07.16.06
Posted in Fiber Artwork, Photos, Spinning, Subway, Yarn at 6:09 pm by delipics
I’ve been religiously watching Miss Marple on Mystery these past Sundays nights. It has the most charming knitting-themed opening to the show during the titles/credits. Love Miss Marple - she pops into the yarn shop to purchase a bit of wool in between her sleuthing adventures - even when she’s interviewing a suspect she is winding a ball of yarn - and she must knit while she reveals the murderer.
I’ve got that wonderful been-to-the-beach sleepy feeling. (The NYC subway system is remarkable. I can take mass-transit to the beach!) My muscles are tired and I feel sun-soaked. I thought about bringing my Sweet Pea Shawl to be beach, but I did not - actually a good thing because it was sweltering - too hot to crochet. I would sit for about 15 - 20 minutes then run back into the ocean to cool off. It was too hot to even take a nap.
Saturday was my fiber day. I started making another fiber artwork piece. I haven’t crocheted in a while so I took breaks to spin, which is how I finished spinning the fine mohair top.
The skein on the top was hand-carded with my dog brush. The skein on the bottom went through the drum carder. Definitely the bottom skein is more even, but I like the experience of hand-carding, even though it does take longer. At last week’s Spinning I class we learned how to use all these different tools - the drum carder, the hackles, and the English comb. Here is how the fine mohair top looked before it was spun.
I could get addicted to the drum carder - blending different fibers together or blending different colors of fiber - one of these days I’ll have the extra cash and the space to do it.
I also put in half of my merino / tencel blend into the drum carder. The other half I will hand-card.
I did one more yarn-related task. A while ago I decided to recycle a sleeveless turtleneck DKNY top that I never wore anymore. A bit of a disaster - on the right is some of the yarn that is horribly tangled. But the rest of it I finally washed and hung out to dry, using a metal spatula and slotted spoon as weights.
Will I ever de-tangle the rest? Well . . .
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07.14.06
Posted in Fiber Artwork, Yarn at 8:42 am by delipics
Back then, I did not want to refer why I did it, but I’ll tell you now. It was for my first try to get into a juried art show. I did not expect to get in, which I did not, but that was okay because when I decided to do this, my focus was for the experience. Now that I have done this once, I know I can do it again.
[Mental Note to Self TO DO: Need to get these slides scanned to CD so I can post professional shots of my work on this blog.]
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07.10.06
Posted in Socks, Uncategorized at 6:52 pm by delipics
I have created many things in my life - this doesn’t usually happen - but I am experiencing post-project blues over my sock!
It reminds me of how I felt after I finished my master’s degree. I was depressed for a couple of weeks after finishing the semester. Despite the craziness of working full-time and attending school at night, the constant juggle and prioritization of my personal time vs. school time, the pressure of finishing assignments, all of it - I missed it desperately once it was done. Suddenly I had a lot of free time and I did not know what to do with myself. That is how I feel now - my time that I spent working on my sock is available and I don’t know what to do with it.
Eventually my post-grad school depression faded and I found one-hundred and one things to fill up that free time. For now, I will feel a little blue that the experience of knitting my first sock is over (and it was a joyful, learning experience with it’s small tragedies and triumphs), continue to feel proud about my socks and show them off to people — knowing the post-project blues shall pass and another fiber project will claim my attention and excitement.
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07.09.06
Posted in Crochet, Dying, Knitting, Photos, Socks, Yarn at 6:08 pm by delipics
It started on Friday, at lunch time - notice the bag of chocolates to keep us motivated. KB@W with the lavender yarn (Hey DR, I’m stuck on the same fricking stitch!) is crocheting a baby blanket and KB@W below is knitting a poncho (just like mine!).
I love the yarn she’s using, one of the Karabella cottons (I can’t remember if it is the DK or the worsted) that she bought on a run to School Products. You cannot tell in the photo, but the yarn has the most wonderful sheen to it.
On Saturday I finally went to my first summer BBQ at which I pulled out my sock to work on during eating breaks. It went something like this: eat hot dog, digest, eat chicken, digest, guiltily eat salad and fruit after the meat-fest.
On Sunday, it being a beautiful sunny day, perfect for hanging yarn outside to dry, I decided to Kool-Aid dye –
This skein of Reynolds Lopi has been sitting around patiently, waiting to be dyed the perfect color. I wanted a green so I decided to mix lemon-lime and arctic green apple Kool-Aid - yowza! The results being this electric green. I think I will dye this again to tone down the eye-blinding intensity, poor thing.
Next, took photos of my swatches for the summer wrap I want to make. The pattern is the Sweet Pea Shawl, by Amie Hirtes, in Stitch ‘N Bitch Crochet: The Happy Hooker. The first swatch is from an unidentified boucle cone of yarn that I have had sitting around since my college days. The second is Lion Brand’s Textures Chenille that I found in the discounted yarn bin at an art supply store near work.
In my July 6th post I vowed to knit this wrap only using yarns from my stash - NO YARN BUYING. I do have a couple other yarns I could try, but I think I may use the boucle yarn. It shows-off the shell pattern better than the chenille.
And the latest completed Delica’s Yarn project - WHOOT - my first-pair-of-socks ever!!!
Specs:
- I used Koigu KPPPM, 100% merino wool
- On Clover US 1 (2.25 mm) bamboo double pointed needles
- Following the Koigu Fun Socks master pattern
These socks feel great and they fit, which is a big deal for me because I have small feet. Love the Koigu, of course, anxious to buy more of it. And now that I have learned how to make them, I must knit another pair of socks. Oooh, it’s a whole new sock world out there . . .
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07.06.06
Posted in Crochet, Knitting, Spinning at 6:40 pm by delipics
While I am mostly working on finishing my second sock, I am alternating between three other projects as well.
- Baby Gift: I wish I could show the progress on this but I don’t want the mommy or daddy to see it yet. I am working on the other side of this project and I always get a little confused with this pattern because you do the same thing as the first side, but backwards!
- Spinning: Combing & spinning the Blue Face Leicester. Now that the heat has broken, I can spend some time brushing the fibers in a non-fan / non-windy environment. (Still thinking about that second spindle too.)
- Summer Shawl: This is a new project. My honey and I have a major event to attend beginning of September (hint: tropical/beach/ocean), and I want to make a light wrap for those breezy evenings. Here is the kicker - I am determined to use yarn already in my stash. Yes, you heard me correctly, I am attempting to NOT buy yarn for a project. It’s tough I tell ya (insert violins playing here) - no, REALLY! I have crocheted swatches from two different yarns, washed them, and now they are drying. I have a couple of other yarns that I am mulling over to swatch. I think I can do this from my stash - what do they say about creativity and limitations?
As if that is not enough to keep me busy, there’s alway new patterns to examine on the latest issues of Knitty and MagKnits –
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07.05.06
Posted in Brooklyn, Knitting, Photos, Socks at 6:01 pm by delipics
Phew! Brooklyn got a break in this humidity tonight, which makes working with wool a possibility again. Finally installing my air conditioner helps too. I bought this a/c last year, and this year I actually installed it correctly. There is a bracket that provides support and stability that I attached to the window sill. It gave me a chance to pull out my drill (every woman should have a cordless drill), measuring tape, and 15-in-one screwdriver. I only sustained one injury in the installation - the window fell on my hand. It’s not as bad as it sounds. I caught it pretty quickly and applied ice just in case. I can still knit with it so everything must be fine.
I am a few rows shy of finishing the gusset on the second half of my very-first-pair-of-socks ever:
I generally do not like the look of a half-finished sock on a foot, but I gave myself an exception because of my red toes.
Confession: I am ambidexterous when it comes to doing my own nails (hands of course, not toes!). If I buy quality products and take my time, my manicure look “salon-done.” The reason why I like getting manicures and pedicures is not because I want my nails to look “professional” — it’s because I do not have to do anything for an hour. I can completely zone out and relax - no pressures, no responsibilities, no stress - just sitting and letting my nails dry while my mind goes blank. It’s almost but not quite as good knitting, but you knew that, didn’t you?
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07.04.06
Posted in Uncategorized at 2:59 pm by delipics
Happy Birthday America
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