Close to my Heart

Park It

We have so far had a most lovely Victoria Day long weekend here.  Seems like nice weather on a long weekend rarely go together, which somehow makes this one even nicer. 

Last summer, Joe decided to make a fish pond, something he has wanted to do for a long time.  Well the fish pond blossomed into our own private park like setting, including cement walkways, and at my request, a cement patio where I can enjoy the fresh air, listen to my ipod, and play with fiber.  This weekend was the first weekend we've really been able to enjoy our "park," since it was pretty much fall by the time it was completed last year.  I think it will give us lots of enjoyment this summer, and it feels like we have really increased our living space as well.  I thought I would share some pictures with you today:

And over on the patio from my new favourite knitting spot, my current somewhat neglected sock WIP enjoys the pond:

I've joined the and I think this will be a great summer sock knitting spot.  Hopefully the combination of the KAL and a great new knitting spot will bring my sock knitting mojo back.  I've only completed one pair so far in 2008, when normally I knit a pair of month.  But lets face it, what with paper crafting and my recent spinning obsession, knitting overall has suffered a lot in 2008.

Another good thing about our Park is that since it is fenced, the kitties can enjoy it.  Normally our cats stay indoors (our street is too busy)however they can now enjoy the great outdoors under our supervision.  They have been a little timid, but overall, really enjoyed it today.  I love this action shot I got of Buttons:

Frisbee was much more timid so I wasn't able to get a good picture of him. Whenever I pointed the camera in his direction, he ran back into the house.  I will keep trying however, because now that Buttons is back on the blog, Frisbee must appear as well!

Fiber Feast

Since purchasing my spinning wheel at the beginning of April, I've spun through most of the small fiber stash I already had.  Spinning on a wheel is SO much quicker than on a spindle.  As a result, I've been on a mission to acquire some pretty fiber to spin up.  This past week, a few pretty numbers came to live in our house, so thought I'd show them to you today.  First, while on  business trip this past week, I stopped at an LYS that I rarely get to, in the hopes of finding fiber.  I came home with some lovely Fleece Artist sliver in an alpaca/merino blend:

This picture really does not do this lovely fiber justice unfortunately, you'll just have to trust me that it is a lovely vibrant pink.

I did not really enjoy being away from home this past week.  I was on a course that was somewhat in the middle of nowhere, and it also resulted in being away from Joe for our 14th anniversary.  We've never been apart for our anniversary before.  I was glad to return home to Joe and the kitties (and my spinning wheel!), and also to find more fiber in the mailbox.  This was waiting for me when I returned:

Beautiful soft and squooshy fiber,it's 100% merino and is from Etsy seller TheYoYo.  She very nicely included this beautiful sample for me to spin as well:

And the day after I arrived home, after a day off that included a work phone call, emails, vacuuming and washing the floor, I opened the mailbox to find my package from another Etsy seller, one that I had previously purchased from, CopperPot.  I selected two different items from her:

This merino is called "GoodnPlenty."  The second fiber in this package was Apple Blossom, a merino tencel blend:

I must admit though, I'm not so sure how to spin these up when they so obviously have big strips of colour, and I'm still at the stage of pre-drafting everything.  Any advice?  Hopefully I won't make a mess of things!

My biggest question though, is what should I spin up next?   I can't even say that I have a favourite, all of these items are lovely.  Oh, and I must admit, I did more online fiber shopping yesterday (gotta love Etsy) so stay tuned for more new arrivals at Chez Close to my Heart!

Happy Mother's Day

I'm coming to you from a different location tonight.  I had to head out of town this afternoon because I'm on a course this week.  Said course starts at 8:30 tomorrow morning, and since I'm not really into leaving home by 5:30 in the morning, I came down this afternoon.  I'm checked into a lovely B & B with wireless internet.  Unfortunately, I kind of screwed up the password, and I'm a wireless newby so after an hour of screwing around with the computer myself, I finally caved in and phoned tech support. I ended up with a rather cranky person at the other end of the line, first she told me she couldn't help me and hung up.  Well I didn't accept that and called back again.  She was still cranky and it took her a while, but she did get me back on.  Her male co-worker was much more helpful when I needed other assistance yesterday, sure wish he had been on shift tonight.  Oh well!

I did make a couple Mother's Day cards this weekend.  My MIL has received her gift and card, my own mother will receive hers when I see her later this week.  I made the same card for both Moms:

I also made a quick Anniversary Card, my parents FIFTY FIRST is next weekend:

The 1 1/2 day weekend that I had was quite busy getting ready for this trip.  I will be having spinning withdrawal, since I wasn't able to bring my wheel with me.  I did a bit of spinning last night and this morning.  Last night, I plied some more yarn from Yummy Yarn:

Obviously I did a very lousy job of winding it evenly around the bobbin! 

I also started spinning some Cherry Tree Hill fiber that I purchased last month from Fun Knits:

I just realized that I didn't take a picture of this fiber before spinning it up, unfortunately.  To me it looks like ice cream, and the picture of the single really doesn't do it justice.

Excuse the lack of links with this post, I'm not used to this laptop keyboard and want to finish this post now.  Plus I really need to do some work stuff, since that is really why I have this with me.  Have a great week!

Yummy

Yet another spinning post from this obsessed spinner, but hey, at least I'm posting more consistently these days!  Warning, this is a picture intensive post.

Today, I am showing you the journey from fiber to handspun yarn.  First, here is this beautiful fiber from Yummy Yarns, purchased last summer at Three Bags Full while on vacation in Vancouver.  Isn't it beautiful?

This fiber stayed in my stash for some time, partly because she was too pretty to spin, and partly because I kind of got away from spinning while papercrafting took over.  Last weekend, feeling a little more confident with my spinning progress, I decided her time had come.  Here is the single on the bobbin:

After spinning the second half of the fiber, it was ready to ply and then wind onto the niddy noddy:

And after her bath, she was hung outside to dry:

All skeined up:

It's a little over plied this time (I had felt that my previous yarns were a little underplied so overcompensated this time) but I love the colours of this yarn, it is my favourite of my own handspun yet. 

Now the big question, what should I make from it?  I estimate this to be between 80 to 90 yards of yarn, and it is heavy worsted weight.  Any suggestions greatly appreciated!

Spinning all the time

My crafting time this past weekend was (as usual lately) predominantly spent on spinning, with only small breaks for making a card, knitting, and crocheting.  I tried plying another couple times, and am content with my progress, even if it is far from looking like the lovely yarns I've seen on the Ravelry spinning forums.  Since it's pretty much time for me to hit the shower, I'll make this post quick, here's one of latest skeins.  Fiber is Louet Northern Lights Teddy Bear.

Have a good Monday!