After hearing some interest, I’ve decided to host a knit-along for the Cable-Eight Top in the new IK (pictured in yesterday’s post). Anyone up for it? Nate will make a button here pretty quick, and I’ll get the sidebar ready. I have a lot going on for the next week, so it may take a little while…. How ’bout we set a start date for March 1st? Sounds like fun!

And while I know that spinning pictures are not too exciting, particularly if you don’t spin, I promise not to flood my posts with them. However… I wanted to show you something.

Here’s my first bobbin, spun two years ago

and here’s what I spun, with the same roving, on Wednesday

Well look at that! For those of you who don’t know, I spun three of those top bobbins two years ago, gave the borrowed wheel back without any intention of touching one again, but decided at the end of last year that I wanted to give spinning another try. I spent two and a half hours with a wheel a month or so ago, then took a 6 hour class on Saturday. It doesn’t take long to improve. Now before I get too giddy, I must remind myself that nothing has been plied. It all may very well fall apart on me, BUT, on the bobbin, it’s looking better!

We have some Hayden news! Carrie has posted a picture of her Haydens! Don’t they look like they’re having fun? I loved her commentary. Good job, Carrie!

My web host sucks. I’m so tired of them, let me tell you. Many of you will know what I’m talking about, as my site has been down for the last 12 hours, and they don’t have 24 hour support. It has been very frustrating. But for now, we’re back, and I think Nate’s irritated enough that we might do something about it.

And on a personal note- Hi Joey! I received your email/comment and was thrilled to hear from you. I’ve been trying to email you ever since, and it keeps bouncing back to me. I don’t know why, but I wanted you to know that I’ve been trying! Love ya, and congratulations!

I got the new Interweave Knits (Spring ’05) in the mail a couple of days ago. Believe it or not, I didn’t take the time to look at it until last night. Here’s what I really really like, in order of appearance…

The Vittadini ad

The cover sweater

and my favorite…

I want one, and I think it could look smashing in some of the pretty cotton/wool blends I’ve seen. I’ll need to investigate that. I think it would look cute worn over another shirt. This is gorgeous, and I want to knit it.

Other things in the issue I liked-

the Wear-Everywhere Pullover is very pretty. I liked that.

I really like the Flowered Waistcoat.

The Bear Claw Blanket is incredibly cool, but I’d totally change the colors. And I’m sorry, a whole blanket knit with sock needles? Kill me now.

Border on the Extravagant is neat, but I could never wear it, no matter how skinny I get. Those top, fuzzy pocket flaps would be up in my face, I’d feel like a poodle. But I’d love to see some small busted ladies knit that one up.

I liked the Brioche top, but while it is a gorgeous stitch, it’s another one I can’t picture on anyone that isn’t slight of frame.

I think I love the Cable Rib Socks. I have some koigu I’d like to knit those with. That reminds me… koigu socks. Do they hold up? Olivia’s Baby Ull socks finally died, and boy did they die. If it were possible, I’d say the hole is bigger than the sock! So, considering Koigu is nylon free merino, I was wondering what your experience has been in reference to how they wear. Any input is welcome.

There are other things I liked in the magazine, but I can’t exactly list them all. As it is, you’re probably pretty bored with me.

So how ’bout some spinning news! It occurred to me today that I can use some of my credit at Columbine to rent her shop wheel, which I’ve done. It is sitting in my living room with half a bobbin of merino spun. Hee hee. The wheel is a Kiwi, which I really don’t care for, BUT, beggars can’t be choosers, so here I am. I’m going to try to spin up the remaining roving from the original pound I bought two years ago, then I want to knit a simple shawl on big needles so it will be easy to see the wild and crazy progression of my first spinning attempts. I’m excited about it, actually.

Anyone have a guess as to why? And no, you don’t need to introduce me to the brilliance of envelope moisteners, I’m simply stubborn.

SO, here’s whose envelopes are going out today…

Carole W
Kirsten W
Lisa Prit
Thuy
LeAnne S
Jenny A
Sue A
Hillary E-B

I have many more of you packaged and addressed, I’m simply in need of stampage.

And if you expressed interest in the doll, I’m holding your name out for awhile until I can have a drawing.

Here’s who I still need addresses from-

Lea
Janey
Linda
local Allison (unless you’d like to meet me somewhere)
Sandra
Shannon
Anne-Caroline
Sylver
Jenika
Colette
Renee
Monica
Karen

So get me your addresses and preferences, ladies!

And now for something completely hilarious. I’m going to post it directly, saving to my server, but I’ll also include the link to give appropriate credit. http://www.ullaneule.net/0105/nurjapuoli.html

This was sent to me by Kristel in Finland. I laughed my BUTT off! Thanks, Kristel!

Next, while looking at raw fleece online, I stumbled across this…

Isn’t that just the cutest ever? I want to kiss it. Pinch its cheeks. I can’t stand how cute that is. Here’s the link to the site I found it on. Nate is both laughing at me, and questioning my sanity. It’s cute, ok?

The lovely Hayden and I had our spinning class on Saturday. It was very much fun. It is also amazing how quickly one can get better at it.

I tried four different wheels while I was there. I started on a double treadle Schacht, moved to the Ashford Traveller, back to the Schacht, then I tried a single treadle Lendrum, and snuck in a go on the Ashford Traditional. I was pleasantly surprised that I liked each of them. The Schacht and the Lendrum were by far the smoothest to treadle. And in my newbie opinion, the Lendrum was even smoother than the Schacht. The Traditional would be next, followed by the Traveller, however it was still a fun wheel to spin on, and out of all of them, I like the look of the Traveller the best.

The first half of class was spent learning about wheels and spinning. The second half was spent on fleece. Now, I’m probably going to butcher terms here, because this is completely new to me.

The instructor rolled out a fleece cut from a sheep. It had been manhandled a bit in classes, so it was no longer in the obvious shape of a sheep, but it was still all one big piece, primarily. She went through the fleece and taught us about what to look for when buying one. As this was happening, I was thinking about two things, well, three. First, I was thrilled at the thought of roaming fiber fairs and looking through fleece with some degree of practical knowledge as to what in the heck I was looking at and for. Second, I was thinking about the ribbing I would take, probably for months and certainly in company, from the husband the day I come home with a sheep in a bag. Third, I was wondering how Hayden felt about spending a good couple hours looking at a pile of sheep locks on the floor instead of continuing to work on her drafting and spinning, which the poor thing had been struggling with quite a bit.

And right here, I’ll officially say, when she CAN’T interrupt me or accuse of false claims, that the first bobbins I spun looked JUST. LIKE. HERS. I still have them. I can prove it. They were spun two years ago and I hated it SO much, I gave the borrowed wheel back within the first week and determined never to do it again. See? The only other spinning I’ve done since then was at Columbine Yarns a couple months ago, when I spent a couple hours in her shop, and it got considerably better. And you saw how I did in class. Don’t give up, my sweet! You can do it.

And while we’re on the topic, here are the skeins of singles I came home with-

Apparently, I over-twist.

Getting back to the fleece…. We learned what skirting is, warning signs to look for, how to check for second cuts, etc. She showed us about crimp and explained what it means. Even if I don’t wander fiber fairs, I think this information will help if I were to buy raw fleece on eBay. I know better what I’m looking at.

Then we hand carded fleece to spin. As I was thinking, “no freaking way am I going to do this in quantity”, Hayden leaned over and whispered that it had been her favorite part. Go figure. So we’ve worked out a little arrangement. I’ll wash it, she’ll card it, I’ll spin it.

Right, so aside from a wheel, I’m also going to want a drum carder…. hahahahahha yeah right….. unless I only spin roving. Roving is nice.

We spun our, (darn it, I can’t remember what those little rolled, hand carded things are called), watched a plying demonstration, and had to go. I didn’t want to go. How in the world can 6 hours in a chair go so fast?

There you are. I can buy a wheel at 10% off for the next week, and I can’t afford it. BUT, it was fun, and I want to do more.

As I was browsing the holiday card section at my local store, I was thinking about how happy I am to have a Valentine in my life. It’s strange, but until Nate, I never had a boyfriend on Valentine’s Day. Nate is the only man I’ve ever shared Valentine’s Day with, and while in the early dating years this caused me great distress, at this point in my life, I think it’s really neat. Valentine’s Day is also the wedding anniversary to one of my uncles. Happy anniversary Gregg and Laura!

I have made and distributed Valentines to most of my close friends…

and I have to tell you, I’ve had so much fun with this! Pictured above are stitch markers on steroids. Basically, since most of my close friends don’t knit, I decided to make them keychain adornments. They’re so colorful and sparkly, and I tied them onto wrapped chocolates with iridescent ribbon. The picture above is a much more accurate color representation of the beads. That top picture needs help.

Alright, alright. Getting down to business… I had a total of 47 qualifying emails/comments. Nate and I decided that this was a doable number, so you all get little gifties! Thank you so much for reading my blog and commenting on occasion! I really enjoy sharing with and learning from all of you. Happy Valentine’s Day! Listed below are the names I have. Let me know if I missed you. You are listed in the order of emails received.

Lisa Prit
Sue
Lisa
Yvette
Carrie
Katrina Grace Craig
Kirsten
Darra
Karen
Samantha
Hillary
Lea
LeAnne
Donna
Hayden
(and Maddie, if you’re interested)
Jena
Jillz
Kristel
Carole
Nadia
Vampy_Chan
Linda (without an email address)
Fyrkrkr
Allison
Thuy
Dj
Sandra
Shannon (without an email address)
Anne-Caroline
Jenny – quite possibly my most frequent commenter. LOVE you girl!
Katie – who already has hers 🙂
Amanda
Andrea H
Sylver
Jody
Jenika
Colette
Renee
Erin
the lovely and internet shy Julie 🙂
Joan
Monica
Jenny
Karen
Alison
Janey
Sarah

Congratulations! Here are your options. You can tell me what you want, giving as vague or specific details as you please. Or, you can leave it entirely up to me. In case you counted, yes, I have a few more sets of markers to make, so I’m also giving the option of a keychain adornment if you prefer. There is also the twin to Mary Sunshine’s doll (see sidebar) that is up for grabs. She’s not done yet, she still requires legs, facial features, and hair. You can give me several options in order of preference. My entire purpose is to give gifts to my friends so don’t be shy. Tell me what you want, what colors you like, whatever. Send an email (lauraATpoormissfinchDOTcom) with your mailing information, and anything else you’d like me to know. Also, let me know if you DON’T want me to include chocolate. My sweet friend and neighbor Julie has contributed some yummies.

For those of you who I have personally invited to participate, but have hesitated (and you know who you are), it’s not too late. If you’ve changed your mind, email me and tell me what you want :-).

Oooooh, this is too much fun! Ok. Let me know, and again, thank you all for reading! Tomorrow, I’ll tell you all about my spinning class. But in case you’re dying to know, here’s a hint…

I want a wheel, and I want it now.

Good morning! I have a new goal to announce. I desperately want to be under 200 pounds by the time I’m 30. This means I have essentially 14 weeks to lose about 20 pounds. I am 218.5 today. I wanted to be thin by the time I was 30, but that isn’t possible at this point.

Can I do it? I have no idea. On the one hand, sure. It isn’t unthinkable to lose a little over a pound a week. On the other hand, I don’t think I’ve lost that amount of weight in that short a period of time before. But that is my hope and my goal. Once I reach 200 pounds, I’ll be halfway to my ULTIMATE goal, which is 145 pounds, plus or minus.

This week started out well. I did 50 minutes on the treadmill Monday and Tuesday. Tuesday night, I also did a yoga class at church. I don’t really know what happened to the rest of the week, honest. But there wasn’t any exercise to speak of. I’m eating very well, however.

Anyone have a guess as to what this is?

Open sesame-

Mmmmm. Home grown alfalfa sprouts! These are SO good. I like to put them in burritos. If you put the cheese and sour cream between the cold sprouts and the hot beans, they stay crisp and yummy. That’s my favorite thing to do with them. Other than that, they’re always good on salads and in sandwiches. But the burritos….. Mmmmmmmm.

Now I’m going to shower and get ready for my spinning class! Let us know how your week went!

I get to spend 6 hours learning the in’s and out’s of spinning tomorrow, and I’ll be in good company with the cute and funny Hayden. (Never a dull moment with that one)!

I’ve been looking at wheels online, and although there is a particular wheel that has been romancing me in pictures, I am anxious to try a few in class to see what I like. Unfortunately, I can’t find a local dealer for the wheel I think I want. It’s the Kromski Symphony.

Now, picture it in a walnut finish. Isn’t it beautiful? I have no idea if I’d even like how it spins, but it’s gorgeous, and in my dreams, I love it.

And holy cow! Drum carders are expensive. Mercy. I had no idea.

Well, I didn’t do much yesterday. At least, not much worthy of blog talk. I cleaned one of my fish tanks, which needed it. I played with and read to the girls, so I get the good mommy award. I finally made corn bread using soft white wheat flour (whole grain), and although the girls ate it right up, and it really isn’t bad, the recipe will need some tweaking. I made some very important phone calls, got the kids to and from school…. nothing exciting there.

Any Haydens happening? I’ve heard tell of some good intentions :-).

So I guess that’s it then. I have a whole lot of stitch markers and other assorted Valentine’s to make this weekend. The doll is knit, stuffed, and armed (as in, she has arms and they’re attached), but she still needs legs, hair, and facial features. And as I’m sitting here thinking about today, (helping out at school, then heading directly off to work at the LYS ’til 9pm), and tomorrow’s 6 hours of spinning class, I’m realizing that I’ve got a lot to do with not much time. I’d better go.

Yesterday, I did a bunch more stitch markers, knit a cute little flower pin…

and started dreaming of what to do with this.

This, my friends, is my first ever skein of Manos del Uruguay. I have wanted some since discovering it months ago. Last week, Nate surprised me with a skein. He’s so sweet. Isn’t it lovely? Nate suggested making another pair of fingerless mitts because I am really enjoying the first pair. I think it sounds like a fabulous idea. What do you think? Mmmmmm, Manos.

How to make the flower- Using loopy mohair, and size 6 double points, I cast on three stitches. I increase on each end of each row until I have 9 stitches. Then I knit three rows. Then I start decreasing by SSK at the beginning of each row, and K2tog at the end of each row until 2 stitches remain, bind off.

Make 5. sew the pointy ends together. Make a bobble by casting on two. Knit the two together as you knit/purl 4 stitches into the one being knit together. Work 5 rows in stocking stitch. On next round, slip 2. Knit 2 together, pass two slipped stitches over the knit stitch. Pull yarn through so there are no live stitches. Tie the two ends together and fasten to inside of flower.

Leaf- with hairy mohair and size 6 double points, cast on 4. Work about 10 rows of i-cord. Begin knitting flat in garter stitch, increasing each end of every row until you have 14 stitches (I think. Pick a width you like). Knit 10 or so rows, continuing in garter stitch. Begin decreasing by knitting to the center, slipping a stitch, k2tog, pass slipped stitch over the knit stitch. Do this every other row ’til you get to a point, pull yarn through.

Sew it all together and fasten a pin.

I’m up to 10 pair made. And I’m curious, do you ladies want a matched set? Or would you rather have two different markers? Let me know.

So, the tutorial. I took pictures yesterday, and before I show them to you, I have to say, I’m SO novice at this! Those of you who are real beaders are going to cringe, I’m sure, BUT, there was enough interest that I thought I’d post how I make them. The only instruction I’ve had was an email tutorial by my friend Yvette, who lives in France. (And I still SO appreciate it. You’ve been so good to me, Yvette. Thank you).

First, I take a length of 20 gauge wire about 2 1/2 inches long. I bend one end up a little bit, to make a loop, and I crimp the end to the vertical wire to make it tight.

Pictured above is the only tool I have, which is a combination pliers/wire cutters.

Next, I slip on beads, making sure that the bottom bead covers the loose end.

Then I use the pliers to put a 90 degree bend in the wire, a bit above the beads.

With a knitting needle held above the wire, I bend the wire around the needle. I’ve been using size 10 1/2.

Tightly wrap the remaining wire around the vertical wire, ending tightly above the beads so they don’t wiggle around and rise above the open end on the bottom. Crimp end tightly to avoid snags.

There you have it. Loads of fun. Yet another way to play with color. And I have to tell you, whenever I slip one as I’m knitting, I smile with glee.

Thank you all for the compliments on my projects the past few days, with Lauralund, the stole (soon to be shrug) and the stitch markers. You are all so kind.