Baby Knits_ October 2016

Since I dont get to my blog as often as I would like to I have to periodically play catch up to share what I have been up to lately. So many projects, so little time. Lots of babies popping into the world lately so I have been knitting more baby and child knits recently. I kinda like it cuz they are smaller quick projects. 

The Blanket took me 18 days to finish....so it was a bit longer, of course. I used two strands of worsted weight yarn and it was a bit tough as I was using up quite a bit of my yarn stash....and as I was knitting along, I didnt realize that I had a shift in whites. Oh No!!! Well, I had gone too far to turn back now. So I kept going and through out, I ended up finding some yarn that closely matched the first thick stripe of cream white and went for it! Of course, it seems every WIP just has to have its share of issues...of course, lol. Well, take a look at these cable bunnies! I had knit ALL the first 6 cable bunnies wrong!! I had to go back and drop 24 stitches down 8 rows each in order to pick up as purls to define the ears on these cute bunnies. It was not as hard as I first thought and it went fairly quickly, thank goodness! 

And the END RESULT!!??? FABULOUS (After Blocking, I couldnt be more pleased)

Next up we have a barter knit...I have a friend who likes to trade her goods for my knits. She loves to coupon and can foods...so its always a suprise what she sends. 

This (Paid Pattern: Azel Pullover can be found on Ravelry) I really like how quickly this worked up. What a fabulous and well written pattern. I am always weary about buying patterns as I am afraid I might not be able to understand written pattern and waste my money. This one is wonderful. 

I still have a bit of tidying up to do and buttons to pick (these buttons pictured are just for show. Planning on light pink buttons).. This very soon will be ready to ship off. 

Here we have my very first onesie knit up for our newest grandson, Troy Carter K. He is absolutely adorable...and I hope this fits him by the time it gets to him. I still need to tidy up all the ends and a new to me skill of placing snaps on it...I am also thinking about doing some duplicate stitch on the front and am not sure what I want to do just yet...stars, a rocket ship, or a puppy, a car, ect. So many ideas. lol 

HAPPY KNITTING AND THANKS SO MUCH FOR STOPPING BY!! PLEASE LEAVE A HELLO BELOW!!

New Spinning Wheel_ Ashford Traveler

Good Evening Update...I have been busy, but first up I want to share my exciting new (to me) spinning wheel- An Ashford Traveler. This is my second wheel. I sold my first wheel. Its a cute beautiful wheel. Fits perfectly in my small livingroom. My first wheel, however beautiful...was simply too big for my small apartment. Now with this compact wheel,I couldnt be more pleased. Its so cute and I can take it with me to craft gatherings...Ive been having so much fun learning how to perfect my spinning. I have been working on fingering weight yarn. It can be quite tricky. 

But as you can see...I have come a long way in a short time. From using a drop spindle to my second wheel...I have shared a pic of a comparison of hand spun yarn in a short period of time. The teal is my very first hand spun on my first wheel and the white is on my Ashford Traveler. Not too shabby! What do you think?

Here are some rolags and hanks of yarn I created for a shawl project I was really excited about:

And here is the shawl I had to keep spinning for!!! I kept on spinning as I was running out...lol. But boy was it worth it. I am very proud of it! Isnt it gorgeous?!! 

...AND LOOK WHO GAVE ROLAGS A SHOT!!!

My 14 year old daughter! She did an outstanding job!!

HOPE YOU ENJOYED THIS BLOG POST!!! IF SO, PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT BELOW TO SAY HELLO!!! Thanks so much for stopping by! :)

Yarn snob? Nooooo

Now that I've been spinning my own yarn...I'm so excited! I have so much yarn coming out of my ears. I'm hoping that Hailey will help me use up what commercial yarns I have...she's got the know how, but is lacking on the drive. One day...maybe.
I also ventured into making a rag rug. I bought some sheets and started the task of ripping them up. What fun! Lol
Now I have a good sized rug in my livingroom.
I have started knitting with my hand spun yarn as well...my first project wasn't the best. Kinda coarse...as my first skeins were plied with thread. I finally tried to ply yarn on itself and my oh my what a lovely treasure! So soft and just beautiful!

A Spinning adventure

As many of you know...I've been knitting about 7 years now. I started to get bored and needed a new challenge... so I started dreaming about something new. Spinning!!  I started out using a home made drop spindle.  Fun...but slow. I needed something more...

So I started to look on YouTube at all the spinning adventures. I was then looking for a spinning wheel. I found one for $85.   Not a bad price to start with...considering the prices I've now seen for wheels! Talk about ouch! Anyhow, I bought the wheel and brought it home...where it sat for 3 months collecting dust.  I quite honestly was intimidated. 

I finally broke down and tried to get going on it. Talk about frustration!  I wasn't any good at learning how to drive a stick...so it was a rough start learning how to get the wheel going in one direction, getting the yarn to go onto the bobbin...ect. too many moving parts. Lol
I kept on.  I am in a few groups for spinning on facebook.  Someone gave me a world of advice: listen to slow rythem music while treadling in order to slow down the treadle. So many moving parts.  FINALLY, after a few months something clicked!

I started 2 plying with threads. Just recently I started plying on itself....and WOW!! what a difference!

I've since created some beautiful yarns.

A great day for yarnin'

Today is such a blustery, cold day! Great for knitting and coffee or cocoa.

Wanted to play catch up again...sharing my knits. Also, our newly acquired lovebirds...one of which we named Sebbi...she loves to be in the mix. So curious. But I am sure to guard my needles as she loves to hop up and start chewing! 0_o can't have that!

So first up we have:  an order for fingerless mitts. Done 2 at a time using magic loop. Then duplicate stitch letters added for personalization.  I love how the letters turned out! I'm getting better at duplicate stitch. ;)

Next up: the dead fish hat (free pattern on ravelry)...made for fun for my daughter. She's only modeled it once. Lol its cute, but I think I may need to find a new home for it!

Next: I recycled a large knitted project that my daughter grew out of...and only had to purchase one new skein. This hooded scarf turned out really great! Very warm for these last cold days! I may add a section to it in the back tho cuz where hood ends and scarf starts....the neck actually gets cold if you don't have a collar on your jacket. Brrrrr.

Next up is Sebbi our oh so attention starved lovebird lol. She's so into everything. Loves to be in the mix as mentioned above. Ain't she cute?

Lastly and most exciting is a test knit for a friend of mine. She wrote her first pattern for a hooded cowl with cables. So pretty and so cozy! I'm trying to encourage her to try to sell her pattern. I think it's really awesome!