I Finally Accomplished Something!

I can’t believe it’s been 10 days since my last post.  That’s awful.  It’s just that I’ve been so boring.  My laundry room and sewing room both look pretty darn good.  And my bedroom no longer qualifies for an episode of Hoarders.  It’s not perfect, but it’s better.  However, none of that makes for a riveting blog post.

We did do a college visit with Superblonde.  That was fun  My Hero is totally in denial.  He’d really like to keep all the kids home until they’re 40.

Today I finished up a quilt top that I started in 1996 or 1997.  I’m not going to tell you who the pattern designer is Heather at Anka’s Treasures because it’s a 1996 pattern and I’m sure she hates it by now.  Here it is in all its glory!

It’s flannel and will probably be fought over by everyone in the house.  What really scares me about this quilt is that I was going to make it king size and use it in our bedroom.  What was I thinking???  Anyway, it’s done and off my almost clean counter in my sewing room.

I also finished sewing together a quilt that The Genius started and didn’t quite finish.  I just had to sew 4 rows of blocks together.  I ordered border fabrics, so I’ll show it when it’s finished.

My third project was a little bag for knitting projects.  I cut it out a week ago for an instant gratification project, and then didn’t sew it together.  (I realized after cleaning my bedroom that I don’t need any more knitting bags!)

It’s called the Japanese Knot Bag and it’s a free pattern!!!  I just found two fat quarters and followed the instructions.  I should have taken a photo of the lining too, huh?

I have been doing some knitting.  I figured out what I’m going to do with my mini skeins.  More on that as soon as I knit a few more rows.  I also have a knitspot club pattern that I’m working on.  I’ll show that too, as soon as it looks like something.

The fireplace is burning (gotta love a gas fireplace!) and everyone is home.  I think it’s time for some spinning.

I’m Just a Tiny Bit Crazy!

Guess what I’ve been up to?  (Along with too many meetings, kids with stomach flu, and cleaning the sewing room.)

These are little 5 gram mini skeins of sock yarn.

120 of them.

Here’s the deal.  You take a skein of sock yarn and wind it into 20 5 gram mini skeins.  They are then sent to some kind lady who is receiving skeins from 19 other people.  In a few weeks she sends you 20 different mini skeins.  So that means I’ll have 120 different mini skeins of yarn.  So fun!  I’ve never participated in mini swaps before….so I signed up for six of them.  Yeah, just a tiny bit crazy!

What am I going to do with them?  I really have no idea.  I just thought it sounded like fun.  Actually I could make a blanket...out of sock yarn.  I’ve been brainstorming, because heaven forbid I make a blanket like someone else has.  I’m trying to come up with something brilliant on my own.

I haven’t succeeded yet!

And now its back to the sewing room.  I’ve managed to clean it up enough to get near my sewing machine  I’m going to finish three projects.  One of them I started before Christmas but I’m pretty sure one of them may have been started 15 years ago.

Oh, and I actually made dinner this morning.  We’re trying a new crock pot chicken taco soup tonight.  It smells really good.

Have a fabulous weekend!!!  And may it include some quilting, stitching, and knitting.  Oh, and chocolate and coffee.

Did You Know That Sheep Are Striped?

My lovely brothers were here again the end of last week.  Of course a discussion ensued about obtaining wool.  They were sure they’d see sheep in our back yard.  I assured them that I had no interest in that part of the process.  I like my wool to show up like this.

I already showed you these photos last week, but I think it’s so interesting to see the roving, then the yarn, and the way it knits up.  I mentioned I was disappointed that the yarn ended up so muted.

But this is how it’s knitting up.

I love it!  The pattern is Noro Bias Lace Scarf.  And yes, it’s a free pattern on ravelry!

See?  Proof that sheep are striped!

Ok, maybe all that cold medicine I took last week affected my brain!  Speaking of colds (how’s that for a great segue?) the kids went back to school last Tuesday, and I got the cold they’ve all been passing around since before Thanksgiving.  For the most part, I did nothing last week.  One day I did 10 loads of laundry in between laying on the couch.  So now it’s time to get busy.  Maybe the blog won’t be so boring either, but don’t count on that!

Here’s my first project this week.

See the beautiful morning sun lighting my sewing room?  Nope!  I don’t either.  It’s too messy.  I started cleaning out the cupboards last week, but I just didn’t have the energy.  So now it’s time!

I’ll be back soon with a photo of an immaculate (or at least presentable) sewing room.

 

Spinning Around!

I have lots of spinning to show you!  My brother was here a few weeks ago, and made it very clear that he thinks spinning your own yarn and knitting are highly unnecessary.  So…we added the phrase “making her own yarn” to about everything.  Stay tuned for some examples.

First off is the roving I showed you in the last post.  Isn’t it gorgeous?

It became this.

I’m a little disappointed in this one because it lost some of the vibrancy when it was spun.    However, I’ve started knitting it and I love the way it’s knitting up.  The roving was from my favorite crack supplier,  Woolgatherings on etsy.    It’s Blue Face Leicester.  I had 12 ounces and ended up with about 550 yards.

My house ended up pretty messy that night because The Genius and I were making our own yarn!

Then there’s this yummy stuff.  It started off as 3.25 ounces of 50% Cashgora and 50% silk.  It’s from Blue Moon Fiber Arts and the color is Pond Scum, which is Tina’s favorite color.  I ended up with 214 yards.

I went to bed way too late that night because I was making my own yarn.

This stuff is going to be great fun to knit, except that I’m too busy making my own yarn.  It’s from Zebsis Design and is a merino/silk blend.  I had 8 1/2 ounces and ended up with 550 yards.  It bled like crazy when I soaked it, but it made the colors richer, so I’m not unhappy with it!

The next yarn is from the Knot Hysteria retreat, which I attended because I wanted to get  better at making my own yarn.  It’s only about 95 yards, so I don’t have any idea what I’ll do with it, but I made my own yarn!  

And last but not least, my first finish of 2012!  I placed an order with Blue Moon Fiber Arts before Christmas, and my package arrived here on December 31st.  By New Years Day, I had this!  (Yes!  That means I spent New Years Eve making my own yarn!)

It’s 192 yards of aran weight Blue Face Leicester and Tussah Silk.  The colorway is Morticia.  It reads a little more black in real life.  I love it!!!

So The Genius and I spent a lot of her break making our own yarn.  She got a Lendrum spinning wheel for Christmas and is totally addicted.  She left yesterday to go back to college.  She has 10 weeks left, and then she’s officially an employable adult.

We had a great Christmas, in spite of the fact that there was no snow, and therefore no skiing and snowmobiling.  That was a bit disappointing.  There were still lots of memories made, just not the ones we’d planned.

This morning My Hero and some of the kids helped take down all the Christmas decorations.  I cleaned out the laundry room, and tomorrow I start over on laundry. I’m a bit behind on that chore because I was too busy making my own yarn.

The kids go back to school tomorrow and I might just knit some of the yarn I made!