Finished Projects!

It's so great to finish a project. Part of why it's so nice is because then a new one can begin. Even before I'm half-way through my knitting I'm already thinking of what to do next and sometimes just can't wait to start another piece.

Recently I finished my husband's sweater (hence the black photo to the left) and though it is his new favorite I've been planning the next one for sometime. Maybe a vest for the warmer months. Knitting for him would be a little more exciting if he wanted something other than black. Actually, I'm exaggerating just a bit. He has picked up a couple of light colored linen guayabera shirts recently to wear in the summer months.

Sorry the pics aren't so great. I dropped my good camera (sorry Mom) so am having to use my daughter's. Looks like I'll be shopping for a new camera in the near future.


A couple of other small projects include another pillow with gorgeous wooden buttons and a belated gift hat.

I've been trying to work out some details in the pillow patterns so that there are no flipping or rolling edges and no pillow inserts peeking out of the opening.

To the left is a picture of the pillow before the buttons were sewn on.


The hat was a request from a family member. I had made one hat and when a second was requested I decided to play around with a more feminine design. The hat was knit from the bottom up and begun by knitting the lace within reverse stockinette so that when it was flipped up you would be looking at the right side. This also meant that I didn't have to pick-up stitches to create the band (which I avoid whenever possible). I was very pleased with the end result.

It'd be cute without the ear flaps. Maybe this fall. Spring is here however and I can't think of winter hats now.
And...my daughter finished her dad's socks! They look and fit wonderfully. She did a great job (even though the yarn was very rough). Sweet girl, she is now knitting a pair of anklets for me in an 80%cotton/20%wool yarn. Much softer than the last. The heels and gussets are finished and she is knitting away on the feet. The weather has just turned and I should have a new pair of summer socks! What a very good daughter. She continues to amaze me with her array of talents and I'd like to take a few lines here to dote on her if I may. Besides making beautiful handcrafts she also is a gifted musician. Though we recognized this gift early, she only began piano lessons a couple of years ago. She has progressed rather quickly and loves to pick up other instruments. This past Thursday she started fiddle lessons. The group meets at a local Irish pub and after lessons everyone stays to listen to a real session and students can take part as soon as they like. If you've never been to one, find a local pub and go. They're a lot of fun even if you don't play anything!

Comhaltas (promoting Irish music and culture) has a great YouTube page. Here's a video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3R3z1gJQkQ

No, I'm not Irish.

Spinning and Plying

It has been a couple of years since I tried to spin. I did pretty well on the spinning wheel at the park district but did not have one at home and found the drop spindle too slow. The drop spindle is not really that slow -it was me being not only slow, but impatient and I happily distracted myself with other fiber adventures.

Above is a pic of my first ball of yarn from a spinning wheel. (Pay no attention to the drop spindle.)

For whatever reason I got the spinning bug again. In looking around for a wheel to possibly rent, I ran across the Windy City Spinning Guild. Probably most people would go about this the other way around (i.e., contact spinners, get info, get a wheel, learn to spin). Not me. Thankfully this is what ended up happening anyway, in spite of me.

While searching for a wheel-for-rent I found myself at the guild's website. I sent them an email and was told that they would be meeting that Tuesday. Great!

I drove the 5 miles or so to the public library location which is the designated meeting place and upon going in asked the young lady at the desk "Could you tell me where the spinning guild meets?".

The reply was, "What is that?" with a look of kind confusion and then, "They're probably upstairs. You can take the elevator." (pointing to it).

"May I take the stairs?"

"Yes."

Up I went. I was actually a little worried about showing up with nothing but my current knitting project. But there was no need to be concerned. Before long I was handed a homemade dropspindle accompanied by a short demonstration and told that when I finished spinning this that she would show me how to ply it. Wow! I get to learn to ply already?

I did finish and was shown how to make a two-ply from my single strand of yarn by using an Andean plying method. There is a very good article on this in the Summer 2007 issue of Spinoff magazine if you're interested in learning. I have to tell you that I am terribly excited about having learned this and hope to accomplish it next time without cutting off circulation to my middle finger.

Here's a nice little illustration of Andean plying:

http://www.mielkesfarm.com/andean.htm

Bumbling Bees has a pretty funny blog entry about Andean plying. Take a look.

http://bumblingbees.blogspot.com/search/label/Spinning

Above and below is my tiny hank of 2-ply yarn from the guild meeting.

I had a great time and all the ladies were very nice and helpful. They even sent me home with more fiber and a dropspindle! Can't wait to go next month! I plan to take them some of our English Angora's fiber to see what they can do with it.

Knitted Pillows and Spring Markets

I've been knitting more pillows and thought I would share some pictures.

The basic design is very plain, which I like. One of them does have a single cable going up one side to add a bit more interest. Cotton taping was used to make tie closures for a couple of them and buttons on one. The ties look very casual and the buttons a bit cleaner.

They are all filled with feather and down inserts and are some of the most comfortable pillows I've ever had. I want them to be imminently usable which is why they all close on the end so there is no front or back. Un-dyed eco-wool was used to knit these up. It has a very soft hand after blocking.

I'm still hoping to find some unique handspun yarn to make a couple from but haven't had to much time to pursue that option. Maybe soon! It's almost time for local festivals and farmer's markets and I may be able to find something there. Though I'm not sure about this option since the Midwest seems to be a little slower to catch on to this idea, but they are becoming more common and lively. Wouldn't it be great to have a year round market like some of the ones in Europe?

I'll be making a trip to DC this summer. Know of any good markets for handmade goods or antiques?

I found this website that lists a number of markets but is otherwise uninformative.

http://washingtondcfarmersmarkets.nova-antiques.com/

This one gave a bit more info on one market.

http://www.pps.org/great_public_spaces/one?public_place_id=224

I'll have to check this one out...

http://www.ballstonvasquare.org/artmarket.html

where these sellers will be.

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5066487

http://www.bettesbags.com/

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5453066

This one looks like fun.

http://www.easternmarket.net/

I'd love to know if are any interesting places to go during the week too. We're going to DC for a wedding so the weekend of our trip is already full and any side trips will have to be squeezed in.

I love spring.