all the spinning

For the past two-ish months I’ve been spinning, quite a bit. First it was because the 3oz of merino that I dyed with leftover Easter egg dye was sitting there waiting for me to finish it and it has been sitting for a long time. Finally I found the gumption to finish it. Then I wound those singles into a center pull ball and 2-plied it.

never doing that again. It was a major pain. However, from the 6oz of fiber I ended up with two hanks and a total of 303 yards of light-ish worsted yarn in a blinding bright colors. I started a pair of socks awhile ago with the first finished hank, but I’m not sure about them. I might rip it out and work a pair of kid mittens.

Then there was a braid of superwash merino from Sakina needles in the jam sandwich colorway that hopped onto my wheel while I was in between projects and wanted to start my Daddy’s mittens but didn’t really want to….which I have started, finished the outside shells. Put them down to wait for the yarn for linings, now I just have to well, start the linings… anyway….

I truly love how this yarn came out. It was amazing to spin, the fiber was so soft. I’m not sure what I’m going to knit with it, mittens? hat? a cowl? I have 135 yards of worsted weight, navajo plied. (which by the way I’m so happy with how my plies came out!) Then the kids and I started talking about mittens, Bryce said he didn’t really want thrummed mittens anymore and I asked him if I could spin the fiber that we dyed and then make him mittens from that yarn. I was ecstatic when he said yes. Strange when you become a parent that the things that make you incredibly happy are so small.

This almost a DK weight 165 yards and also navajo plied. I love love love how this one came out. It makes me so happy, I want to try to replicate the fiber so I can spin more. Wouldn’t these colors make a fantastic pair of socks? I think this yarn is going to make a fab pair of mittens.

Then because I had to order new yarn for the lining of Daddy’s mittens ( I didn’t like the yarn I ordered the first time, it was a plain grey, and it looked crappy with the tan and dark brown) I started something else to spin…. I grabbed a 4oz braid of Enchanted knoll farm superwash merino in “she sells she sells” from the fiber drawer

and ended up with 165 yards of sport weight again with the navajo plied, its so pretty and soft. Makes me think of ice cream. I have absolutely love how it came out, but have no idea’s on what to use it for.

In the end of 5 weeks of spinning and plying I have a basket of my handspun that makes me feel so very happy.

even if I can’t take a decent picture of it….

can you believe Monday I will have had my wheel for a year? It hardly seems like it.

PS. I dyed more roving to spin, I can’t wait to start on it. But should work on either Daddy’s mittens or Allysa’s sweater for school……
PPS I’m almost done with all my dentist appointments, Thursday I had the implants put it, and holy crap they hurt so much that day, but then today and yesterday I’ve been ok. Then again I haven’t really had any food you would have to chew…. I have to go back to get one crown replaced because the dentist didn’t like how it looked and sent it back to the lab. Then he’ll adjust them all and then I’ll be done.
PPPS sugar free pudding sucks. I bought it by accident, didn’t realize it was sugar free till I ate some and it icky.
PPPPS School starts here in 10 days, part of me is sad that summer is over and the other part of me can’t wait. There is also the part that feels bad that Allysa missed her kindergarten orientation because Kailey was sick.
PPPPPS Can you tell that the dentist gave me painkillers? Even though I only seem to need them at night, they seem to mess with my body the next day too.

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the one with the traveling

poor neglected blog. I’m sorry I’ve left you for so long, I realize that its only been 3 weeks since my last post but it feels like its been forever for me. There has been some traveling, mostly back and forth from my ex’s to pick up the older kids and bring them to their practices or games and then back. It feels like I’m spending a lifetime in the van driving the mom taxi, I keep telling myself its not going to get worse, but it so is with middle school in 2 years for Corra, yikes! I’m still trying to convince Mike that the van would look so much cooler if it had flames. He’s not buying it. Anyway, the kids, Mike and I went up to Western Mass to visit my parents a few weeks ago for my family birthday party. (There is some FO pictures at the end of this post, and there will be more knitting and spinning! posts later.)

A tradition that my Grandmother started when I was little. Instead of sending out birthday presents throughout the year we gather once during the summer and all the kids under 18 get presents. There are cupcakes with the number candles that are used year after year after year. Frighting isn’t it? Look at the giant divot in Bryce’s number 8 candle.

and of course the pinata, which once its broken open my cousins fight over who gets to wear it as a hat. (sorry didn’t get a picture with David with Darth Vader on his head).

If we whine enough there are tractor rides, and if Uncle Bill brings his boat there is always tubing or water skiing (which I missed this year, Kailey was done by that point and very clingy)

But you want to watch a video don’t you?

that probably won’t work, cause I can never get it too, and today I just don’t feel like fighting with it to work. Linkage here.

A trip to my parents is never complete unless we visit the Goat farm and get lots of goat cheese to bring home.

Visits are never long enough, but my back can only take so many nights sleeping on the futon in the basement. Srsly, people if you don’t want your house guests to stay get a futon. (love you mom and dad. hmmm, bet you wonder why you get a pullout couch hehee j/k 😉 For some unknown reason Mike really wanted drive the whole way home.

So my in between socks where finished (I was already on the second sock, turned the heel too, since I left the other knitting‘s extra yarn at home (crazy me thought I wouldn’t get that much knitting time ha!)) during the frigging 9 hour drive home.

stat’s:
Started June 30 2009
Completed July 21 2009
yarn- 256.2 yards  of sKnitches Syncopation Self-Striping in Ocrhard Stripe purchased from the sweet sheep.
needles- US 2 / 2.75 mm
pattern- CO 52 sts worked a longer k2, p2 cuff.
raveled here.

Mike drives a lot slower than I do.

PS. I started the mittens I promised Dad for his birthday last year. I have half of the last one to go. Then onto the linning.
PPS. That’s the only thing I’m actively knitting right now, because if I start something new I’ll never finish the mittens. Maybe that’s why I’ve been spinning like crazy….