Spinning FO: Caribbean BFL

Back in May, at Maryland Sheep & Wool, muchadored helped me pick out my first "real" fiber, something nice to spin after I got the hang of my spindle. This is BFL from Misty Mountain Farm, in "Caribbean". I divided the fiber by weight into two parts, and spun a fairly thin single.

I plied the singles together using my super-awesome and slightly-deadly-looking homemade lazy kate. This piece of high-tech machinery was constructed out of a shoebox and 2 metal skewers. I was hoping the pointy ends would keep the cat away, but apparently she's not as dumb as I thought (or maybe she's dumber than I thought.)

Then, all of my plied yarn was wound onto another homemade contraption, my PVC niddy noddy. (Why do yarn tools have such silly names?) If you were wondering if a 10-foot section of PVC pipe can fit into a Mazda Protege, the answer is "yes." And if you also were wondering if you can cut PVC with a wood saw in your living room, the answer is also "yes."

Ta-dah! I ended up with over 300 yards of fingering-ish weight yarn. I'm thinking about knitting these fingerless gloves. Jason thinks that the next logical progression from spinning my own yarn is raising my own sheep, but he knows that we don't have any grass in our yard. Duh.

Yosemite

Forever ago (one million years in internet time, or 2 months in human time) I went to California. My mom, sister, and I (girls' trip!) looked at many large and interesting items, mostly in Yosemite National Park, a.ka. The Death Trap. There were many completely unimpressive views, like this one:

Yosemite Valley

There were also some really small trees that were frankly pretty stupid to look at. We have like, 5 of these in our backyard at home.

We stayed overnight in Curry Village. I was a little bit nervous about staying in a canvas tent because bears love me. If Yellowstone was about a 7 on a scale of 1 to "definitely you will die of a bear attack", Yosemite is a 10. (But only signage wise. Actual bear murder-wise, Yellowstone is currently ahead 2-0 this year.)

The next morning we got up early to hike the Mist Trail. If I give you only one tip for visiting Yosemite, it's to get up early. We were up and down by the time the stroller/flip flop/funny hat crowd started in. The trail is kind of odd. The first segment is fairly wide and paved, and continues up to a bridge below the first waterfall, Vernal Falls. After that, things rapidly take a turn for the rugged, which is nice, but is not really posted anywhere. Normally this wouldn't be a problem, but many people seem to saunter up the paved portion and think, "no problem, I'll keep going. And take this stroller, tripod, backpack, and small travel refrigerator with me."

Then you come to this: a stone staircase, about 4 feet wide, with a sheer drop off at one side. Because we were here in June, water was pouring off the waterfall like a torrential downpour, and the stairs were slick. There were portions where I hugged the wall a little as I climbed. My sister and I were both completely soaked by the time we reached the top.

We decided to come back down via a secondary trail, and that was a good decision. We got to see Vernal Falls from above, as well as avoided having to walk down the slippery staircase on the non-wall side. The only downside to this trail is that it is several MILES longer than the straight-shooter trail up.

We drove out via the Tioga Road (towards the east), where there was a ridiculous amount of snow for it being late June. (I know this picture doesn't show a lot of snow, but it was still piled several feet deep along the edge of the road. I had to stop and touch some, because for some reason I expected it not to be cold. I don't know why. It was cold, of course.)

Our next stop was Lake Tahoe. I was expecting it to be more of a sleepy mountain town, but it was more like Vegas-lite. While the lake was beautiful, it was freezing cold. I mostly stayed on the beach in the shade as not to mar my translucent complexion. My sister tells me that it's much more crowded in the winter, when all the coastal Californians visit to enjoy the snow. If anyone wants to come to my house during winter and "enjoy" the snow, you're welcome to, as long as you dig out my car.

We rounded out the trip with a visit to the Winchester Mystery House in San Jose (completing a giant 700-mile circle.) If anyone ever accuses me of having a home remodeling addiction, I refer you to to this house. The owner, Sarah Winchester (also 4'10", a fact that the tour guide really played up as if she was some sort of freak show, when I was standing right there being 4'10" the whole time) built on to the house for 38 years, adding staircases that went nowhere, doors that opened out to a drop off, 47 fireplaces (but only 17 chimneys), and 160 rooms. It's basically a maze inside, and pretty neat to tour if you get the chance.

Aaaaand then I came home. The end.

Scarf Parade

A while ago I realized that I was a slow knitter, and that if I wanted new warm things to wear in the winter, I best get started while it's still warm out. That logic makes sense, until you get the part where it's 100 degrees outside and you're stuck with a lapfull of wool. So, no sweaters here, but it's looking like my neck will be warm, at least, and protected from vampires!

First up is the Cotton Seeds cowl, if I can even call it that. I did cast on the proscribed number, but after about 10 rows I gave up on 205-stitch rounds of seed stitch. Even though I tried to keep at the stitches straight when I joined in the round, I ended up with an unintentional double-mobius. Oh well, it's hard to tell when it's all scrunched up anyway. The yarn was a gift from a friend (and a non-knitting friend at that!) and is Manos del Uruguay Wool Classica. This is what it looks like looped twice around:

And three times around:

I would show you 4 times around, but no one was around to revive me after I fainted due to constricted blood flow to the brain.

Next is the Boneyard Shawl, which I actually finished back in (coughcough) February. While those dinky shawlettes that are all the rage in knitting-land can be cute, they don't really cut it when it comes to actually providing warmth. I used two whole skeins of Cascade Heritage Paints sock yarn.

And stylishly thrown around my neck like all the kids are wearing scarves these days:

Finally, there is the Greyhaven cowl, which is eating my face!

I survived. It's made out of Berocco Ultra Alpaca that I bought in Little Rock. I also did an extra repeat for maximum scrunchability.

All of this should not be taken to mean that I actually want it to be cold. I am so OVER cold. I am over snow. But apparently the climate does not take my wishes into consideration (although it should), and so I will cocoon myself in knits until I emerge, pasty white, sometime next April.

County Fair

It's funny that I lived in rural Kansas and New Mexico for several years, but never went to a county or state fair. (I DID go to the Roswell UFO Festival though.) Several members of my knitting group have entered items in the fair in the past, so this year I thought I'd give it a go myself. This is ironic because of how non-competitive I am. (Yeah right! I WILL BEAT YOU ALL.) I may have done a little happy dance when I saw this:

I wrote about my spinning here, and the socks have yet to be blogged. I'm not sure who won this category, because it was combined socks and gloves. But when I find out, I will go to her house and steal all her yarn. (Not really. I don't know where she lives.)

Next year, should I enter the toilet decorating contest? This was a hit among the kids who were passing by. "HAHA it says POOP."

Next we took a turn through the animal barns, and saw these three little pigs.

And this cow. I was not aware cows could bend their necks like this. Also, cows are really big; I also was not aware of that.

The poultry barn featured more kinds of chickens than I ever knew existed, and a little incubator where you could watch newborn chicks. We almost saw a chick hatch, but got tired of waiting for him to break through the shell. Come on chicken, time's a wastin'!

A little further down were many stands where you could actually eat the adorable animals you just saw!

After that, you could take a ride on something that would (a) probably kill you, or (b) make you throw up your deep-fried oreos.

Finally, there was Sampson the GIANT HORSE. A dollar, really? Don't these people know that the internet exists?

Next year: Best in Show. I'm coming for you, purple ribbon.

Kindle Case

With temperatures around 100, I've been forced into my house cave, i.e., the basement. Ooh, can we start that? Let's call basements "house caves" from now on. Anyway, as you know in my house cave is a craft bunker, where it is a lovely 70 degrees. I've been wanting to make a cover for my kindle for a long time, because the one it came with was totally ineffectual. It had no mechanism for actually holding the kindle in the cover. Dur.

I used this tutorial, which is intended for an iPad, so I did change the measurements. I also added a third layer of batting.

It is actually quite sturdy, and I would totally put it in a bag and not worry about anything happening to the kindle.

And yes, I have a Kindle 1, which I got only 3 years ago, but makes it practically ancient in technology years. It works fine though, so screw you planned obsolescence!

From Sheep to Yarn

Every week I think to myself, "I should really take a break from the library and read some of the books I actually own." And then I go check out 12 books, again. Recently I stopped worrying about this, because reading is fun for me, and it's dumb to make arbitrary rules about hobbies. So what does this have to do with spinning? Well, for about two years I put off spinning because "I didn't need another hobby." Then this May, I finally decided that that was a dumb arbitrary rule, and bought a spindle and some fiber at Maryland Sheep & Wool. I already have enough dumb rules in my life, like "show up for work on time."

I bought 4 oz. of cheap-o fiber as practice, to get a feel for the spindle before moving on to the good stuff. It's "wool", the scratchiest, bumpiest wool imaginable. I'm glad I started with it though, because I got a lot of practice pulling out slubs and making joins.

I wound my singles onto a single bobbin at first, one I also got at Sheep and Wool (for $1.50!). It is from Cedar Throwing Mills in Scranton, PA.

I split the singles onto 3 bobbins, by weight, which turned out not to be a great decision because my single got progressively thinner as I spun. The majority of the yarn is 3-ply, and the leftovers were navajo plied, resulting in about 220 yards of yarn.

About halfway through the process I got a new spindle: a 1.9 oz. Golding Tsunami. I LOVE it and would highly recommend Golding. (Take a look at their spinning wheels - one of these actually costs more than my car did.)

Now I am on to my second project, some BFL (Blue-Faced Leicester, which unfortunately does not actually have a blue face) from Misty Mountain Farm.

Strawberry Season

One thing that we did not have in New Mexico was pick-your-own farms. (Unless you wanted to brave the desert and pick your own tunas [tunas are prickly pear fruit; it's fun to say "Want some tuna jam?"]). So, for the past 2 years I have made it a point to go strawberry picking. This year I went all out and picked almost 9 pounds.

Most of those became freezer jam, which I'm hoping will last me through the year. I mix it with plain yogurt, in a jar, and then try not to let people see because that is such a hipster thing to do. I also made this cake, which turned out perfectly, I highly recommend it. No picture because we scarfed it.

The deck garden is now producing! I always have to laugh at those saving-money tips that suggest "Grow your own produce on your patio!" This will not save you money. This will be the most expensive produce you have ever eaten. My two containers of pea plants yielded about a cup of peas. You could buy an entire bag of frozen peas for what the seeds alone cost.

I have tons of lettuce. Lettuce is magic - you cut the tops off, and more lettuce grows back! It's like the Medusa snake head of nature. Ok, in this case, you might actually save money. You will also still be hungry, because no matter how healthy eating a salad for lunch makes you feel, you will be hungry again an hour later.

The peas have since been replaced with morning glory seeds. I don't know if this is the right time to plant them or not, but there's always an element of not caring that creeps in right about.... now.

Never Stop Knitting

Recently, it came up in conversation that a friend thought I had stopped knitting. Well, as it turns out, I never stopped knitting; I just stopped finishing things. Here's the current lineup of what is on my needles (and spindle and hook.)

Spring Forward socks: I cast on for these immediately after Sheep & Wool in a moment of renewed knitting motivation. Surprisingly, it's kept up, and I'm almost finished with sock #1. It also helps to have really tiny feet. (Yarn: Tess Designer Yarns Super Socks)

Haruni Shawl: I don't have much of a yarn stash, but the stash I do have is largely made up of sock yarn. Shawls it is! I'm slowly plugging away on this one; do any of you knitters feel that shawls get slightly less exciting each time a row gets slightly longer? (Malabrigo sock)

First spinning project: Two years ago I learned to spin on a borrowed spindle, but at the time I didn't want to start any new hobbies. Whatevs. I bought myself a spindle at Sheep & Wool this year, along with some really cheap practice roving. I also got some nice BFL roving, but I'm saving that for when I get my singles a little more even.

Lakeside Knee-highs: I can't even remember when I started these, and this sock has been sitting in this state for quite a while now. I considered ripping it out and using the yarn for something else, but it is pretty good looking. I'll just let it sit around for a while, reminding me of my failure. (Knitpicks Essentials sock)

Crocheted granny square blanket: Inspired by Attic24's colorful blankets, I ordered 12 different colors of wool yarn. I'm using this tutorial, and so far have about 35 squares. It'll probably take me the rest of my life to finish this, but when it's done, it will embody awesomeness.