Spinning break achieved

After an EXTREMELY eventful day yesterday (the good kind, don't worry) and lots of work completed, I skeined this up this morning after plying it on Thursday night. The black is merino, the teal is bamboo, and the sparkles are called "firestar". I only had 3 oz and I spun it to a bulky weight (on my wheel, and did my first Navajo plying that was fun instead of swear-inducing), so it's not a lot of yardage but boy is it pretty. I think it would be good paired with a solid black merino, perhaps as cuffs on a pair of mittens or something like that? I don't know yet.

17,342 (I mean 59,255)

Nothing to show, since all my projects either haven't changed since my last report or are top-secret-design-stuff. I'm closing in on finishing a really big tech editing project, which I admit I stayed up until 2 am working on last night because I was "in the zone." Can't let those moods go to waste!

And 17,342? I found the cool little feature on Ravelry that lets you make an Excel file from your stash. That's how many yards. Yikes! Edited to add: This evening it occured to me that it didn't make mathematical sense that my 350-odd balls of yarn equaled so few yards. Going to back to the Excel chart I saw that I had added up the column of yards per ball, not total yards per yarn (allowing for multiple balls of the same yarn). New total is 59,255. That's more like it!

(And now that I spin, it seems like I'm adding to my stash faster than I'm taking away...)

Off to edit some more, and to finish a design that's nearly done. If I can do all that, I think I'll reward myself with a little time on the wheel with a pretty batt I just got from Butterfly Girl with the proceeds of my first few pattern sales on Ravelry (yay!)

My Melody

Friday Sonya was showing us her new Hello Kitty amigurumi book over knitting and martinis, and it was so cute I couldn't stand it. I mentioned it to Hubbo when I got home, but of course he didn't seem too interested (why would he be?) Imagine my surprise yesterday when the exact book appeared in my mailbox! Apparently Hubbo fervently searched the internet for it and ordered it for me behind my back. How sweet.

Anyway, I was eager to try it out. I dug out my stash of Caron Simply Soft and made My Melody, whom I like even more than Hello Kitty herself. Behold!

Now to decide which one to make next...

More patterns up on Ravelry!

Well, after spending a fair amount of time over the past few days re-editing, laying out, and pdf-ifying my patterns that were previously in our dearly departed Magknits, I've got them up for download on Ravelry.

Sushi and Girly Bag are free downloads, but I decided to charge for the Blossom Shawl for 2 reasons:

1. Ravelry gets a cut of the loot, so it's an easy way to support the site while shopping.
2. While I realize the pattern was free when it was on Magknits, taking the time to re-edit and reformat everything was work I think it's fair to be compensated for.

Since a couple people have already bought it, looks like at least someone agrees with me. :)

Here's the Blossom Shawl, by the way:

Now downloadable from Ravelry!

Perfect for spring and summer, in 5 sizes: 36(40, 44, 48, 52)". Gauge is 24 sts/32 rows = 4". Shown in Tilli Tomas Plie (100% silk), color Jade.

Touch this

Okay, let's start by taking a trip way back to August of 2006. I went to my first Knitter's Night Out at Have You Any Wool, having met the Detroit Area Knitters a few weeks prior when the Yarn Harlot came to town. Two things happened that night-- I met my now good friend Sonya and bought some Touch Me.

After some thought (and getting 2 more balls from Jae), I started on the Vintage Velvet scarf from Scarf Style. I got about a foot of it done, then for some reason (maybe because I didn't love knitting it, even though I love the feel of the yarn) it sat. And sat. And sat.

Fast forward about a year and a half later. I decided (since I'm in a designing holding pattern waiting for yarn to arrive) to make myself finish it. A group of us met to knit the afternoon away yesterday (including Sonya, of course) and I got within 3 inches of finishing the thing. When I got home I was compelled to get to the end of the last ball, and I did. It took me until this morning to work up the nerve to put it through the washer and dryer though!

Exhibit A: Done knitting, not yet felted

Helpful hint: Weave in the ends very well BEFORE washing-- the fuzz will come off the yarn leaving little black threads to weave in otherwise. Luckily I got this tip before I found out the hard way.

Chuck it in the washer with a load of laundry.

When it comes out, try not to cry.

Exhibit B: Out of the washer

Pop it in the dryer until it's about 90% dry, then lay it out to dry the rest of the way (to avoid setting any creases in it). Check the woven-in ends to make sure none have come loose, fix if they have.

Exhibit C: All done, nice and pretty!

So the saga is over and I have a nice new cozy scarf, just in time for spring (oh well!)

Booties!

No, it's not me. They're a gift for a friend. I used the Saartje's Bootees pattern and some scraps of Sea Silk left over from the shawl I did for Magknits (RIP). By the way, I'm in the process of getting those patterns (Blossom Shawl, Sushi, and Girly Bag) up on Ravelry, so if you were looking for them, never fear.

Today I'm going to try and make some progress on my long-suffering Vintage Velvet scarf, which won't feel too weird since it's SNOWING right now. Grrrrr.....

Another FO + Kitties

My boys, Rosalie and Pinecone II, enjoying a sunny spot.

Ballerina Slippers from Gardiner Yarn Works (I did the tech editing, btw). I have small feet so I was able to get a pair out of one skein of Noro Kureyon. Cute, comfy, and FAST!

Cuteness

For my little girl, from the Mr. Funky book. Took a bit less than 1 ball (the smaller size) of Sugar n' Cream, plus some scraps of white. Totally cute-- I might have to make one for me too!

Happy Blogiversary to Me

3 years. It's also been 3 years since I heard I was about to have my first pattern published (in Spun, remember that magazine?) and I started the blog because I felt awkward that I didn't have one (odd reason, I know).

Speaking of anniversaries, next Saturday is the 18th anniversary of Hubbo's and my first date (more than half my life, can you believe it?)

I'm still gloriously in that mode of "waiting for yarn to come for new designs" so still knitting whatever I please, though the mountains of tech editing (for those that have asked, it's checking and fixing patterns for accuracy, clarity, etc.) has cut down on my knitting time considerably. I'm working on something for Emma out of Mr. Funky's Super Crochet Wonderful... should be done soon.