Mad Science Saturday

This weekend, I decided to experiment with some of the alpaca fleece that was given to me by JoAnn of Fishwood Farm Alpacas. Having never worked with pure alpaca before, I wanted to see how difficult it was to clean, how quickly it felted and so forth.

I grabbed handfuls of fleece (white, rust and black) and washed them twice with a bit of Dawn detergent (as illustrated by Lara on her blog).

I then "carded" the fleece with purse-sized hairbrushes. :) Yes, I'm lame, but I wanted to see how it worked out before I invested in a pair of actual carding combs. [I'm shopping for them now/LOL.] I then rolled sections of the fleece into balls and packed them into one leg of a pair of pantyhose and tied it off as shown below.

Hairy balls anyone? ;)

I then felted the balls and removed the pantyhose. Note: Don't felt with pantyhose. The fiber ended up "bleeding through" pantyhose and I had to shave off parts the pantyhose with a disposable razor.

And voila! Fat, thick pincushions

They're actually prettier in person. You can see the color whorls in the felting and they're surprisingly heavy; the alpaca is very dense.

And every family has its "odd duck." I call this one the punk rock pincushion.

I also finished Aicha's Karaoke scarf.
Now that I've played and sampled, it's my hope to 1) get carding combs, 2) wet felt a lot of the fleece into 'dreadlocks' and then create felted drink coasters or maybe a braided rug. We shall see.... Have a great week everyone!

Crochet Lesson No. 1

aka "the not-so-young Jedi knitter goes

temporarily over to the Dark Side of fiber"

My apologies to the crocheters out there...I couldn't resist the joke. My first foray into any type of fiber was my seventh grade Home Economics class (circa 1979). Mrs. Bailey taught us how to make crochet bookworms like the one pictured below.

Last night, I had my first formal crochet lesson. I met up with Jan at Yarn Theory and I learned to chain, single crochet (sc), double crochet (dc) and several other stitches. I've heard from numerous people, including Jan, that crocheting is faster than knitting. Based on my struggles last night (how many times can Dana drop the hook? LOTS), I'll believe it when I can do it, but I don't doubt what they're saying. :)

I hope to make my way up to a granny square and beyond that, those amazing arigumi animals that can be found on Ravelry. While browsing there one morning, I found this little girl and I'm dying to make her. The pattern is called "Lavender Bunny."

Bookworm to Bunny...that should take me another twenty years....

Happy knitting/spinning and now, crocheting y'all.

Shame

Yesterday, the word, "shame" popped up in two separate and unrelated e-mails. Both e-mails were from friends and knitters. One wrote, "Until I actually start spinning... (as she holds her head down in shame)" and the other said, "hanging my head in shame..." [she hadn't completed a project]. I admire and like these women enormously. They inspire me on a regular basis, so I was so surprised by what they wrote.



In thinking about their e-mails, I realized that the three of us - - and probably more of us - - are in a similar boat. Specifically, we're trying to overachieve and when we can't do it all in a nominal amount of time, we feel badly about it. When did knitting become a "destination point" instead of a "journey"?


In all honesty, the last six to eight projects I've completed are a blur because I was so focused on "get it done" that I really don't remember (and more importantly, didn't enjoy) the actual process of knitting. Well, I've decided that there will be no more of that. My goals now are as follows:

1. I will enjoy knitting first and foremost;
   
2. I will not press myself to complete the project;
   
3. I will not apologize when my life supercedes my knitting time a.k.a. "if it takes me twelve months to finish, that's perfectly fine;" and
   
4. I will commit to no more than I can reasonably accomplish.

As for the "shameful knitters," well, they have nothing to be ashamed of. Both have busy lives and take care of numerous people in one respect or another. They've both had an incredibly eventful year (and not all of it fun or pleasant). So ladies... you know who you are...repeat after me... "I am NOT ashamed!" ;)

P.S. Here's the last example of my overkill. I knitted the Lopi tote in a day and felted it the next morning.

I've also been plugging away at the Karaoke scarf for my niece in France and now, I'm going to slow it down and enjoy the feel of the New Tweed.

Finally, and on a much lighter note, the kittens send their regards.

Alpaca Weekend

Hi everyone!

I had a fun and intesting weekend. On Saturday morning, I went to Fishwood Farm and met JoAnn Wood and her alpacas. JoAnn was a font of information and I really enjoyed spending time with her. The alpacas, themselves, were sweet natured, curious and lovely. It was really something to see them up close.

Photographed below is Pintura, a mother alpaca with very nice fur. Lara is now spinning some of her fleece.

The caramel colored alpaca (Rory) and the brown & white alpaca are being weaned. The chocolate brown and the white/black alpaca are yearlings.

And fleece...lots of fleece. JoAnn sent me home with five bags of fleece. There's a half bag of Suri, a bag of "seconds" (which I've earmarked for Linda) and three bags of "thirds" which are great for wet felting. Does anyone want some? Please say "yes" - - there's so much! Let me know and I'll mail it to you or if you're local, I'll bring a sack into work & meet up with you in town.

JoAnn also extended a broad invitation. If anyone wants to visit the farm and meet the alpaca, they're welcome to come. Just give her a call and set up a date and time.

At long last

For several weeks, I stopped knitting because I simply couldn't seem to find the time or energy. I picked up the needles early last week and cranked out Connor's baby blanket, finishing it off Friday night. Oh how I looooove Mission Falls!

I found this pattern, "Oh My Baby! Booties" on Ravelry. Great pattern, easy knit, but mine are, admittedly, not cute. I'm going to do another set in a solid color (with sock yarn) and see how they turn out. I used "Porto Cervo" cotton on a size seven needle and they're just too large (even after washing & drying).

And finally, I'm offering prizes! What do you have to do to win a prize? Nothing! You've already won just by reading my blog. Pick your color!

(And don't even think about not leaving a comment. I know who you are and quite likely, where you live, so again, tell me what color you want!). ;) LOLOL

Madeleine, the stray, is currently holed up in our basement with her little squeaking brood.

Noro...beautiful Noro...

For a long time now, I've heard a number of people express their love of Noro's Silk Garden. Being the slow puppy that I am, I finally got around to getting some. What was the catalyst? Nikki's scarf. At the Knitters Knook grand opening, Nikki was wearing a scarf that I fell in love with at first sight. It's the diagonal bias scarf and hers was made with...you guessed it...Noro. I bought two skeins and here is the end result.


I wore it Monday, Wednesday & Friday of last week. I washed it on Saturday so I could wear it some more this week. :) It feels soooooooo good and the photo doesn't do the colors justice. Now I see (finally) what all the fuss was about.

Happy Knitting/Spinning all.

Hi, I'm Dennis Miller...

...and this is your weekend update. :)

First of all, thank you so much for your messages of support and love. They meant and mean the world to me. I was heartsick all week and as of Thursday evening, quite scared too.

Mohamed did get checked out and the ECG and blood tests came back normal. His heart is beating regularly, but it is too slow. The physicians who treated him at the hospital where he works put in a call to Roanoke Memorial Hospital, where his cardiologist is based. As luck would have it, Mohamed's cardiologist was the one on duty Friday night and I understand that they exchanged information and test results. Dr. Welch is bringing Mohamed in this week (as opposed to his originally scheduled appointment on 4/2/08) and we'll simply take it from there. Mohamed hasn't been experiencing any more chest pains and he's no longer feeling weak. He feels a great deal better and naturally, so do I. The tests and just being vetted by doctors gave us some real peace of mind and comfort. We don't know the "why" yet, but we're hopeful.

Arabella, too, continues to improve each day. In fact, she tries to walk too much now and is beginning to develop "cabin fever." We have a small, beagle sized crate for travel and a very large crate to contain her in the house. The cats walk by the crate and just glance at her like, "Ha! You can't get us now." Yesterday evening, Bella tracked them with her eyes and her expression read, "Just you wait...".

Dad and Joan returned safely home to a surprise. They live in rural Mississippi and when they pulled into their driveway, they immediately noticed that the chain on their gate (leading into their property) was cut. As it turned out, there was a fire in the woods not far from their house and it was a decently sized one. The firetrucks arrived and were locked out. Get this...their insurance doesn't (yes, DOES NOT) allow them to cut chains and open locked gates. Dad's neighbor, whom I guess called the fire department in the first place, ran to his house, grabbed his bolt cutters and took care it himself. Once the gates were "unlocked," the fire department did their thing.

Ahhhhh...it's Sunday and the start of a new and fresh week!

THANK YOU AGAIN MY FRIENDS!

RANT TIME

This is your warning - - if you don't like a rant,

sprinkled with the odd profanity,

walk away now 'cause I'm in a mood and

I intend to vent.

- - - - - - - - -

My week SUCKED ASS because...

1. On Monday afternoon, I watched my little dog, Arabella,

get struck by a car.

2. My dad and stepmother stayed at our house for

only 36 hours.

3. Mohamed had chest pains last night.

- - - - - - - -

Now, for the updates....

1. Bella (the yarn thief, snuggler, howler, four-legged fiend whom I adore) survived. She has several small pelvic fractures, a broken femur and must be crate-confined for the next four to six weeks so that everything will heal well and properly. I brought her home last night and Andie and I learned how to "towel walk" the dog. We had to place a beach towel under Bella, raise the two ends of the towel to support her pelvis and/or butt end, so that she would walk easily.

She's been a real trooper and I am amazed by her - - really amazed.

Like her adoptive mother, she, too, enjoys the occasional painkiller. About twenty minutes after I gave Bella her evening dose of medication, I went to the crate to check on her and I swear to you, the dog was smiling and cross-eyed!

2. Dad & Joan were anxious to return to their home and I can't hold it against them. I wish we could've had more time together, but I'm glad for the the time we had. We laughed, talked, played cards and it was WONDERFUL!

3. Mohamed promised to get checked out tonight (he works at the local hospital) so we'll have to see what they say. I'm hoping it's just a matter of readjusting the meds (he has an irregular heartbeat that was diagnosed for the first time not quite two years ago).

I hope your week was better

and thanks for sharing my rant (it helped a lot).

XOXOX

Knitters Knook - Grand Opening

Saturday morning was fabulous & fun!

Becky hosted the grand opening of her new yarn store,

Knitters Knook, and it was a party.

There was food, drink, fiber and friends...what more could you ask for?

Becky, sock guru & owner
(Behind her is the Mission Falls wall).

Fiber - - beautiful fiber.

Mission Falls wall.

Plymouth's Encore at the back

And Linda! Linda won the first door prize and chose a beautiful skein

of Socks That Rock sock yarn.

Dianne won the second door prize, a "stained glass" hat kit from Green Mountain Spinnery.

Thanks for a great time Becky!

What Year are You?

I saw this on Noolie's blog and just had to give it a try.

It's me alright.

Who's next? Marianne? Dianne? Nikki?

You Belong in 1963

You are a free spirit with a huge heart. Love, peace, and happiness rule - oh, and drugs too.

What Year Do You Belong In?

Happy Birthday!

On my mark....

Get set....

GONE!

Yes, Emma, chocolate cake is very, very good.

2008 Sedalia Fiber Festival

We're on! We don't yet know a date, but the Board of Directors agreed to put the fiber festival back on the calendar. As soon as I know a date, I'll post it and begin mailing out the vendor invitations. Thank you for your support!

Knitters Knook of Boones Mill, VA

or as I think of it "The Make Me Drool Profusely Store"

Becky has the complete color line of Mission Falls 1824 Superwash Wool (one of my favorites) and I could barely tear my eyes away from it. The colors are gorgeous. The chicklette, Andie, and I went to store Saturday afternoon and to our surprise and delight, Linda, Dianne and Nikki were there as well.

The shop is cozy, comfortable and so very inviting. Becky has snacks and coffee in the back and two large couches in front. It's AWESOME!

Here are the facts:
Location: 101 Dogwood Hill Road, Boones Mill, VA 24065
Telephone: 334-2422
Hours: Tues. thru Friday, 11 am to 6 pm
Saturday, 11 am to 4 pm
2nd & 4th Sundays, Noon to 5 pm

The store is open now, but the grand opening celebration will be on March 1st.

While there, I bought eight skeins of the M.F. 1824 for my cousin's baby boy who's due in June. Two each of the colors below:

And still on the needles is my sister's feather and fan. Three skeins down, six to go.

Have a great one y'all!

Sedalia Fiber Festival Update

Hi Everyone,

I sent out an e-mail and posted a few months ago regarding the Sedalia Fiber Festival 2008. First of all, I’d like to thank everyone who contacted Sedalia about putting the festival back on the calendar. I heard via the grapevine that numerous people had contacted them. Thank you!

If I may, I’d like to update you on the situation and ask one more favor. The Sedalia Board of Directors is having a weekend retreat this weekend. The director of operations, Jane Gross, is going to ask the board for a vote to reinstate the festival. If you have a free moment, please consider contacting Sedalia again and expressing your interest in this event (vote “Yes”). :)

The Sedalia Center can be reached through their website at http://www.sedaliacenter.org/page/page/3143737.htm

Have a great weekend!

Mini-Projects & Eye Candy

Happy Friday everyone! It's been a nice and quiet week and I've just been plodding along doing mini-projects. Here's the first preemie hat I've ever made.

And here's the second. Both are a part of the 4th Annual K3Tog Preemie Hat Extravaganza that was mentioned on Noolie's blog. The hats will be donated to the Children's Hospital of St. Paul NICU.

Yes, it fits around the brim of a small wineglass. It's amazing and wonderful that these tiny little people survive.

Now for the "Eye Candy". Here are a few photos of the animals at the Mill Mountain Zoo in Roanoke.

Golden Pheasant

Pygmy Goat and Llama

And my favorite, the artic fox napping in the sun.

Have a great weekend!

Check, check, check

I'm ticking projects off my list.

Finally finished are the DW washcloth, the Encore socks and the Saartje's Booties. I also managed to squeeze in a pair of Irish Hiking wrist warmers this weekend.



Now on the needles are my sister's afghan and a preemie hat (Noolie inspired me yet again).

On MLK Day, the family and I had a fun (albeit chilly) afternoon in Roanoke. After two and a half years in the area, we finally visited the Mill Mountain Star and Zoo.



Mohamed and Andie (the boy stayed warm in the car). ;)



The overlook view of Roanoke. Isn't it lovely?

Gift Knits

Remember what I wrote about knitting for me? Well, forget everything I said. My resolve was blown out of the water by a three year old named Emma.

If you recall, I knitted a pair of hats earlier this summer for Emma and her twin brother, Jamie.



This past Wednesday, I got a call from my sister saying that Emma, whom I've never met (her mother and my sister work together), was terrorizing her brother. Emma liked her little red hat so well that she always - - ALWAYS - - wore it. While at the mall with her mother and brother, the hat was lost and she was beside herself. Unable to find her hat, she promptly stole her brother's and has since refused to give it back. Denise, my sister, called to ask if I'd mind making Emma another one.

I was so flattered that Emma liked the original hat so well that I made her not one, but two replacement hats. I dipped into a pattern I had never tried before and came up with this (fancy, I think) little number.

Toddler Felt Hat



And the ever trusty Apple Hat.



Now I've got to box them up and get them in the mail. Stay warm y'all & happy knitting. :)

Chugging Along

Good morning everyone,

I am cleaning out my knitting totes (I'm up to three now) and enjoying a case of "finishitis." I've had the socks below in a bag for months, as well as a single Saartje bootie and a DW washrag. I made a promise to myself that I'd finish those three projects before I started something else.

Well...that's not quite true. I went ahead and cast on an afghan for my sister, Denise, but it's much smaller than its predecessor. Denise's blanket is in hunter, cream and burgundy (her favorites) and it's another feather and fan. When it and the other three are finished, I plan on doing a Peace Fleece shawl, some baby knitting, cabled wrist warmers, my Jayne hat and whatever else strikes my fancy.

Christmas is over and the next few months are MINE (she writes, chuckling darkly). Have a wonderful week!