A Day in the Life of.....

OH NO......

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Originally uploaded by ADITLO

Don't look now but there is knitting going on. Actually I have been doing quite a bit of knitting. I just keep forgetting to take pictures of it. This is a project that I finished this summer - stole back from Mel and Olivia and just realized I hadn't posted it. Very cute hat, made for a two year old - so doesn't fit just yet but fun to do, fun to pratice a little bit of color work and extremely easy. Could be for a girl or boy, just remove the flower on top.

Hats, Hats, Hats

I like to knit rolled brimmed hats.  And babies look good in rolled brimmed hats.  You can use up small amounts of yarn and still get a nice looking project.  Olivia, I imagine, will be receiving many rolled brimmed hats.

Happy Dance, Happy Dance

That is what I was doing at 5:30 on Saturday night after spending time at Aleksa Cars in Salem, NH.  Mary and I went and met with Ralph and Dan and after about 30 minutes, a test drive and some signing of papers, barring any unforeseen issues this lovely lady is all mine.  Please met Miss Moon - my new (to me) Hyundai Santa Fe SUV in Moonlit Blue.  Isn't she loverly?????????  Lots of room for roving kids, my wheel,  groceries, and camping things.  Thanks for all the good thoughts as we went through this process.  It was not painless but it was not too painful either. 

OMG can it be?

Yes it is....it is knitting.  A finished knitting project.  I can't believe it.  Actually it has been finished for a while but I couldn't post it because the reciepient reads the blog and I didn't want her to see it.  Now it is done, and gifted so here it is.    This pattern was easy to do, easy to memorize and even easy to change yarns and sizes, etc.  This is Lace Panel Pullover from Nashua Handknits Spring and Summer 2008 booklet Blossom.  It was done in JoJo Land Melody - Superwash.  LOVE IT.  This is for our new grand niece Olivia.  Hope she likes wearing it.

SPA revisited

Last weekend as you know, we attended SPA.  There were lots and lots of yummy fiber, yarn, goodies, some spinning wheels, patterns and books.  I actually purchased one cone yarn but lots of fiber, lots and lots of fiber.  Now not all of it was for me, well most of it was for me, but some was for Mary’s swap pal, my swap pal, my sister’s swap pal also received something.  I bought some yarn for my mom and my sister and Mary bought some yarn.    

 

I bought some black Icelandic lamb roving, some smokey gray bamboo roving, some tencel/merino roving from Spunky Eceltic spinning, a gray and cranberry roll and some other items that were just too pretty to leave behind.  Now to just decide what all of this should be.  Hmmmmmmm that will have to wait, I still have to finish my swap pal’s socks.  Then – more spinning.

Red Merino/Orange Finn

Red Merino/Orange Finn
Originally uploaded by ADITLO

Last spring at the NHSW I purchased some wonderful orange Finn/Corridale roving and then at the Revival this summer, managed to get some multi-red merino roving. I decided to blend them together. Having never done this, I of course looked to Julie to figure out how to do this. She had purchased a hackle last spring and was glad to give me a lesson on it. You place some roving on to the deadly looking nails, then put a second layer on and so forth until you have the blend that you are looking for. You then pull it through a diz (piece of wood with small hole in it) and you create blended roving. Lots of fun. This is how it looks spun up.

Lace Swap

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Originally uploaded by ADITLO

There was a great swap on Ravelry – a lace swap – I talked Julie into joining with me and off we went. I had a great upstream swap partner by the name of Coloradoknitter who has her own yarn store (CHECK IT OUT!!!). I received some very, very loverly things. Some yummy chocolate chip cookies, a wonderful bees wax candle, mmmm good dark chocolate with raspberries, and yarn, wonderful, wonderful yarn. Some silk and merino, some cashmere (yup that is right folks - CASHMERE) some superwash sock yarn, hand cream and other goodies. I was truly spoiled. It was simply loverly. It arrived right on time, when I needed some fibery goodness to cheer me up. Here it is for you to feast upon. Happy drooling.

Silly Halloween Sock Swap

Silly Halloween Sock Swap
Originally uploaded by ADITLO

This past weekend friends and I held our second silly sock swap. Now this time it really was silly. My sister had me as her pal and with one thing and another didn't have time to finish my second sock - for either of the socks that she has made me in the past year. The brown, orange and yellow is sea silk and is my single sock from last Christmas. The purple one in the back is also a silk blend and is done in the Eagle Flight pattern (with modifications) and that is my sock for this swap. Now she has already started both of the mates to these socks so I am anticipating getting a pair or two for the holidays. Until then, I will wear both proudly and drive her OUT of HER MIND. Her OCD will kick in big time and will motivate her to knit faster. HEHEHE Love being evil.

She also gave me a yummy Inca Alpaca in a purple heather, dark chocolate with carmel, dragon fly stitch markers some mystery sock yarn and the Yarn Harlot's newest New York Best Selling book. Great swap.

Shawls for Fran

As you all know, Fran, my mother in law, has been ill with liver cancer.  This has caused her to be quite cold one minute and warm the next.  So what is better for that than a handknit shawl. So into the stash I went and came up with some dark purple and some mystery multi colored purple, green and lavendar.  Went on Ravelry and lo-and-behold found the La-La-Shawl(ravelry link).  Quick knit (of course I did it on 15's with dk weight yarn).  Here she is.  Then about a week later, Julie called to say she had something for Fran.  Although Julie has never met Fran she is a wonderful friend and loves to help people out.  Next thing I know, there is another shawl for Fran.  Another LaLa Shawl!   How weird is that.  Of all the shawl patterns out there that she should pick the exact same one as me.  But BOY were they different looking.  Not only is her's in alpaca (yum) and super soft but they look NOTHING alike.  She did her's in the correct gauge while mine was done on much bigger needles, and her's looks much more like the original.  Here is Julie's La La Shawl. Both beautiful, different and loved by the recipent. 

Fiber Sale

Cyndi at the Yarn and Fiber company is running a month long sale to celebrate October and the Salem Witch Trials.  As many people know the Salem Witch trials took place in 1692 here in Salem Mass.  Around this time of the year lots of people flock to this area to see the place where they hanged the "witches".  Cyndi is telling the story in daily snippets and also putting different yarns on sale every day at 12:00 noon (although maybe it should have been 12 midnight, the witching hour).  Check it out and you might even see a blurb about yours truly and my ancestor Susannah Martin.