belated ... H A L L O W E E N

one of the yarns i got at SAFF was a "halloweenie" color of this sock yarn. this hank was for me. so, as soon as i got home, i cast on for a pair of socks.

as much as i love it ... the yarn .... the colors ..... the pattern.

the short row heel was a complete fail.

so i ripped it all out.

right now, i'm struggling ....... not sure what to knit on. all my crafting time if somewhat unproductive.

i have a mindless project on the needles right now. but, i need to get started on other projects. and, starting to feel the pressure of the holidays. crap. what to make? and for ____  ?!

SAFF part 2

i'm not sure if this was my 1st or 2nd purchase, but i got some brooks farm acero (3 hanks --- because 2 isn't enough and 3 is more than enough). some of my favorite sweater lately have been knitted in finer yarns ... and with a blend of wool/rayon/silk, it should have a nice drape/sheen/softness.


it's kinda impossible to leave SAFF without something from miss babs. although i knitted mom a leftie with a kit she picked out last year, this year she announced (before SAFF) she wanted a hitchhiker in black. WTF?

i at least talked her out of the black, and she chose this pretty yummy 2ply in "berlin" (on left). for myself, i chose a different yarn base (hot shot) to knit myself some socks in miss bab's 2015 SAFF colorway.


now, this is the fun stuff! neon yarns made by wild hare fiber studio!!!

the center skein (colorway 'halloweenie') is mine, the left for mom (in 'neon lights'), and on the right is 'jedi masters' for a friend. i wound up mine this morning  --- me first!

these will all end up being socks .... at least one pair will be knitted toe up to use up as much as possible the 460 yards.


see how much fun?!

i didn't visit the barns with animals, and left my animal encounters up to chance. there was a booth in the main building that had german angora rabbits.


these guys are big! but then again, it's all the angora fur. the rabbit in the top photo was sitting through a trim. the woman said she trims her rabbits about 4 times a year.

outside, we ran across a man with a llama pulling a buggy.


heading home, we caught some more of the autumn colors ...




when we got home, we chilled for a bit and then started dinner. with full bellies, we settled in to catch up on zombies (yes, the walking dead). mom dvr's it and i catch up on visits. for the record, i don't think glenn is dead. they didn't show the zombies actually eating him ... just him screaming with someone's guts getting ripped out. and if you know something i don't know, don't spoil it for me ... i don't have cable so i only get to see episodes after the fact, often more than a month late.

here, there, and back in under 48 hours ... SAFF 2015

this was the weekend that i wait for all year long ... my birthday? no! SAFF weekend !!!

it's a blitz of a weekend ... work late the night before, drive 'home' a few hours, stay up late and head up the mountain the next morning. ♥ love it ♥

why do i love it so much? yarn-fest. and fiber-fest. and just fun. a day (mostly) i can spend with mom without any other distractions or responsibilities.

so, this is how it goes ... (phone convo) ....

me: don't make me late.
mom: i never make you late.
me: we HAVE to leave the house by ____ am (insert ridiculous morning hour here).
mom: i have responsibilities in the morning.
me: YOU'VE KNOWN ABOUT THIS SINCE LAST YEAR !

this is typical.

so the journey begins .......


it's dark! really? did i forget that from last year or did i demand to leave super-early?!

i think i demanded to leave as early as possible, expecting that some obstacle would come up and we'd roll into the venue later than i preferred.


mom really wants me to take pictures (that's my duty for not driving). but, i already drove 3 hours the night before, and she really doesn't want me to drive. although i have a camera in my bag, i take lazy iphone photos.


as the sun starts to rise, i get to see all the colors i missed the night before driving in darkness. it's autumn in the state.


and it's been overcast and rainy ... but stayed cloudy and dry while at SAFF.


and finally, after a greasy bojangles breakfast, we arrive!!! what a plain sign compared to years past ..... but, that is a GOOD thing!

i take a quick map/photo just in case we forget where we parked (entering through gate 7 and the venue spaces are different for us this year).

(we're the blue dot!)

this is where i hit 'fast forward', as i'm tired ..... and am ready to chill !!!

MY  LOOT !

whoops ... ready to go rest now ...... i'll post more later 

N E T F L I X

yep. an unusual title for a post ... but it is knitting related.

i haven't had cable tv (never have had satellite) in maybe 11 years? there are things i'd like to watch on cable tv, but it's too expensive, and i've found i can live without it. i like lots of different channels, and i don't think they're sold "a la carte". regardless, it's a time suck, and i'm pretty awesome at finding multiple ways to practice avoidance behavior.

i do have Netflix, and it's worth every penny! i love to binge watch tv shows. that sounds unhealthy, right?

right now, i'm watching ALIAS. i never watched it when it was broadcast on regular television. i'd heard of it, but was probably busy doing other things.

the first year i went to SAFF (2007), there was a yarn dyer that sold "tv yarns".

HEY STUART !!!

see the crazy hot pink & black/gray yarn? ... i knew nothing of the tv show, but liked the colors. it sat in stash forever .....

flash forward, 2013 ... i finally wound a hank into a ball!

i knitted monkey socks. keep in mind, still ... never seen the tv show. 

so, it was laundry day this past weekend, and i was washing these socks.

and i laughed at myself for loving this yarn for so long, bought with the tv show name alias, and finally, finally, decided to watch this on netflix.

so, finally, finally, ... i've worn my alias socks with netflix! yarn & tv have united !!!

whoops

i was a very productive knitter this past summer, but not a very productive blogger.

in my last post, i was just finishing up my beeline sweater. i finished it just 2 days after that post.











since finishing, i have worn it a few times, and will likely be wearing it this coming weekend when i go to SAFF. the farm i've purchased this yarn from is on the vendor list for the event. although there will be some very popular vendors there (ie: miss babs), i really like this little farm from morganton, nc.



i think this was the last summer top i completed. it's the western slope tee, knitted in lindy chain. it photographs well, it fits well, but i haven't even worn it.

i feel i need to crochet around the armholes, or pick up in knit and bind off, to tame the flaring of the garter stitch edges. i have a wee ball of yarn left, possibly enough for that bit of finishing. and with the season change, i'm not enthusiastic about that task at the moment.

it was a love/hate knit too ... constantly worrying if i'd have enough yarn to knit the top. i did have enough, barely.

they yarn i really like! but it's tricky to finish. the yarn is a chainette and it will unravel. i made little knots at the cut end before weaving in.







oh, and i got a "new to me" car this summer ... it's a 2010 Hyundai Elantra. i still have the truck, with no plans to sell it. but it's such a different ride. so different.

copycat

yesterday when i was out & about, i stopped in a yarn shop. there were at least 2 different yarns i could had justified buying for sweaters, but i have plenty of sweater quantities, ... and didn't "need" it.

le sigh ... remember last december when i proclaimed to be going cold sheep in 2015? ha !!!

needless to say, there have been some significant yarn purchases this year. however, they have been more "mindful" purchases. so, although i've not been 100% cold sheep, i've not been as reckless either. 

one thing i did find that i wanted, and could use (needed!) was a gadget for my dpns. on my sweater, i'm knitting the sleeves, on dpns. and, more than once, the stitches have fallen off the needles when in my knitting bag. i saw such an accessory in the yarn shop yesterday ... but i couldn't justify the expense ($13). i can sew. and i have tons of scraps.  so, this cost me nothing but a bit of time. i had everything ... the fabric scraps, some 1/4" elastic, and some stiff interfacing. it's not perfect, but it "will do". 

the wool knitting is quite fast

i started my beeline on august 8th. as of last night, i'm about 4" in on my second sleeve. the sleeves are exceptionally fast due to the reduced number of stitches. i'm planning on having this finished within the next few days.

i haven't finished my last two summer tops though --- on the lena, all i need to do is pick up stitches around the neck and arms and bind off, and then weave in ends. on the western tee, i just have a smidgen of knitting left and minimal finishing. however, starting is often more alluring than finishing.

but, i'm into the fall/winter knitting now.

this is one i'm currently contemplating ... it would be A LOT of knitting. (it's called reagan). i have a suitable yarn in stash.

whichever i decide upon, it will be soon --- because my rusty beeline is near the finish line and i'm going to get itchy to start something new.

i've switched to wool

summer isn't over, but part of it is quickly fading for me.

though we still have the high temps & humidity, i've switched from summer knitting to fall.

i still need to finish a couple of summer tops (tops i've 95% completed!!!) ~ i'm thinking more about wool.

last year at SAFF, i found a wonderful hand-dyed superwash worsted. i wound a hank in the car on the way home, and immediately cast on the beeline .  it took a bit to knit it, but it's a sweater that's been worn as often as i could (temps & dress code permitting).

so, this past spring, when i went down to the NC Fiberfest, i found the same farm as a vendor! ... and i got more yarn, for another beeline.



i did a lot of knitting on this at the beach. i'm almost finished with the second hank, and very close to beginning the ribbing on the bottom.

it's a favorite pullover, and this one will be done before the next SAFF.

the beach? yes ... i went to the beach for a 2nd time this summer. perhaps i'm making up for so many summers inland?



that's me in my desert get up. though i love the beach, i have my limits on sun exposure. i have no idea what my hair was doing -- that's "the beach" for ya' .

so, i'm there knitting on my beeline. typically, it would be more difficult to knit (wool) on the beach, but the air was a bit drier than usual. the only time i had problems with the yarn flowing was after my dips in the ocean.

we've had a very "sharky" summer in NC. that didn't stop me, or the other tons of other people i saw, swimming out beyond the wave break.

on that day, the waves were quite gentle. the lifeguard was waving the green flag. it was also a good day for shells.

needless to say, it was an awesome beach day!

green ? green ....

green used to be my favorite color. now, it's blue ... or most shades of dark blue (LOVE navy blue).

but today ... today was a G R E E N  day.

today i was wearing 3 shades of green.



on the left, a very old knitted hemp tank. knitted from this pattern too many years ago.

top right, old crocs with minion shoe charms.

down right, an army green stretch skirt my mom gave to me (brand is KOPPEN). it's a stretchy ripstop nylon, and at least one size too big --- but i like the color and that one of the pockets has a zipper.

in a couple of weeks, i'm going to the beach again -- this time -- only for a few nights. skirt and crocs (with minions) are going with me!

summer knitting

i've had some summer successes and fails.


and i'm not just talking about knitting. ha! but, in the world of knitting, i am successfully knitting on my 3rd lena tee , and the quince & co. sparrow remains my current favorite summer yarn! i'm knitting this version in the color "banyon".


it's a really nice medium sea green/blue.


of course, i'm knitting as fast as i can. who doesn't want another linen summer top?!


... just a shark photo from the aquarium when i went to the beach a couple of weeks ago.

happy 4th!

funny little minions

mom sent this image to me today via text. so cute!

knitting the euroflax

since i finished my sparrow tee, i had to cast on something new. and since i don't have anymore of the quince & co sparrow, i decided to use my (recently discovered) euroflax linen.

thus far, this project is a "win" …

for several reasons:

• i had the yarn in stash, which i just "found" in the back of a drawer a week or so ago (i had bought it years ago when i worked in a yarn store, thinking i was going to knit a shawl)
• i had the magazine with the pattern
• i'm really into these loose summer tops right now
• it's super easy -- at least for now, until i get to the fisherman's rib part. so, it's "mindless" for the moment
• and, this is already knitting faster than any of my other sweaters, as this is knitted on size 6 needles! huge compared to my other projects -- fewer stitches, fewer rows per inch. win-win.

and i've thought too, if i like this once finished, if i dare to knit it again, i have many yarn choices in stash for this top (i.e.: silky wool, hempathy, lonco solid, lindy chain, etc).

this is what i've accomplished since last night. doesn't look like much, because i spent part of the morning weaving in the ends and blocking my lena tee. but still, that's quite a bit!

so, the lena tee is done!

i can't really get great pictures right now. i have a new camera (new to me) but my old computer does not like images. whenever i try to do something with photos on this laptop, it crashes. i have a new (to me) computer waiting in the wings. it's getting a new keyboard, and hasn't been mailed yet. i'm really looking forward to using a camera and different computer to take project photos. in the meantime, i'm using my iPhone. 

this is my soft stones pullover. again, miles and miles of stockinette stitch. i'm on my 3rd ball of yarn (i have 5 total). it is mindless knitting, but these needles are a bit pointy, and sometimes make my fingertips hurt. yes, i could change needles, but that would require spending $ and trip to a yarn shop (otherwise known as the danger zone !!!). 

that's right. i can't be trusted in a yarn shop. remember my declaration of "cold sheep" this year? yeah, that's so out the window.

however, i will say it has made me a more discriminating knitter, in terms of yarn purchase and projects. if i've purchased yarn it was for a project i'm actively working on (mostly). ha!

and lastly, my crochet shawl. i joined a CAL on ravelry. this has a deadline of june 20th (i think)? i bought this yarn at SAFF in 2009. finally, i found a project "worthy" of it. 

so, here i am knitting a shawl with lace weight yarn on a c-hook (tiny!). knitting an oversized pullover with fingering weight yarn on US size 5 needle. started a tee on a giant size 6 needle!