Stitches South Part 2

Okay, so I can see the exact day when exam prep took over my crafting time, since I posted the first half of my Stitches South post in April, and haven't updated since.

So here is the rest of my Stitches South story.

Saturday morning, Kelly and I both had classes. I took Math for Knitters with Edie Eckman. It was great, I learned a lot.

Later that day, we hit up the market again.


Some Koigu KPPM, in color P500.





Maple Creek Farms South Blend - Wood Plank



This is an absolutely delicious feeling yarn. It's soft. smooth and cool, perfect for Florida. It's destined to become a shawl.



Kitechen Sink Dyeworks Merino Fine in Edgar



Kitchen Sink Dyeworks BFL Roving - I'm seeing a trend with all the blue





Newton's Yarn Country Bamboo Print - I have no idea what this will be.





Louet Euroflax - For some hand towels





Silk cap and Noils from Ellen's Half Pint Farm





Creatively Hand Dyed Yarns Bamboo Wool





Lisa Souza Black Hills Gold




I am really looking forward to spinning up these wool blends, but right now I'm lacking the inspiration. I haven't even touched any of the yarn yet.

The rest of the weekend was a blast, and I was so glad we did it. I definitely want to go next year!

Since Stitches, I've mostly been studying for exams, and complaining about studying for exams. I've done a little with the Triathlon training, and took a trip to the Keys with family. I think I passed the exam, so hopefully I will have more time for crafting and getting back on the internets over the next few months.

Right now, I am lacking inspiration in the crafting department, so I am mostly trying to finish up UFO's. Hopefully I'll get my mojo back soon.

Ravelympics Success

I have been away from the blog because I have been **gasp** knitting! It was that time, when fiber people the world over show their dedication and skill. The Ravelympics!

And unlike last year, I decided to set a reasonable goal. Then, once I met it, set some outrageous goals.

First, I tackled the Hat Heel Socks, with an entrelac leg based on the Annetrelac Socks. A few of the ladies from our knitting circle were doing the pattern, and you know I'm a sucker for new construction.



The came out great.



And only took 8 days. Project page

So, I started setting out more goals.

First I set out ripping out a sample of some handspun, that's being gifted to a friend.





That was simple enough, done in one afternoon. Here's that project page and stash page.



Then, I set my sights too high.

I decided to tackle the Arrgyle socks that I have been making my husband since January. Of 2008. Most of that time I have been hiding them in a deep dark corner of the craft room and tried to forget about them. It has been a long, hard slog. But I did make a lot of progress. All of the hard stuff is done.



All I have left is the stockinette foot.

So, I am going to say that I am very proud of myself. I got much more knitting done that I normally do. Which is good, because I am getting ready to start really digging in for my next exam.

More Adventures with Bacon - And what I did over Christmas break

Time to take a little trip down memory lane, in order to bring you another bacon story, with some actual crafting content.

Every year, our knitting circle has a Secret Santa swap, and a big Christmas shin dig. Last year, Laura made Pigs in a Pig, and they were a huge hit.

If you haven't had the opportunity to try them, Pigs in a Pig are pigs in a blanket, with bacon instead of biscuit. Wrap a Lil Smokies sausage in bacon, and roll that in brown sugar and spices, and bake. Delicious! If you don't like the sausages, you can use small pieces of chicken instead, and pretend that it's healthy.

Laura has since moved away, but it was decided we needed to still have the Pigs in a Pic, even though they didn't fit with our theme of Taco Night. I volunteered to give it a shot. It gave me a chance to experiment with bacon, and I may or may not have made a test batch for dinner one night.

At the party, there was sooo much good food. Taco night was an awesome idea, so everyone could eat what they wanted.

We had a great time. Charlotte hosted, (thank you!) and we ate and chatted and had our swap.

My swappee was Kelly. She knits socks, and asked for yarn, so she got some yarn from Hanks, and a matching project bag. And chocolate.



The bag was one of my simple project bags. With a twisted cord of cotton yarn, which didn't turn out to be the best closure. I also need to upgrade my pattern to a nicer bag, with boxed corners. But it's functional.



Jodi was my Santa, and she got me some awesome sock yarn, and the cutest Mr. Man buttons. There were some awesome gifts, and I think everyone was very happy with the swap this year, organized by the talented and infamous Bad Jen.

I really love these crazy events with our knitting circle, every so often. It was such a fun time!

It's Begging to Feel A Lot Like

spring around here. Seriously, remind me, is Florida in Australia? It's not?!? Then why is it getting hot in December? It's been in the 70's here for most of last week, which is warm even for Florida standards.

The knitting group had a Chili Night/Secret Santa Gift Exchange. It was a blast, even though it was warm enough that chili wasn't strictly necessary. There was a ton of good food, and lots of fun. Jodi was an awesome hostess, and Jen organized the swap online.

I think the swap went really well, considering we know each other so well. Jen was my Santa, and she really came through. First there was a "Red Neck Dye Kit".



The saying on the front is "It's like Skittles, except it's not candy. See the Rainbow!" It's Red Neck because it came in a trash-bag box, which was the only thing that would hold the contents.



Inside is everything needed to dye yarn/roving: gloves, a wide assortment of KoolAid, and vinegar. Very cool, and will go well with



about a pound of roving. Most of it is white, and some of it is this beautiful heathery grey, which will be really neat to dye.

The roving came in this awesome bag that Jen sewed:



Yes, that is pirate themed fabric. It was really well put together, with grommets and a drawstring.

And now I've got to get back to feverishly crafting. Christmas is less than 2 weeks away!

Worldwide Knit in Public Day and the Celtic Tote

Last Saturday was Worldwide Knit In Public day, and to celebrate, our group went to an event planned by a few LYS's: A Stitch in Time, The Local Needle, and Fran's Knitting Boutique.

It was a great time. There were at least 35-sih people. I got to meet some new people and see some faces I hadn't seen in a while.

Unfortunately I had camnesia (and only took a few very poor shots) and didn't do nearly enough mingling, because I was too busy working on Arrgyle socks for Nerdy Husband.


Just in time for Knit in Public day, I finished my Celtic Tote.



Pattern: Celtic Tote, Interweave Knits
Yarn: Lamb's Pride Worsted in Wild Oak (embroidery in Sable)

I was such a good little knitter, I not only made a swatch, I made an extensive one to make sure I liked the decreases and increases, and to practice needle felting on the embroidery.



And I even felted the swatches (no pictures of that, you'll have to trust me).

Here's the completed bag before felting.



I used half a skein of Sable to do the embroidery, (thanks Brenda) and needle felted the yarn down. Instead of using a brush to support it while needlefelting, I used a pillow form. When I tried using the brush on my swatch, it caught on the fuzzier fibers and made a huge mess. See, those swatch things are useful.

The mesh in the bottom wasn't really that wonky, that's just how it was hanging.

And then I felted it.



Somehow, during that felting, the mesh in the enclosed pouch managed to double itself over. And the bag overfelted a little, so the pouch was too small for the mesh. It was a pain to work it out.

When I finally got the mesh as flat as I could, it was clear that the mesh and the bottom of the bag were bent. Since the only way I could get it out would be to cut the purse, and that didn't appeal to me, I had to find a way to straighten it.

What I came up with was a bit strange, even for me.



Behold the Leaning Tower of Totebag.

I figured that I needed to put weight on the bottom of the purse to flatten out the bottom, but didn't want to put weight on the handles, but still wanted them to dry in a sort of natural position. So I hung the purse on a doorknob and got enough random things to reach from the floor to the bottom of the purse (a bucket, our new phonebook still in the plastic bag, and the box from our Wii Fit). Then I raided our pantry for cans (for weight) and plastic bags (for shape), and stuffed it to the shape I wanted.

I then turned down our dehumidifier, said a prayer to the Fiber Gods, and went to bed.

It worked out reasonably well, with the exception that the bottom didn't really dry well, not being exposed to air and all. Putting a towel under the purse would have helped, but the inside would have still been wet. The basic shape of the bag was right after drying in the tower overnight, so I stuck it on a hanger and let it dry naturally, turning it inside out a few times a day.

The other problem was the fuzz. It took over the purse, and then became aggressive. Some of it tried to escape in the form of pills that came completely off the purse while felting.



Some of it even tried to eat me.



This is probably what happened to Cousin It and Chewbacca.

I had limited time to find a sweater stone before WW KIP day, and the best I could come up with was one of those shavers. It had absolutely no effect on the swatch (handy little thing) and I think I killed the motor trying.

The purse was still wet and fuzzy and unlined when I went to the event, but I was happy as anything it was there.

It's not quite as fuzzy as it seems in the closeups, but it's close.

A few days after the event, I stayed up till 11:30 lining it.



It brought back memories of sewing with my mom, who always seemed to be sewing late at night. It makes sense; with several munchkins running around and a full time job, she had her hands quite full. That woman taught me a lot about balance.

Super Secret Group Project #2 - D's Baby Blanket

Here is Super Secret Group Project #2:



and the other side



It's a baby blanket for Deborah, a member of our group. A bunch of people from our group did individual squares of all different stitch patterns and colors. Most of the squares were knitted, and there was one crocheted square.


We planned on putting together the blanket at one of our meetings, because we didn't think she'd be there. We thought she wouldn't be able to make it, but she showed up!

It was good and bad. Good because we had a chance to get the blanket to her that night, bad because instead of a seaming party, we had a seaming work camp.

So we laid out all of our squares on the table at Panera.



And started seaming. We got most of it done, but at the end of the night, it was still incomplete, and we hadn't even started the border. So I took it home and finished seaming it up.



Then gave it a bath (you can see the vinegar and dish soap).



And wet blocked it.



After it was dry, I crocheted on a border and lightly steam ironed it.

It turned out as a beautiful, cuddly blanket for the new arrival!

Super Secret Group Project #1 - Run Jodi Run

So, I'm really far behind in my blogging, because this Super Secret Group Project #1 listed here was made and gifted in February, and I've really wanted to share it since. This is just one more reason why our knitting circle is teh roxor.



All this icord was made by the group (hand knit, a little machine knit, and crochet). What could it be for?





Indy wonders why I've once again knit something taller than I am.

Well, it's to make these:



Wait, that doesn't make much sense. Donna, Brenda and Susan, let's try it again!



There we go.

These signs are for Jodi (shown seated)



She ran her first marathon. And to show our support we marathon knitted icord to make some signs which Brenda put them together for us. Jodi thought we were joking when we said we'd be there cheering her on with big signs, and she certainly didn't know we would knit them!

They got a few comments at the race, and they made Jodi do a double take. She saw us, high-fived Donna, who was taking pictures, and kept running. Then, when she was about fifty feet past us she turned around and starting pointing wildly at the signs. We all laughed and told her to keep going, she was doing great, we'd talk about it later.

At our next meeting, we all signed the signs and gave them to Jodi. And she's been displaying them in her house ever since!

And yes, since this is Super Secret Group Project #1, there is a #2. It's in the works right now, and will hopefully be complete and gifted soon. But probably blogged about much later...

Mmmmmm Alpaca

Last weekend I went to the Alpaca Fest with some people from the knitting circle.

We came for the



and stayed for the





I thought that fiber would be the highlight of the show, but those animals are so darn cute, they totally won us over. My main goal was to pet an alpaca. And I did. Here's proof:



There were so many alpaca there. There were chocolate alpaca




and dirty alpaca...




and surfer alpaca...




and emo alpaca...




Some were shy




and others have so much hair they can't see




and many were gorgeous.



This one looks like living, breathing Lorna's Laces or Socks that Rock. This picture doesn't do it justice.


We felt up some fiber




and got tattoos (thanks to Jen, you rock)




and I may or may not have bought some yarn



This is undyed alpaca light weight, from Long Skinny Ranch. It came off the alpaca like that. Amazing.

As amazing as the animals were, we were equally amazed at how nice alpaca people are. The folks at Breath of Heaven Alpaca Ranch were there spreading the good word of alpaca, and our knitting circle will probably be taking a trip out there soon. I got some interviews and clips of alpacas humming for the podcast, and everyone I asked was more than willing to answer questions.