Last night during American Idol (yes, yes, I admit it... I am somewhat of a reality tv junkie) I took the plunge into plying.

*cue suspenseful music*

Yeah, ok... there really is no suspense needed. The reality is that I need much more practice. And while I am pleased with doing it, I'm not sure that I can use the yarn for much of anything. Part of my problem was that I neglected to remember that while my second bobbin was filled with mostly the same weight, the first was my "play" bobbin and I had been adjusting the tension and playing with the drafting and moving back and forth between thick and thin and tightly spun to loosely spun. Like yarn on acid. The other issue is that I don't yet have a niddy-noddy, and in my haste to set the twist last night, I thought it could work just as well to wrap it around a bottle and then dunk it in hot water before hanging it. The bottle idea worked great until I tried to unwind it and it tumbled off the bottom of the bottle and into a big heap of dripping wet confusion on my counter. By the time I untangled it, I was covered in water... the floor was covered in water... and the water wasn't hot anymore.

So here it is hanging:


And here is a picture of the twist:


Things learned...
First, I've since read that setting the twist isn't actually always a necessary step... that if the ply is balanced, it is fine on its own. The more tangled pieces (that now look somewhat felted this morning) wish I would have learned that before last night.

Second, you really need something to wrap the yarn around... because a small Poland Spring water bottle just isn't going to cut it.

Third, be careful of the weight of the yarn that you are trying to work with. Some of my yarn looks pretty good (notice that that is the side I took the photos of) and some of it looks like unclean dreads. Seth is actually referring to it as such.

And finally, don't expect to ever be able to use it for anything. I'm considering making a bag out of it... I figure if worse comes to worse I can felt it. Because I know it felts.

What I need to learn...
I need to learn how to control the weight better, but I know that will come with practice. And I also need to learn how to draft better because my predrafting sucks nuts and I end up with a huge wad of slightly matted fuzz in my drafting hand. I've heard that you should cup it delicately like you are holding a baby bird... I hold mine like I hold my first cup of coffee in the morning and NO ONE is going to get me to put it down.


In other random thoughts...
I'm already thinking ahead to the Fiber Frolic in June. How many of you come for just the day and how many stay the weekend? I'm thinking of the possibility of arranging a post-Frolic at my house that Saturday evening since I live very close to the Interstate exit that you'd take to get out there. With a BBQ and good beer and sitting around knitting. Would there be a possible interest in something like that?

First up... my typical work day for Elisa's typical day post...

6:40am... Car is heating up so I can leave for work:


6:55am... I've stopped at Dunkin Donuts for the coffee that will get me through my morning. Yes, that is the SnB Kittyville Hat on my gear shift... it keeps it from getting too cold:


7:00am... My desk. And as chaotic as it looks, it is actually incredibly organized. I have a huge obsession with labels, so all baskets and drawers are labelled accordingly:


I work from 7-5 with an hour for lunch. Some days are long days.

5:05pm... On the commute home. This is the old high school:


5:10pm... My speedometer... just to show that I am really obeying the law!


5:15pm... I can see my house in the distance:


5:20pm... And this is what I come home to:



I admit, I don't have a lot of exciting shots to show because my commute is very short and it isn't easy to take pictures while driving. But there it is in a nutshell!


In fiber news... My husband's ex-wife just had a baby boy, so I whipped up a hat and booties set:


And the best news... new shots of my spinning. Still needs work, but is looking much more even and less tightly spun than the last pic. I am thinking of spinning some of the faboo roving I got from Amy Boogie at SPA this week.




I spent my whole afternoon labelling and re-balling yarn (remember that whole obsessive labelling thing I mentioned above??) and haven't yet decided whether I want to undertake balling all of my laceweight yarn at this point (since I've got about 12 hanks that aren't balled yet). Obsessiveness only lasts so long before I need a beer and some Amazing Race!

Brain melting public service announcement.

While I was wandering around at SPA, I came across the braided scarf featured on the Vogue Knitting holiday issue cover. I've been hearing little bits around the net about this scarf, and after getting a first hand view, I can understand why it is popular. It really is pretty neat.

Fast forward to yesterday.

As if I hadn't spent enough money at SPA, I had to run an errand to my LYS (Yeah, HAD to. Riiiight). On a huge whim I bought some Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece in Blue Paradise to work up my own version of the scarf (I didn't want to have the angora halo that the original pattern has... I wanted something with a nice shine to it). I cast on last night.

Am I crazy? Seriously? Because when I think about it, I have to knit 6 mini tubes that will then be braided together and connected by a garter stitch band at each end. But each mini tube is 90 inches. I'm at almost 24 inches of tube number one... and realized at lunchtime today that if I manage to accomplish 12 inches of tube per day, it will take me more than 40 days for the mini tubes alone. What in the heck have I gotten myself into? I mean honestly, I have some of the worst knitting ADD in the world, and I thought I could finish this? SPA must have eaten my brain.

SPA!

SPA was today, and let me tell you...

Next year I am staying the whole weekend.

I had such a blast just being down there for the few hours that I was there... I got to see Jess and Jackie... met some really nice knitters... spent so much money at Amy Boogie's booth that I am surprised they didn't get scared and call the police on me for stalking (I went back at least three times), and made a HUGE purchase that I am wicked excited about.

Sadly, I missed last night at the bar (and the Tinkerbell panties woman) and just know that right now everyone is having a wicked good time (and gearing up for another memorable night). Next year I will be there, darn it!

I also completely forgot to take any pictures of the event itself... I think I got so caught up in the yarn that I'm surprised I didn't start drooling all over myself. Or... maybe I did drool on myself and my wool scarf managed to wick it all away.

But pictures of the goods... that I did manage to get!

First up, here is my super cute NETA bag and nametag:


Next, general yarn stuff:

...some new malabrigo for a new short row rib scarf...


...some misty alpaca (no project idea yet)...


Amy Boogie yarn... and more yarn... and more yarn:







...is that roving I see?...









But why am I buying roving, you wonder? Because of my new baby... the Louet S10:


The seller, Esther, also included a bag of roving for me to practice with:


Isn't she pretty? *swoon* And look... I've already worked on spinning my own yarn:


Yes, it is spun way too tighly, and yes, I need a lot more practice, but it's my own spun yarn!

Ah SPA... I love it!!

Snow!

I had meant to get this post up yesterday evening, but I got involved in watching my husband play Wii Sports and forgot. Better late than never?

Beth had posted a few pictures of the snow after the storm last week and when I saw the picture out her front door, I had to laugh at the similarity of how the view was from our front door. Here in central Maine, we got somewhere around 12 inches, and for most of Valentine's Day we were under a blizzard warning. It has to be bad when the state offices are closed early (we were released at 12:30PM).

Wednesday afternoon...

looking out our driveway:


believe it or not, this is one of my flowerbeds:


Seth cleaning his car off so he could get to the store before they sent the employees home:


During a short lull in the storm, working on shoveling the driveway:


Wednesday night...

The view down the road from our front door:


The view out our front door. Don't ask how the mailman is getting to the mailbox!


Thursday morning...

Another shot of the flower bed:


And trying to clear the snow away from the garage door... because my car is stuck inside!


And the groundhog predicted an early spring?

Tomorrow is SPA!

I was reading Jackie's blog about coming up and realized that I have no idea what to expect. None. And I admit that I find myself with little tiny excited butterflies buzzing around at the prospect of what is going to happen.

On the downside, with so many people there, will I even be able to run into my knitblog friends?? Jackie, Kate, Jess, Maya... if I bring a flare gun, would that help?!

I cannot wait to try out wheels... I cannot wait to pick up some new yarn... and I cannot wait for someone to show me how to do a short row toe because the damn socks I am working on have been ripped out about 6 times and are starting to really piss me off!

I can't believe it's almost the weekend! Huzzah!

Reader participation!!

I discovered that I have a whole mess of sock yarn (and a pound that is still undyed!) and only a couple of sock patterns that are on my must-knit list.

So I look to you, dear readers... what are your absolute favorite sock patterns on the web? I'm learning to do toe-up, so it doesn't matter whether they are toe up or cuff down patterns.

(And yes, I've looked through knittingpatterncentral, but I didn't want to just print things off willy-nilly... it's more fun to get recommendations!).

Valentine's Day photo dump!

I'd mentioned before that I had photos of my finished Clapotis coming, so instead of procrastinating further I decided to get off my butt and upload the pictures on my camera.

Clapotis... done with Knitpicks Sock Garden in Hydrangea. I don't think they make this yarn anymore, which is a shame since it is really nice to work with and super soft. The upside is that I still have enough to make a pair of socks.

mods to the pattern: I used a size 7 needle instead of a size 8. I also did 18 straight section repeats instead of the written 12. It is quite long (the blocking pictures show it stretched completely across my yoga mat, so I know that it is taller than me). I admit that I haven't yet weaved in the ends, but that is for pure laziness sake.

general thoughts: This is the second Clap I've made... the first was two Christmases ago when I did one for my mom in ribbon yarn. I love how this pattern can really be done with any yarn and still look great.

pictures:
General blocking pictures.




And general wearing pictures... I could have wrapped it around my neck another time.






After all the issues I had with the SWTC Karaoke breaking apart, I decided to knit it into a simple felted bag. I'm going to throw it through another wash cycle, I think, because I'd like the stitch definition to be a little less defined. No pattern... just a simple garter bottom and the stitches picked up all around the bag.


Maryse is having a great contest for breaking the rules in socks... here are my two entries:




I've got some other bright socks, but it would figure that they are in the laundry (and I just get a weird feeling about putting on dirty socks... even just for a quick picture). You have until tomorrow to enter, so go!

And finally... since I haven't featured my fuzzy baby on here for a while, here is Camilla watching me taking socks pictures:

Happy Valentine's Day!

It's that time of year again... that holiday that at least half the population dreads.

Valentine's Day!

I like Valentine's Day... I still get a box of valentines and hand them out at work to my co-workers. This year I did Spongebob in 3D. I'm also wearing a novelty bracelet shaped like a heart that lights up when you turn it on. And wearing red.

But what I admit that I like most about Valentine's Day is that I can tell people how much I love and appreciate them without them thinking I am mushy or too sentimental. On Valentine's Day I can be as fluffy as I want to be and it's a-ok.

So thank you, dear readers, for visiting here. I don't have a special bouquet like Dave, nor do I have some neat knitting to show like Jessica but golly, I just love all of you guys! Have a great day... and if you are like me, and are in the middle of this swell nor'easter (blizzard warning and I am at work! joy of joys!), I hope you stay warm and cozy!

Loves!!

I realized this morning that I feel lost as a knitter today. Why? Not because I've tackled some huge, over-my-head type project... not because I've run out of yarn (yeah, right... like that will ever happen)... but because I have nothing portable on the needles right now. I have a Branching Out scarf in progress, but I can't take it anywhere because I jerryrigged the yarn on an iron candlestick(seen here about half way down the page) and I have a Danica in progress which used to be portable, but now that it is getting much longer (and requires three different balls of yarn) is not so easily toted around. I've finished the Clapotis (pictures to come), finished the felted bag with the Southwest Trading Co's Karaoke (needs one more trip in the washing machine), and finished the last two swatches I had left for Jackie.

This has never happened before!

In reality, I'm hopeful that once I attend SPA on Saturday that I will have some new needles to start a pair of socks (over the weekend I discovered that I have no idea where my size 1 or 2 dpns are), and once I finally find a pattern for handwarmers that I am satisfied with I can carry that around (I was thinking of using Peace Fleece, but have yet to find a pattern that works well... I have frogged about 5 attempts, though!). But for today... nothing. My lunch hour is going to be downright dull.

Another SPA question...

What are the chances that there will be spinning wheels to try and possibly purchase? If my tax return comes in time, I am going to be looking into purchasing a wheel. BUT, I want to at least have the opportunity to try a couple before I spend the money and realize I have no clue what I am doing.

Top Secret photo time...



6 swatches blocking! Unfortunately, I've run out of Highland Wool for swatch 4 designated in that color, and last night ran out of Highland Silk halfway through swatch 4 designated for that color. Never fear, though, Jackie is the reigning swatch queen and is picking up my slack! I am amazed at how super fast she is on these things... the book is going to be amazing.

(I'm trying to be cryptic about the project. Is it working? She's told us it's not top secret, really, but it's more fun to pretend!)

So for a sneak peak, here is one with the Highland Wool:


And here is one with the Highland Silk:


Seth and I went to Sunday River this morning... him to go snowboarding and me to sit in the lodge and knit. My plan was to start a new pair of handwarmers since my old ones are pilling like mad (I've been advised that it was inevitable since I used merino wool) and the sweater shaver is just not making a dent. Besides, one can just not have too many handwarmers... they are everyday gear like scarves! I'm sitting at one of the tables and two teenaged boys come and sit at the table behind me. I hear them talking about a friend that wanted a pair of handwarmers... and how stupid that is to wear something that exposes your fingers and blah blah blah. I turn, one of the kids looks up at me, realizes that not only am I wearing a pair but have a pattern for a pair on the table, and gets red in the face.

I managed to keep from busting out laughing because I know that would have embarassed him even more.

The downside with the whole plan is that the yarn I wanted to use was this:


It's Southwest Trading Co.'s Karaoke. Gorgeous looking yarn... super soft. But evidently because of the way that it is spun, it has a tendency to do this:


I had only manage to cast on half the stitches before the yarn broke apart. Thinking that it was just a weird occurance, I spit spliced and kept going. It broke apart again. And again.

It is definitely not going to make any handwarmers... I can't even get three rows into the pattern. I'm kind of at a loss about what to do with the yarn... perhaps I will knit up a quick bag and felt it- I'd like to think that once the yarn is felted that it wouldn't break so easily.