attempt at lace knitting. I went to LYS last night and she helped me figure out some of the things I had questions on. There was some stuff written in there that I really just needed to hear someone else say because it didn't make sense when I read it. I started it last night and am only a couple rows in but so far I like the pattern. I have only done one row today because I am kind of feeling blah today. I am not sure that counting is a good idea for me today! LOL! Maybe I will make some lunch and then knit. That sounds like a good plan.

Finished Wicked

Well I am done with Wicked. Overall I really liked the pattern. I just wish I was a little....less chunky (ok fat, but I was trying to be nice to myself). It is actually kind of flattering. I am heavy in my top area and I think that it doesn't make the girls look too scary! If only my tummy wasn't so big it would look absolutely awesome. Cascade 220 was a perfect choice for this. It gives it enough stretch in the areas that need it without looking stretched out. I am glad that I went ahead with the shaping. Its a little big through the shoulder/armpit area, but no so much that it is going to bother me I think. It is also a tad big through the lower back area. I haven't blocked it yet so maybe once it is all blocked it won't seem so big through there. If not it won't be the end of the world, it isn't too bad. I made it extra long to accomodate my thickness. I HATE having to fight my shirts because they are all too short. The short sleeves were good I think because it isn't a heavy sweater. Good for spring because it will give warmth and a little bit of cool too. I am glad that I have this sweater in my library. I am probably going to be knitting one for my best friend too. She really liked the design of it and said she wanted one too. I am going to show her my finished product on Tuesday so we will see then if she still wants one. I think I am going to rip out the sleeves for Jim's Fog sweater. I am like 2 inches short of finishing and since I used Cascade Eco Wool.. I really don't think that I need 475 yards of yarn for two inches. I hate to do that just because it is not cheap yarn (for the amount it is priced well though) and then I will end up with a partial skein of yarn that I won't be able to use. Well I am sure I could come up with something.. but $20 specifically for two inches worth of sleeve doesn't make sense to me. I bought some more wool on Thursday. I sat down to spin a little bit today. It is pretty gray, but I am not sure that I really like the way it works up. I guess it doesn't really matter. Practice is practice and that is really what I want right now. I am going to go to the library sometime this week and try to pick up a book on spinning. It is Spring Break. I don't have much studying I HAVE to do this week. I am taking off work on Thursday so I can stay home and spin all day. I just need some quiet time to figure it all out. To figure out what it is I am doing wrong and right and figure out what all needs to change. I really was interested in spinning at first but not like I am now. Now it almost consumes me. I am not very good at it but I love it. Funny.