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.

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.

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.

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!

See all that yarn on the coffee table?  Most of the yarn on it was spun by me in the last while.  I’d planned to blog it today, but it’s cloudy and all my photos looked nasty!

Tonight we’re having Pad Thai with my sisters family and my MIL.  I can’t wait!

Oh, and if you’re looking for The Genius, she’ll be in the other chair, spinning away.

Here’s what I didn’t do over Christmas.  Today is the day to post embroidery.  Kelly posts hers every Wednesday and sucked me into it too!  This is the extent of what I’ve worked on over Christmas.

Love those curls though!

Here’s what we did do.  Between December 18 and December 26, we had four Christmas parties.  This was the best food I’ve eaten in a very long time.

There’s been very little knitting, but I did finish a cowl.

The pattern is Honey Cowl and it’s a freebie.  The yarn is Socks That Rock Heavyweight and it’s a Rare Gem.

Most of the knitting was done at the kids’ Christmas concerts and Dreamboy’s basketball games.  I think I may be making more of these!

The Genius and I did a lot of spinning too.  I’ll have one more post in the next few days about that!  Here’s what I started on last night.

That’s all for now.  I now have 10 minutes to get out the door!

This is the Traveling Woman Shawl.

The yarn is Blue Moon Fiber Arts Seduction.  I dyed it at the last Knot Hysteria retreat.  If you look closely you can see a few beads.

I decided before Thanksgiving that I had a very special lady to knit something for.  My favorite mother-in-law loves my shawls!  People that have an appreciation for handmade things are a joy to knit for.

We had our Christmas party on Sunday.

Isn’t she a beautiful lady?  This is the lady that I told you about a couple of posts ago that went to Africa on a missions trip.  She’s as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside.  I think she liked her shawl!

And…today is her 77th 39th birthday!  We’re blessed to call her Mom!

The middle violet on was the latest and it is my very favorite! It is definitely not perfect, but I love it because it has just a little shine with a lovely fluffy quality.  I can’t wait to knit it, but I really want to continue spinning.  I am not sure which will win out, but I think it is going to be a cowl or maybe cute ruffled wrist warmers when I finally do knit it.

Not everything I spun was pretty.  I am about to show you something really scary.  I don’t mean to frighten you, but just in case you decide to spin you should see this.  Most spinners only show you the nice stuff, but I am going to show you the very first stuff I ever spun.

It is kinda fun, in the put it in a bowl and look at it kinda of way.  At least the bottom two, the top one was one of mom’s early experiments in color.  She and I agree that it is a bit vomit-like.

The next thing I decided to do was experiment in bulky spinning.  Believe it or not, Its kinda tricky. 

T he leftmost skein is bright blue single spun wool.  The center is a two ply between the end skeins.  The last skein is practice in Navajo plying.

I have ended up with quite a few fiber scraps.  I will eventually use them to make art yarn.  Until then happy spinning!

Several people have asked where I got the pattern for this project.  I ordered it from a shop in Australia called Hugs ‘n Kisses.  The patterns are iron on, which makes it really easy!  I chose a line of fabric and then chose my floss colors to match the fabric.  I’m probably not going to make the quilt that is included in the pattern.  I’ll have to wait until the embroidery is finished.  Then I’ll let the blocks and the fabric talk to me!

I totally forgot about the caption contest that I posted two posts ago.  The winner is:

Hooray!

I haven’t bought a single Christmas gift.

Crud!

Do you want to see how a Christmas tree is decorated in the Caribbean?  This tree was so gorgeous all done in ocean colors!

I also have another knitting project that I finished on vacation.  Here’s Superblonde getting in a few more minutes of sleep and cuddle time before she leaves for school.

How about that scarf?  It was knit with Berroco Link on size 35 needles.  The pattern is called Wink.  It took about 30 minutes to make.  Here’s a better look.

It’s not my normal mode of moron knitting, but it was fun.  And…I have more quick, fun scarves planned.

Just one more thing, and then I need to decorate my railing.  Just in case you think you’re too old to do something, let me tell you a story.  My mother-in-law started obsessively quilting about eight years ago.  She joined a quilting group at her church several years ago.  They started making pillowcase dresses for little girls in orphanages in Africa.  I think since this summer, she’s made about 90 dresses and it may be more.

My mother-in-law left this morning on a trip to Africa to deliver dresses to the orphanages.  Pretty remarkable, huh?  What’s even more remarkable is that she’s 76 years young.

We’re praying for good sleep, energy, safety, and health for her and her daughter.  Any help you’d like to give them in the prayer department will be much appreciated.  She’s an amazing lady.  She’ll be gone about 10 days, and then it’s home and right into the chaos of Christmas.  The materialism of Christmas could be really grating, but the reason for Christmas, the birth of Jesus Christ, will be even more meaningful!

I need to get busy.  I’m going to have to learn to move faster if I’m going to keep up with my mother-in-law!