Happy Fourth

Happy Fourth of July to all who celebrate it! Enjoy the fireworks and be safe.

Can't believe it's July already. Things continue to be busy around here. Sunday was Elliott's birthday bash. Before dinner was served, the rain and thunder began, so we ended up moving inside.
As you can see - everyone had a good time. Lots of iron man and Bumblebee themed gifts.
Anyone else having a flash forward to Halloween? I have a feeling that Paul and Peg will regret putting the gun on his wishlist.

Just saying. And sometimes, kids toys can baffle adults. No one could get the Transformer to fully transform, for fear of breaking it.
Tuesday we had a cookout for friends and family. And celebrated Sarah's birthday (which is the same as Elliott's).
The boys are very good helpers when it comes to candles. Then on Wednesday night, we went to the Indians game.
The boys in front of Bob Feller.
The view from our seats.
Aubrey was the only one of the kids not freaked out by our meeting with Slider.
We were all decked out in our Tribe gear. And it helped - Tribe beat the Blue Jays 3-2.
Not that the kids let us watch much of it, but they had a good time and that's the important part.
And we've made a start on turning Sarah into an Indians fan - as she claims there's no chance that she'll become a Steelers fan (silly Cowgirls fan).

I finished a spinning project this week.
My "Verdigris" fiber, made into a lace-weight single (first ever single that stayed a single) and I love it. I should probably admit that I have about another ounce to spin up, but this 870 yds filled the bobbin, so it got taken off and finished. I'll finish the spinning a little later, maybe after I finish my new spinning project:
That is 8 oz of Crown Mountain Fibers BFL in "Life, Love, Laughter". So pretty.
I had thought to spin it up a bit thicker, but it had other ideas. The prep is a pencil roving so it's hard to get it to be real thick anyway. But this is my spin for the Tour de Fleece (yep we knitters/spinners celebrate a lot of sporting events don't we?)

I started some new knitting projects this week too. First, a lacy scarf with my handspun "Picnic Basket":
Nice and simple, so it should go fast. Which means that it will take forever. Just because I said that.

And then Friday night, I cast on for a Shaelyn shawl with my very favoritest yarn, Smooshy.
In "Midnight Derby", the same color I used for the pirate hat and mitten set I made for C4 awhile ago. Also, a nice simple but pretty pattern, that should work up pretty quickly. Seriously, I'm jinxing myself.

Yesterday, I went on a little trek with Meagan and Marcus to the West Side Market.
Total tourist picture, but it was only my second ever trip there, and the first was a field trip senior year in high school. It was loads of fun. This was my favorite booth:
Can you blame me? Granted I didn't look at each of the booths, but still, this one would still rank right up there. We had quite a spread for lunch when we got back to the house:
Very Frenchy-french in my opinion. We just needed to be sitting in a park with the Eiffel Tower in view for it to be complete. It was amazingly delicious, and we can't wait to do it again. Check out my Buckeye cupcake:
So sinfully good. Yeah - that's a PB cup in the bottom of the cupcake. Yum.

Alright, need to get some knitting done before we make the bison steak I bought yesterday, and then head out for the fireworks with Meagan. Happy Independence Day!

Spring-like

So it really feels like spring now. Baseball has been postponed the last 2 days, it's sunny but chilly, and I've got startitis. I just can't stop myself from starting more new projects. All with the intention of getting them done by the end of April. Ha. I did finish the Laminaria, that's gotta count for something. Took it to KotS yesterday. Lots of pictures. First up, the miracle of blocking:
That's the before. A lovely blob with ruffles.
That's the after. A crookedly blocked shawl. Yeah, it got fixed after the photo shoot. I had a heck of a time blocking this thing - I did it twice because I did it wrong the first time. And then had to fix the crookedness. But it's pretty!
Close up on the first chart section.
Close up on the blossom chart section.
Blurry close up of the edging charts.
Artsy close up at an angle. Well, my attempt at that, anyway.
Modeled by Joan at KotS (thanks Joan!) So that's all done and really, I"m very happy with how it turned out. It's gorgeous. So speaking of shawls...
That's through 6 correct repeats of the Caricia shawl. It's slightly goofy how you have to follow the pattern to get it right, but now that I know it's all good. And I'll be ready the next time I come across this in a pattern.
Isn't it a great center stitch? So that should go pretty quickly now. Ha. I shouldn't make those kinds of statements, the Knitting Fates don't like it. I'm making progress on the Atlantis socks.
Most of the foot of the second one done. This will be my primary car knitting - if I get any car knitting time. I have a feeling I'll be doing most of the driving tomorrow. Yeah, Ellie and I are heading down to NC to see Tommy as he arrives. Very excited. Need to decide what else will make the trip, knitting wise. Probably the shawl, probably not this:
A new sweater, the Swan Lake Cardigan. This time a spring/summer top. I'm using Prima, a new yarn from Debbie Bliss that is 80% bamboo, 20% merino, so it's nice and light. Loving it now that I've gotten past row 13 for the third time. Really, one of these days I will learn to read the pattern correctly the first time. That's the back, so we've got a ways to go. Especially because I started this the other day at work:
A handspun scarf, pattern is Midori. One of my goals this year was to knit more of my handspun, so I thought that I should really try to get a project done. And I've been trying to find the perfect pattern for this yarn for ages, I think this is finally it. It's nice and simple, and works well with the striping of the yarn.
What do you think? Guess I'm in a pink kind of mood this week too. And speaking of handspun...
That's the progress on my "Robes of Autumn" or I'm thinking of calling it "Amazing Technicolor Dream Fiber" because that's all I think of every time I see it. My trusty Flexi-Wrap roll holding the first batt, and the spindle with not quite half of the second batt.
Trying to show you the sparkle from the copper angelina - there are parts that are super shiny, and I'm loving it. Click on the picture to make it bigger and you'll see the shiny.

See? I've got a lot going right now. And I really need to get going, lots to do to be ready to leave in the morning. Should have lots of photos and fun to share next week. Happy Easter to you all!

All about the knitting

So I haven't been posting much on the knitting front lately, so this one is going to be dominated by knitting news. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that blogger decides to work on the photo front this time.

I feel like I got absolutely nothing accomplished in August. Go look at my Finished Projects list - like one thing the entire month of August. Which isn't to say that there wasn't knitting going on - there was. Like the these:
The OH-IO socks I made for Ellie's birthday. You probably don't remember, but once upon a post, I mentioned that there was secret yarn that I couldn't show that I bought at WEBS, well, this was it. Louet Gems Sport. In some appropriate scarlet and grey. They were technically not finished until September - but all but a few rows were knit in August.

And there was some knitting that happened on WIP's that I won't show you, because they don't really look any different than the last time they were shown - funny thing about lace. And then, there was the obsession. The new Twist Collective was released on the 16th - and I was in lust. I waited until the 20th (payday) to go to KotS and get the yarn (Ecological Wool in natural gray) and immediately cast on. And knit with a fury. And kept knitting - had to get it done by the 1st, that was the goal. So I kept knitting. Couldn't stop to blog about it, had to stop while family was here - momentarily, and I did it. August 31st, I bound off.

And then, the moment of truth. The moment that the little voice in my head had been warning me about since I finished the first sleeve. I slipped in one, unfinished, and it....

Was ginormous. Freaking huge. Ellie was there, she tried it on. Probably could have given it to her. But I was delusional, and said that it would block out to fit me. Hahaha. The next morning I went to knitting pal Meagan's, and she put it on, and it probably would have fit her, with blocking. So, defeated, I frogged the entire sweater that evening at SnB. And Thursday I went back to KotS, exactly 2 weeks after it had been started, and re-cast on, 2 sizes smaller.

And this morning, I sewed in the last end. And here is my amended Vine Yoke Cardigan:
Doesn't look like much does it? But it's going to be blocked, and then I'll sew on the buttons, and it will be wonderful, and wearable - the most important aspect of a sweater in my opinion. This was a great knit - I didn't really mind the re-knitting, I want this sweater that bad. There are however, several errors in the pattern, and the errata have not yet been published (really don't know what's taking so long), so if you're a knitter and you'd like to have one of these too, wait until the errata come out.

So that's nearly done. And knitting has been happening like crazy again - I'm doing the HP House Cup again, dork that I am. But I've never been so productive as when I'm doing the Cup (stupid competitive nature) and with the holiday season around the corner... that's right Holiday knitting has commenced here at Annie's House of Crafting. A project - that will remain under wraps until it is gifted (and boy is it hard to keep secret - it's so dang cute!) is under way.

I managed to work some spinning in for this month. My first ever Navajo plying on the wheel (it was rough at the start - just ask the fam, they were keeping their distance and trying not to make any sudden movements around me). The yardage isn't great, but I knew that going into it.
The roving was a birthday gift from knitting pal Debi. Nameless, just labelled as merino. So I'm calling it "Auguamenti". I still have more to work up, don't know if it'll get done this month though.

I also started a dishcloth (ugh!). Assignment - use yarn/fiber that is at least 50% plant based. How I hate knitting with cotton! Correction, it's actually the purling on straight needles that hurts my hands.
It doesn't look like much, but I can only do so much before my fingers hurt. It'll be good when it's done. And the picture doesn't do the color justice, it's a really bright grass green.

I'm focusing on colorwork for the big project this time around. When it's all done, I will have mittens and a cowl and 2 stealth gifts done. Here's the progress:
The mittens I've been wanting for myself since I got this book last birthday. The mitten is about half done, and I'm loving it. Hoping to get the pair done this month to stay on track time wise. We'll see.

And Sunday night, I knit an entire fingerless mitt. And then ripped it out. Didn't like the thumb. So yesterday, I reworked it.
It's still missing a thumb, we'll get to that tonight. Using my "Vibrant Rainbow " handspun that I showed not long ago. Loving it. It's the Lola pattern, found on random browsing of Ravelry.
I've used the stitch pattern before (Herringbone Rib socks) and will love it. Will probably make those socks again, seeing as they felted in the wash...

Alright, now I really feel like I'm finally caught up with the blog. Yay! First time all summer. And in response to a comment - Krista, let me know what size you are, the sweater in question may fit you better than it fits me.