MSW

Every year I get a little sad the first week in May. My cyber buddies take off and meet in the fiber fairyland called Maryland Sheep and Wool. One of our members lives close and throws a soiree and they get together and knit and spin and laugh and they see and buy amazing things that I only read about. Oh, they make sure they take pictures so that we cinderellas who don't make it get to enjoy vicariously. I really appreciate those pictures because I get to put a face with the personality that I know. The cyber buddy business is interesting. You can really get to know someone without ever laying eyes on them.
This year I decided to ask my husband if he and I could go and kind of get a weekend together as well as meet my friends and have an amazing fiber experience. Mt husband works like a dog, never complains about my less than perfect ways, and is very accomodating. Still to me this was a big sacrifice and I hated asking. He ,however, said "I think we could do that." last Thurs and then made reservations for a hotel, plane ride, and car rental on Sunday!!! I don't think he could possibly fathom how much it means to me. This is something that is totally for me ,not something he'd necessarily chose for his weekend. He's such a keeper I tell you!
Okay I'm sure you will hear more about M$W, as we call it on my favorite list, a
as we get closer!
I will leave you pictures of my handspun sweater. I was having a problem which I think I fixed.
I have done mittens with baltic braids before and no rolling so I thought I could do it on the hem of the sweater and get away with no rolling. Wrong!!! It was rolling and I wasn't frogging!! So I could pick up and do a hem or rip the braid. However I wanted that braid! So I kind of fudged and have a wonderful 'design element' which will cause everyone to think I am a designing genius when in fact I made a stupid elementary mistake. I guess that's what separates the men from the boys, as my dad used to say. The men can make mistakes and knit their way out of it creatively;-)

meme, late to the party

A quick pic of my handspun icelandic sweater progress. I think the lace addiction is getting replaced(not really replaced because lace will always hold a very special place in my heart) with fair isle. I also am halfway finished with my brothers socks. Woo hoo!!

Sorry I'm late with the meme.I've been super busy!

4 jobs I've had:
first job- sold jewelry, second job- sold records(yes there were records in those days), Third- day care and fourth- elementary teacher.


4 movies I can watch over and over- Now you will know my dark side. Everyone else has these funny romantic stuff oh well here it goes
Jaws, The Godfather 1 and two and Scarface(the one with Al Pacino) if I named more it actually wouldn't get much better- old Richard Gere movies- Officer and a Gentleman etc. is about as romantic as I get.

4 T.v. shows- I really don't watch more than CartoonNetwork most of the time but I like Project Runway (which I haven't seen yet this time around) What Not to Wear, Knitty Gritty, Biography

4 favorite Foods - This is really hard 'cause I like food- Chocolate, almost any pasta ,brie tomato and french bread sandwich Fesenjan a persian stew with pomegrante juice ground walnuts and beef or duck with basmati rice

4 places I have visited- a tour of Europe, Malta, I went to High School in Canada,and Key West a couple of times

4 places I'd rather be right now- Someplace warm,not hot- South of France - San Remo, Italy- the family cottage pretty rustic but where I consider home, who needs showers or bathtubs?
These places are places I'd like to be with my husband though not alone necessarily, we get no time together and I miss him:-)

4 websites I visit daily- My yahoo groups that I love especially Ft! and the numerous blogs I read That should count for more than 4

I'm not tagging anyone because1. most of my friends have been tagged and the2. others are pretty busy and3. this has obviously made its way around the blogespere because 4.I got tagged twice before I could even respond:-)

too many things going on

Once again I've got too many projects that I actually like working on so things are not getting done. My brother's first sock is a few rows to go til the toe so that is moving Demi-pictured here -is a bit stalled. It has been a long time since I've done cables and I don't read cables like I do lace -yet- so I need quiet time to work on this project at this stage. Ha! The only quiet time around here is when I'm passed out in bed. I really like this though so we will see.

I also started my Lopi sweater as I am very close to finishing the spinning and I couldn't wait. Not much to see here yet basically the braid and a little more than half a repeat of the rose. I am kind of designing as I go along, I guess it will morph;-)

Did you notice those great stitch markers? Now I consider fancy stitch markers luxuries and have never purchased any. Sunday at our guild meeting, my friend and fellow blogger Kristine, http://www.strung-out.blogspot.com/ , gave these to me. She actually made these for me! And I got these great cards too. She said the green sweater looks like something I'd wear. She is so right! Thanks Kristine!

Blueberry is done

Well I finished blueberry on the weekend and she is blocked dry and sewn, what little was to be done. I changed the pattern quite a bit. I kept the sleeves in the horseshoe lace, made it much longer and did not do any fancy bindoffs. I liked the way the lace curves on the bottom.

I also started some socks for my brother. He is going through a nightmare and I can't help in the least. It made me have this urge to knit him socks. It seems silly and I don't even know if I could actually give them to him now. Considering what he is going through socks seem so trivial but I needed to do something and think of him so socks seeemed like a good idea. These are my version of Nancy Bush's Gentleman's fancy socks in Lisa S's olive tones. This is one of those colorways that touches my soul. I am very weird about color. It really effects me. This color is very introspective and calming to me. It is like a deep dark evergreen forest. Unfortunately you have to see it in person to appreciate the depth in color. I am going to have to do something else in this colorway too.

I have decided to frog the Sally Melville collared sweater, sorry Sally,It just wasn't doing it for me. I will do the Jolie sweater from Vintage Style by Rowan but not before I finish my newest start!

Last year I snagged 8 balls of magpie tweed in a really nice mid grey color from a rotating stash box that my favorite list does(hey fters!). I have been pondering what to do with it. It is so good , one of those things I'd never buy for myself. So it had to be the perfect pattern and I found it. Demi from Vintage knits. http://www.theknittinggarden.com/patterns/ro-vintagestyle/demi.htm. I am so in love with this I got a few rows up and had to frog so I have no progress to show but it will be very easy and quick. Once you set up the pattern(correctly!) it moves very easily. Now that the kids are back in school i won't be able to knit it in two weeks like blueberry but I can tell this one won't be a ufo. Istn't it funny? I usually can tell which ones will be ufos but I still cast on:-)

buttons!

Button,button who has a button? Me! Sheila Ernst and her husband(www.glasspens.com) made this and sent it out to me to finish off my cardi. Lisa Souza was raving, but you truly cannot appreciate these babies until one is in your hand. Sheila purposely offset the shank so it would hang better on my cardi. It was worth every penny!!! I am going to have to find reasons for more of Sheila's buttons.

The last time I did(one) toe up sock I swore never again... Well never is a long time so I started one. this sock yarn was expensive so I want to eek out every yd possible. I'm using a free toe up pattern from Elann. It is a chevron pattern. I thought it would show the stripes off very nicely.

oops

I forgot to talk about the breed I'm spinning! The icelandic is a very nice, spins itself, fiber. The fiber that I am spinning is both undercoat,thel and outercoat, tog. I am guessing it would be a very different spinning experience with only thel. It is not a very soft yarn. I am spinning it just like light lopi. I read somewhere that spinning guru Judith McKenzie said to spin a fairly spun single and then spin it back through quickly the opposite way to get a nice and lofty single. This is working well with my spinning style:-) i am planning a fairisle jacket for this. Hopefully it will be even enough to achive this.

Socks are finished and new booty

I finished my socks which means I can cast on for knit net's silk sack:-) I bought the sari silk. I finally broke down but I didn't lose my mind. I'm hoping I can eek it out with just one skein of the mango moon with two skeins of brown sheep in roasted coffee.

My lys had a sale so I splurged on two skeins of Schaeffer's Anne in Watch plaid and a blues. I am in a sock frenzy. I'm getting close to the heel in my lace sock. Even the heel has a lace pattern on this one! These take much longer so I am keeping two socks on the needles at all time a plain and a fancy. My next plain will be a pair in olive tones sock! from Lisa S, www.lisaknit.com. The lace pair is in her garnet.

My sweater should be done by the end of the week. It is definitely an obssesive knit:-) I altered the pattern quite a bit but I think it will be more classic.

I have spun 700 yds of my black lopi style and probably have at least 400 more yds to spin. Then on to the grey!!! This has been a lot of to spin.