Pumpkins, Spinning and Madness

In 24 hours I completed two very different pumpkins. One was a Knitty pattern and the other I got from Ravelry. Size wise I like the Knitty version, construction wise it was a lot of work. First making seven panels and then sewing them together. The other one was done on double points but much smaller. Of course by that point I was running out of orange yarn too, but I think the touch of yellow on the base makes it realistic.
Nessa has rediscovered the pond and the fish. I'm calling it 'Fish TV' because she has spent hours out there watching the fish and trying to telepathically convince them to come close enough for her to get them out of the pond. It's not working and sometimes the frustration gets too much and she barks at them. This sends Norbert running to find out where the 'squirrel' is. He's very confused by the lack of squirrel and what her interest in the pond is all about.

I'm trying to finish up the drop spindle spun Embarrassment of Riches merino/silk roving that I won from Tour de Fleece 2008. I plan to ply it on the wheel. It's just finishing up the second two ounces in a timely manner. All this drop spinning though is hard on my left shoulder because I try for maximum length before winding it onto the spindle. I split the two ounces into 18 little bundles and I'm down to five left to finish. I alternated working on a bundle with working on the pumpkins.
The Blueberry came with me to Haggen's tonight to have Bobbie mentor me through Navajo plying again. A few sections of it were very easily stressed about because I'd gotten them a bit thin. I was able to get better plying out of this than the last one. I'm really surprised with how much it looks like I still ended up with when I thought I'd lose so much of it with this plying method. I'm not sure how much until I get it off the bobbin, set the twist, do some whacking to it and then put it on the swift to dry (I really need to make myself a niddy-noddy). Here's what it looks like right now.
So that leaves the 'madness'. Before I can go to bed I must start one of my Malabrigo projects. I'm kind of tired and wouldn't mind heading to bed though....

Fiber = Spinning

I've mentioned my October plans so I'm spinning until October 1. I do want to make a couple of pumpkins too, so I'll get those started tonight.

Sunday night I spent the evening working on the rest of my 2 oz. of what I'm calling the 'Blueberry' merino/tencel up. Here's what it looks like resting before I use it for my next attempt at navajo plying.

Today I was thinking of jumping into some of the new stuff (of course!) and remembered that I had some lovely merino/silk that I had started before the wheel on my drop spindle. I spent a few hours today spinning up the rest of the 2 oz braid. It came as two 2 oz braids. It's tempting to do up the second braid on the wheel but I'll do it on another drop spindle and then ply them with the wheel. Here's what that single looks like.

Tonight's plans are to start a pumpkin, I have two different patterns to try out. I may also start a drop spindle of the second Embarrassment of Riches braid.

Nessa discovered the fish in the pond yesterday again. She hasn't paid attention when I've been feeding them but yesterday she was. Knocked one of the rocks into the pond by trying to use it to get in after the fish. She was there again watching this afternoon. Its fun to watch but Brandon's semi-concerned she may actually catch one. Norbert continues to be happy chasing his balls. Though convincing him to set them close enough to my feet while I was spinning was a bit of a challenge. So it became a timing thing - letting wool go on and scooping up the ball without loosing rhythm.

Oregon Flock & Fiber Festival and Halloween Bazaar

We were up and out of the house bright and early and found our way to the Clackamas County Fairgrounds in Canby. William dropped us off and then headed towards Woodburn to check out the stores at Woodburn Outlet. Brandon bravely came along with me. We did a circle around the vendors on the lawn then after chatting with Cindy (maxfun on Ravelry) and she flashed the camel and I got to feel its softness, so turned and headed towards the 4-H barn and Crown Mountain Farms booth. Its where Blue Moon was located so a bonus. Luckily they were also next to each other. I was tempted to buy the yak/merino at the same time I got the camel, but I opted to wait in case there was something 'better' to be found.

I found two 'mill end' lightweight Socks That Rock in the same colorway. I think they are Moody Blues, since I did go with the plan of getting a couple towards a shawl, they were easily snatched up. Missed Tammy there (lavendarknits on Ravelry), so was Tina apparently when I commented on hoping to see her there. ;^)

We went through the 4-H barn lots of lovely yarns and hand dyed fibers, books, wood spindles and glasswork. Then headed over to the second barn trying to find Village Spin and Weave. I never saw them but I might have been undergoing sensory overload by that time. Brandon who was following in my wake commented on how distracted I was walking several times. I think he got to check out the different kinds of spinning wheels and the one he liked the design best was the Mach-1, but really its not that pretty.

We headed back out to check out the vendors on the lawn that we had missed by being redirected to the 4-H barn and found some cormo, cormo/silk, and wensleydale there from Bellwether Wool. Which then caused me to go back to the 4-H barn to get that yak/merino I had stroked fondly to begin with. Then I was down to my last $5 of budgeted money and we were over checking out the food area to see if there was something there that Brandon would eat, not, when I spotted Duffy coming from the livestock barn. She let me feel some of the softest alpaca and I think she said 'Opal'. So I headed in to see what I could find. After feeling up several bags of alpaca I had one bag of brown locks that were marked as $2 per ounce and so I was going to get what I could with my last $5. As they were starting to measure it out I mentioned that I loved the feel of the bag of 'Opal' but it was priced for the whole bag. The nice lady at Stonyridge said that it was no problem to get me a few ounces from the bag, so I switched to that. This is really soft stuff!

I let the dogs smell all of the different rovings I picked up today and Norbert shoved his face into Opal's alpaca and then came back and looked for the bag.
Here's the collage of what I picked up today:



After checking in with Bobbie and showing her my finds and seeing Barbara's beautiful woven shawl I went to find Brandon who had wandered off to find a bench to sit on. We tried to find out if William was returning any time soon but he was another hour or so. Brandon opted for taking a walk down the road to see if there were any eateries nearby. We found Flutanos Pizza on Highway 99. It was great because we were able to get our own mini-pizzas.

William arrived and we headed back to Portland so that the boys could check out the Halloween Bazaar. While we were going through we ran into Camille, whom I hadn't seen since the WWKiP day get together. She's still busy with grad school work at Portland State. Brandon found a pair of horns for a costume and both he and William got a cool Dark Horse Comics preview book they were giving away for free. Lots of cool costumes on people too. Since we had parked at Lloyd Center and MAXed to the Coliseum we did go through some of the stores. We also got to see friend, Jessy (Toez on Ravelry), one of their D&D players, in the ballet shop she works in.

If you'd like bigger pics of my OFFF purchases you can find them in my stash at Ravelry. Click on the 'homespun' tab for all but the STR.

Happy Birthday Kaisha and Norbert - both 7!

Kaisha is Brandon's brother's daughter and oldest. She is currently in the first grade, and just turned 7 today. The Pasha Penguin and one of the cupcakes were made for her. We didn't see her tonight but will get them dropped off to her this weekend. Here's the finished Pasha:


I must say that getting Pasha completed was a challenge. The knitting part wasn't difficult at all. It was sewing the front and back pieces together that was a bit of a challenge. I think that it might be possible to do it in the round and intarsia like for the white and black halves, not that I'm going to rush out and do this brain twisting feat soon.

I'm crazy, I have eight projects planned for the month of October as part of the Malabrigo Junkies group's Holiday Stockpile 08. Here's the description if you want to join the insanity:

Holiday Stockpile 2008

Since the Holidays are fast approaching, and there’s always a birthday or newborn baby sneaking up on us, why not be prepared? Starting October 1, 2008, we’re going to encourage knitting for others - as one of the most generous groups here on Ravelry, it’s time we show our generosity off the boards too! Whether you’re knitting for your own family, friends, a homeless shelter, your favorite charity, preemie babies, your local hospital or nursing home, or simply stuffing your closet with things to give away (or keep for yourself - you need a little self-charity too!), this October is the month to do it!

Of course, there are those Competitions:

Prize winners will be selected for the first and second place in each of the following categories. Each category has been given it’s own board - just click on the name up here to find out more about it! The rules are category specific, but in all the categories there are some basic guidelines:

* The project must be made out of Malabrigo (some contests are worsted-specific, others will let you use anything)
* You must start this project no earlier than October 1, 2008
* All entries must be entered into your notebook. We prefer that you have pictures, but, if not, make sure you’ve got good documentation on your project pages!

Most Generous Member
One-Skein Wonder
Achievement Award
Prettiest Packaging
One-Skein Design

And, after all this, who could forget the PRIZES?

First places in each category will receive a skein of Malabrigo Merino Silky and a skein of the new MALABRIGO SOCK YARN! In some categories there are additional secret prizes!

We’ll also be doing five random drawings from participant threads for a skein of sock yarn! So everybody has a chance to win!"

I'm using the contest to my advantage. One I got to buy a few skeins of the mmmmmMalabrigo yarn crack for knitting delight and share with family members in the form of hand knit gift items for Christmas giving. I'm done with some of them early allowing me to get started on the other planned projects in a timely manner. I have gifts planned for people and yarn matched up with projects. I'm really ahead of the game this year and hopefully not going to have delusions of ability to finish them like a certain Yarn Harlot. ;^)

Norbert too had a lovely birthday for a dog. He got to go out and check out his yard for any interlopers and scared off a large bird, think it might have been a heron, from the pond this morning. Slept on his favorite perch and his boy went to the store and bought him two new mini-balls for his fetching pleasure. There were a couple of pork rawhide bones too, but the balls had his full attention. Nessa enjoyed hers over the next hour. I've spent the last half hour throwing them for him, so he's happy. We hope to have him for another 7 years and more.

Tomorrow will be a busy day. We plan to be over at OFFF for opening at 9am. I have hopes of a mill end or two from Blue Moon and have a few things to look for from Village (camel, yak and natural bfl), plus all the other vendors. Possibly a lamb sandwich and then heading to the Memorial Coliseum for the Halloween Bazaar for the boys.

Wednesday night Bobbie showed me how to navajo ply with her green. I have some yarn barf to show for it. I'm thinking of using it for the top of the pumpkins. With Pasha done, I need to finish up my Leapfrog Moss Grid Hand Towel. It's also a gift item, so working the list already.

Yarn, Squirrel & Flowers

Well I couldn't resist. I spent Monday afternoon spinning the Schoppel Wolle pencil roving singles up and now have "Caribe" because of the turqouise blue-green color reminded me of pictures of the Caribbean:

I'm going to take the 2 oz of merino/tencel with me tonight if I actually do other spinning than the Navajo plying that Bobbie is going to teach me with her green.

I received my Knit Picks replacement needles this afternoon too. So back to working on Kaisha's Pasha Penguin. I'm half way through the back so just have the front to finish. I fully expect to have this ready for Friday to drop off for her birthday along with the cupcake. It's also Norbert's 7th birthday on Friday too.

I've mentioned the suicidal squirrel before. I spotted him/her this afternoon making forays into the actual yard rather than along the fence line. Clearly in search of nuts but rather bold and daring all the same with my two squirrel hunters in residence. Here he is in the yard:

I think Nessa heard me saying the 'squirrel' word while talking with Brandon and looking out the kitchen window where the crazy rodent was checking out the grass because I heard her stick her head out the patio doorway and saw the squirrel scamper for height. She lead the CHARGE! and Norbert joined her for barking at the base of the trees:



My sunflowers aren't lasting as long as the daisy's or other store bought flowers. They do have their little baby flowers blooming though:

Spinning, Knitting, Books & Medieval Day

Wednesday afternoon William and I met up with my dad in Sheridan. He'd given a call to Leon down there to see if he had any cars that would be a good first one for William. He got back an email with photos of a 1996 Honda Accord. Price was right, mileage was low, so we headed down for a test drive.

We ended up leaving a check and a request for a few repairs - driver's seat too far reclined; latch on console and A/C. All were done by Thursday afternoon, so another trip down to bring her home:

Since we were going through Carlton, I had to stop in at Woodland Woolworks since I'd checked online that they had some rovings at really great prices. I took a look in their used equipment area and was tempted by an Ashford Traditional, would prefer a Traveler, but the price was awesome at $250. Since I didn't have it, it obviously didn't come home with me.

I was going to come home with a nice blue green merino to pair with my Schoppel Wolle single, along with a couple of merino/tensel rovings when near the checkout I spotted a Schoppel Wolle pencil roving that looked exactly like mine, and it was! Exact same color and dye lot. How wild! Only drawback was that instead of being the marked $7.95, the price had just gone up that day by $3 because they'd gotten a shipment in saying the prices had increased by that much. Still got it, along with the others:


I had also gotten in the mail two balls of Rowan Scottish Tweed DK from Melissa in Poland, OH. I'd been looking at the recommended yarn for the Driver's gloves in my queue and it was the yarn. She had it for sale - two balls for $3. Another $1.68 for shipping and an awesome deal: I'll be able to do two pairs with this much. Two more Christmas gifts acquired for.

I've since then spun up the pencil roving and now have it and the first one resting, this is what they look like:

I'm hoping that on Wednesday I'll be able to ply it up with Bobbie's help. Someone in the Beginning Spinners forum also has said something about putting the center pull balls into paper bags and using paper clips as a low tech lazy kate when you don't have enough bobbins to ply onto.

We went to the Beaverton Farmers Market today, Saturday, for their Medieval Day with the local SCA. Talked with a former co-worker Les, who has an apple farm and bought some Gravensteins for an apple pie and apple dumplings from him. The boys got a bag each of fresh kettle korn - honey and caramel. While they were watching the sword fighting demo I went back and picked up some Irish Smoked Salmon, Creamy Havarti, a pint of fresh blueberries, and from the flower vendor a bouquet of straw flowers (the pretty dried ones) and some sun flowers before meeting back up with them. I ran into them coming to find me and some food. So a trip back through to get some egg rolls for William and I and a teriyaki chicken and rice for Brandon. Our spoils:

They boys had hopes of watching the rapiers, so took our food back to watch that. We'll they did. I found a bench, ate and then started Maddy's baby booties. The rapiers didn't start when they were supposed to and the boys lost interest so we headed out.

A stop at Rainy Day Games for William and Brandon netted William a couple of disks for disk golfing. I went for the first time into the Franz Bakery Outlet - great deals there! Remembered I had a few paperbacks for resale and between those two stores was Jan's Paperbacks, so took them in to see what I'd get. They had a two for one deal. I only found one book that I had on my current Amazon Wish List so went for that. Kind of a good thing really, because I still have a large number of books waiting to be read next to my bed, plus all the ones that have just come in from the library, plus the ARC (Advanced Reader's Copy: I need more time in my day to allow for spinning, knitting, reading and cleaning, or another me. ;^)

One more week until OFFF! ETA: Will & car photos. Sorry about the heavy photo post, if you're a slow connection....

Cupcakes & Oops!

So the last few days have had a few knitting needle catastrophes. Sunday night I was working with my size 6 Harmony interchangeable needles when I started noticing I was having difficulty with one of the needles. As first I thought I had a tension issue of being too tight, then I figured out that it was the needle. One of the layers of lamination had separated and was catching the yarn. I'm using them because they are the only pair of size 6 that I have. I'm using them to work on Kaisha's Pasha Penguin. So that project is on 'hold' until my replacements come in.

I started late Sunday Kaisha's Birthday Cupcake with my size 7 dpns, also Harmony Wood. It wasn't until Monday afternoon though while working the 'frosting' on Bailey's that I had my second catastrophe - one of the tips chipped off/broke off. Nice jagged edge. These things don't sand down well.

Here are the finished cupcakes though:

I spent an hour last night and a couple hours today at the Louet spinning the Schoppel Wolle pencil roving. So my other 'oops' - I've run out of roving. ;^) I'll have to see if Bobbie or Duffy can teach me how to Navajo ply it Wednesday night. So I'll have to either pick up some roving from Sharon to play with tomorrow night, or use 'Spicy' the merino/silk roving I have. I would like to spin it on the wheel, but I think I'd like more wheel time before spinning it up.

Here is what I have:


I did go down the bobbin and realized I had more at one end and then brought it back. May not have been the best idea, but I'll have to deal with it at plying I imagine.

Spinning is fun! I hope I can have my own wheel sometime soon. Need a 'name' for the new yarn though. Any suggestions?