Blocked

Finally! The sweater pieces and the shawls are blocked. I also washed the Romney skeins since the spinning and plying are finished. I have just under 100 yards of a worsted weight 3 ply yarn. Not sure yet about the use, but something will come to me. I was surprised to be able to get the shawls dried (mostly) outside yesterday. I thought we'd have rain all day. I got 2 loads of laundry hung on the line, too, but had to finish them in the drier - too much humidity in the air. 15 minutes is better than 45 minutes of drier time, so it's still a help.

There was a discussion going on Ravelry recently regarding superwash wool and whether it felts. (Apparently sometimes it does). The mention of driers brought out the fact that a lot of European households don't have driers, and those people were surprised to hear that most American homes do, and a lot of Americans couldn't imagine life without a clothes drier. That went on to a discussion about Home Owner Associations and how a lot of HOAs don't allow clothes lines (and a lot of other things). Health issues were mentioned (one person said that her kids allergies were much worse when she dried linens on the line) and energy conservation as well as the difficulties (or near impossibility, in some cases) of using a clothes line. For instance, if you live where there is 4 feet of snow on the ground or the humidity would keep clothes from drying totally at all. Very interesting.

I hope to get at least one seam per evening sewed on my sweater. Wearability is in sight!

Pogona is finished. Very interesting construction and I am pretty sure I'll knit another of West's designs. I'm not sure whether I'll keep this one or gift it.

Cladonia is finished and I love it. I might gift this one, too, but I am not sure I can part with it. OTOH, I can knit another .....

It's time to start planning vacation knitting. I can't decide whether I want to take a few smaller projects along or start a sweater. If I decide to start the sweater, I have to settle on which one, swatch, block, measure, etc. so that I'm prepared with the appropriate supplies before leaving. If I choose several smaller projects, I have to gather those and all of the necessary needles and markers, etc. too, so planning is important. There used to be a knitting shop in Montauk, which gave me a safety net, but it's closed now so it would be a considerable drive to get to another one if I forgot something important. Planning is the key. I always have my knitting and spinning projects packed before my clothes. One must have priorities. ; )

There's been a lot of rain here just recently, which we can use but the Midwest needs desperately. I can't even imagine what they are going through. July here was difficult enough. They had it harder and are still dealing with the drought and high temps.

I judged knitting at the Montgomery County Fair on Saturday. This was my third year doing it, and in general, I enjoy it. I like to give feedback to the knitters so they know their strengths and weaknesses, especially since I really appreciate those comments when I enter a competition. It can sometimes be hard to work with another person who has different criteria that you do, but it also widens your outlook on things. We were judging for over 6 hours, though, and that was a long day (without lunch). It was tough near the end when the really big decisions had to be made. I think we made the right one, though, on the Grand Champion.

Speaking of competition, I am going to try to get myself and my projects to gather this week and see about entering some in the state fair. Usually we are on vacation at the end of the fair, so I have no way to get my projects back, which prevents me from entering. This year we'll still be here on the day the projects have to be picked up. I have a few things that I feel are appropriate to enter, though I suspect none will win ribbons. It's hard to win ribbons at the state fair. I'll get the input on them and be happy.

Cucumbers. We are producing cukes like crazy! Fortunately I have been able to give them away. I am not a kitchen person, so the idea of pickling or something does not interest me at all. I might freeze a few tomatoes, though, for additions to sauce. The tomatoes are finally doing better and we are able to pick and eat some of them. We ate the 3 ears of corn that were produced in the garden. It was very tasty and tender. It's a shame no more seeds sprouted, despite re-seeding. I am ready to give up the garden and turn it back into grass, but Bob wants to try again next year. I don't think we've gotten enough out of it to justify our work and $$$. We'll see. He really does the hard work, so if he just wants me to plant seeds and plants and then harvest, I'll go for that. We'll try bush beans instead of pole beans next year. Our green beans have been very stringy and tough, no matter if I pick them early or not. The tomatoes are yummy this year, though - an improvement over last year.

Sizzlin' summertime

I am not going to complain about the heat because I do have central AC. Thank goodness.

I've been busy at work, putting in a few more, irregular hours than usual. That has impacted things on the home front, also. Some days I get home after 8 PM and just don't have the energy to accomplish anything else, even spinning and/or knitting. Work is good, it's more interesting being busy, but does get in the way of other things. ; )

I didn't get to finish spinning my Romney fiber, but I have another 3 spindles full to ply when I can sit in front of the wheel. I can't wait to see what the total yardage is so I can plan a fall project.

I chose to spin on my new akha spindle with cotton for my TdF challenge. I watched a couple of videos on spinning cotton, and a few on using an akha, then got to work. I need practise. Really. However, I did produce a cotton singles and am working on more, to try to ply. There really isn't a lot of info available on spinning using that type of spindle, but I think I did OK for a beginner. I found it to be an enjoyable way to spin.

I finished two knitting projects in the last couple of days - Pogona was bound off last night and Cladonia was bound off the day before! Neither one has been blocked yet, but the knitting is done!

No completed and blocked pictures yet, but at least you can see the colors and a good part of the lace edging of Cladonia.







I still have half of the fronts of my sweater to knit, and that is now highest on my priority list. However, (you knew there would be a however, didn't you?) I need a small, portable project for walking, so I started a sock. Eldest son loves music, and Knitty.com had a pattern called Riff that I thought would be just right for him. I have less than an inch of toe knitted but am not in a rush. This is truly a travel project for me.

Once I finish the sweater I plan to go back to the Curved Shawl with Diamond Edging from Victorian Lace Today and work on it until it is complete. I will get that shawl off the needles and onto my shoulders this summer. When I need simpler knitting (and sometimes I do have that need) I will work on Rob's afghan and try to get that done this summer also.

I signed up for the Seasons of Lace KAL this summer. The shawl that was voted on is Jared Flood's Rock Island. I was not being very realistic about my available knitting time at that time. I like it, but am hesitant to start another shawl until the current one is complete. OTOH, this one should be faster and provide a nice break from the other, due to the garter section. Hmmm .... what to do ......

We went to Bass Pro Shops last night so that DH could choose his new fishing rod and reel that he wanted for his birthday gift from my mother, me and eldest son. He took several hours - this from a man who (usually) has a list, finds what he needs and is out of the store in a flash. I asked him if it was sorta like MDSW for me and he laughed and agreed. He made his choices and I think he's very happy. Tonight we find eye glass frames for him and then I get to spend some time knitting.

Dedication

Here's proof that I am dedicated to my TdF efforts. Spindling on a boat can be challenging. The waves and wakes that day were not as bad as they are other days, so I was able to stand and use my drop spindle. That is my silk that I am spinning, bought for me as a birthday gift last year.  I love spinning it, but I am working hard to keep it an even (as even as I can spin) lace weight, plus I have other projects, so it's taking a while.

That's the Chesapeake Bay and the starboard aft section of the boat in the picture.











This is the fiber and the spindle I am using for the silk. Pretty, isn't it?

This is the first skein of spun silk yarn. it's funny how it looks green sometimes and blue other times, but I really like it.

This is Romney fiber, obtained raw and scoured by me. This is my first 3 ply worsted weight skein, spindle spun and plied on my wheel.

Romney fiber on the spindle - today's spinning.

This is a photo of some of the scoured locks, which I flicked open and I am spinning directly from those locks. I am not separating the colors but spinning them all together for a wonderful heathered yarn.

A close up of the finished skein.

This is some of the dark grey, almost black Icelandic fiber that I am spinning. I hope that this will be a contrasting edging to a shawl that I will knit with the lighter grey yarn I am spinning.

Lighter color Icelandic laceweight yarn.  It's probably closer to fingering, and I think it will bloom, but I am happy with it.

Knitting projects - I am knitting in addition to spinning. This is a terrible picture of my Cladonia Shawl. The colors just wouldn't work. I'll try again on a sunny day, earlier in the day. The main color is a deep tonal blue and the contrasting color stripes have that same blue plus grey, black and almost a little purple. Most of the shawl is stockinette, with a nice lace edging to be knitted at the end. I like this pattern and it's well written. I am doing it as a part of a KAL on Ravelry for Through the Loops patterns.

This is my lace shawl from Victorian Lace Today. It doesn't look different, but it's bigger. Take my word for it.

This is the yarn I am using - Cinnamon's Dyepot. It's beautiful, isn't it?

One more picture of my spindle spun 3 ply worsted weight Romney skein. It's only about 45 yards, but it takes a lot of fiber to make a 3 ply, and I spun it on the drop spindle, so i am actually pleased with the yardage. It's soaking right now after it's bath.

Some time later this week I'll share pictures from the dyeing day at my house on Sunday. Lots of fun, very hot and lots of creativity here.

Tour de Fleece and recovery

I am not 100% yet but I am much improved. I no longer feel like I have to sit and rest after everything I do. ; )

The TdF has started and I am doing well with my spindle spinning. Having the first few days fall on a holiday weekend helped. I have 2 plus spindles full of Romney singles and hope to be plying soon.I don't know what kind of yardage I'll get but I think I'll like the yarn. I am shooting for a 3 ply worsted weight. When the Romney is spun, since I didn't really set specific fiber goals, I'll most likely pick up the Icelandic again. I plied my singles on the first day of the TdF and I really like the yarn. I am anxious to make more. The darker color Icelandic is more felted and less airy but I've worked out a way to work with it and I believe I'll be happy with the contrasting colors for the shawl.

I will be getting my wheel back on Sunday so I have given thought to what to wheel spin for the TdF despite not setting any official goals. I would like to finish up some projects, so I'll go back to the pencil roving I was working on when the wheel left for it's visit. If I manage to finish that spinning and ply it before the end of the tour, I have some new Falkland fiber in pretty sea colors that I'd like to spin .....

I started knitting Cladonia over the weekend. There is a Ravelry group KAL for any Through the Loops shawl and I like a lot of her patterns. We will ignore, for the time being, that I have "a few" other shawls, big and small, on the needles. This is it - when I finish Cladonia I am going back to my WIPs. I am very ready for some FOs to talk about.

Speaking of FOs, my cardigan is nearing that stage. Both fronts have been started and I have about 5-6 inches knit. Soon I will start shaping. Hopefully I won't have too many frogging sessions due to not getting the shaping in pattern correct. Once the fronts are complete, it's time to assemble the sweater!

We ate a home grown strawberry the other day and I had a bowl full of blueberries from my garden for the first time!!!
The veggies are not as lush as I would like but I have seen some green tomatoes and I will be able to pick cucumbers in the next couple of days.

ETA I thought I would have photos to post but didn't have time to find the camera, upload the photos and upload them to the blog. Sorry. I really am working on fibery things.