Close to my Heart

Happy Canada Day

From Buttons, myself, and my Made in Canada Lendrum wheel.

Knitting with Handspun

A few nights ago, I finished my first item knit with my own wheel spun yarn.  I had previously knit a scarf with a bobbin spun single, but this was so much more enjoyable to work with, and the finished object is so much softer too.  Those of you who read here regularly know that I have a bit of a bag obsession, so it seemed fitting that I chose my first handspun hand knit to be a bag.  I actually found the pattern using Ravelry's great experimental search function where you can search for a pattern based on the type and amount of yarn you have.  It worked great! 

Here's what I made:

I used this pattern (Ravelry link), but cast on less stitches than called for to account for the amount of yarn (had to frog once to find that out though!).  I think  it will make a great small project bag.

I'm excited tonight because I have a four day weekend.  I took tomorrow off and Monday is my regular flex day.  I'm headed down to the Victoria Fibre Fest for a weekend getaway. It will be a weekend filled with fibre, shopping, old friends and (hopefully) new friends (Ravelry meet-up is planned).

Buttons will watch over my wheel while I'm away:

Catch Up

I should have posted much sooner than this, but the last few days I've been knitting somewhat obsessively on my Adamas Shawl (Ravelry Link).  I have 3 1/2 pattern repeats to go before starting the edging.  There are 10 rows in each repeat, and hundreds of stitches on the needle, so it is a bit slow going at this point.  I am hoping to have moved onto the edging by the end of the coming weekend.  It is fairly simple lace, and I'm enjoying knitting this a lot.  I haven't even spun this week since I'm so into this shawl!

I am still however behind in blogging my handspun, so this post will be a bit of a summary.  For more details and pictures, please visit my Ravelry handspun stash page here.

First up is my current favourite handpun.  It's pink, soft and smooshy and I can't wait to knit it:

I have a pattern picked out and plan to cast on tomorrow. 

A few weeks ago, I finished spinning this:

And below,  my worst spinning job yet.  I loved spinning top on my spindle, but it took a lot more getting used to on the wheel.  I would either draft too much and break the fiber, or not enough and it would be too thick:

The only good thing about this handspun is that I learned a lot while spinning it.  I changed how I drafted by the time I finished spinning this yarn (I later learned from one of my spinning books that I am now doing a backwards draft) and as a result, am now spinning significantly thinner yarn, so it's all good!

And for all you kitty lovers out there, I'm happy to report that Frisbee has become much more brave and has moved further way from the doorstep:

A Little Kitty Explores

If you are looking for knitting, spinning, or even paper craft content, sorry, none of that here today.  Today's blog post is all about kitties.  We are enjoying some nicer weather here the last little while, so we've been able to enjoy our little backyard park. Our cats are normally indoor cats, but now that there is a fenced in area right out the living room door, we've been able to open it up and allow the cats to explore.  Well Buttons has surprised us with curious she has been.  She is a little kitty while her "brother" Frisbee is a much larger more muscular cat.  The little one has been much more brave about exploring her new surroundings, as these pictures will show you:

Meanwhile, Frisbee looks on from the more secure setting of the door step:

Regular crafting content returning here soon.

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!

A Winner, a WIP and some Cuteness

I'm pleased to announce that the winner of my contest was Lissette, who blogs at Crafty Girly.  Her name was picked using a tool found at Random.org.  Lissette tells me that she never wins anything, so I'm happy to have drawn her name.  Her package is on it's way to Florida, sure hope she likes it.  I had fun looking around her blog getting an idea about her tastes.

In other news....an unanticipated busy weekend meant that Kauni never got started, in fact, minimal knitting occurred.  I ended up assisting one of my friends with childcare, so did get some sock knitting done at a soccer game on Saturday, and Sunday I didn't pick up the needles until the evening.  I worked a bit on the Leaf Lace Shawl, which I am really enjoying.  It's fairly simple lace (I'm somewhat reluctant to say that since I now may screw things up royally) and I think yields a very pretty result.  I'm tempted to work on nothing but this, but the deadline for the Red Scarf Project is rapidly approaching so I really must pay some attention to that.  I also need to finish my September socks for the Sock a Month KAL 4. I think this is the third one of these I've participated in, and I really do like the goal of a pair of socks a month.  Anyhow, I digress, here's a picture of the Leaf Lace Shawl in progress:

Yarn is Sweatermaker Lace Weight Yarn purchased some time ago at Fun Knits.  I've been saving this a while now, feeling that it would be a great Fall shawl to knit using this leafy pattern.  I think I will call it my Autumn Leaves Shawl.

And finally, I leave you with pure cuteness:

Presents

I think I mentioned on my last post that I was very spoiled this Christmas.  Knitting related gifts were money to spend at Knitpicks and the Knitting Pattern a Day Calendar, both from my sister.  My big gift, which I requested from Joe was Sirius Satellite Radio.  He gave me both the car player and a home docking station to use inside with our stereo.  Reception inside is somewhat finicky, but I know I'll get better at properly positioning the antenna.  I just had the car system installed this morning, perfect reception there!  So far, I'm most enjoying the Seventies (such memories!) and the Blues Channels.  Any other Sirius listeners reading here?  If so, do you have any channel recommendations?  I have fairly eclectic music taste, the only types I dislike are Rap and Twangy Country.

Santa brought the kitties a new tunnel type toy.  They haven't paid too much attention to it yet, and Frisbee is a later scared of the crinkly sound it sometimes makes when touched.  But I did catch Buttons enjoying it the other day.    Here she is looking out the end:

And through one of the holes on the top:

Kitty Approved

My couple snowbound days were somewhat productive.  I made some Christmas cards and I finished Ariann.  Real Finished Object pictures will happen when she is dry, but look, this sweater is kitty approved, and deemed kitty bed worthy:

After leaving Buttons there for a couple hours, I made her move so I could sew in the ends and attach the buttons.  By last night, she was blocking on my kitchen table:

When I tried her on pre-blocking, she was quite snug.  My swatch grew considerably, so I'm cautiously optimistic that she will fit.  I did in fact measure the sweater once on the blocking table, and it does indeed conform more accurately to my measurements.  Here's hoping!

In the meantime, I'm looking forward to getting out of the house for a bit today.  I have a hair cut and colour appointment and will probably do a couple errands as well.  It has now stopped snowing and the temps have warmed up, hovering just around or above freezing.  Hopefully the roads won't be too bad!