Rainbow Sherbet Socks

Here's is the Rainbow Sherbet yarn made up into socks. I think they turned out really cute.
They are toe-up socks.

Rainbow Sherbet Yarn....

This is my Rainbow Sherbet Yarn.
It is 3 1/2 oz. of Merino wool, handspun, 320 yards, approx 21-22 WPI,
hand dyed with acid dyes.
I love the way it turned out. It will make cute self striping socks! :)

More spinning done.....

I finished my blue and white roving. It ended up being approx. 300 yards of sock yarn at 20 - 22 WPI. It's 100% Merino wool. I spun this yarn up on my Kromski Minstrel wheel.
I have some multicolored roving on my Lendrum wheel. Perhaps I will get it finished this week. I have some white yarn that I just plyed that I am going to dye maybe tonight or tomorrow. I will post pictures of it.

Socks and keychain

Here is my hand dyed, hand spun pastel sock yarn all made up.
I made myself some socks and a little keychain.
They are both knit toe-up.
The Socks are a variation of the Herringbone Lace Socks. The pattern is found here:
http://home.comcast.net/~fibergal/blog/Herringbone_Lace_Panda.pdf

There is no pattern for the keychain as I did it off the top of my head.
Here is how I did it:
I cast-on a total of 12 stitches using the Judy Becker magic cast-on.
I then worked increases every other row until I had a total of 20 stitches.
I worked the foot until it was the length I wanted it to be.
For the heel, I did a no-wrap short row heel (demo can be seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zu5YAKsAEpY )
and then I worked the cuff to the length I wanted it to be, and bound off.
It was very easy, and I like the results.
I cut a little plastic piece to fit inside to sock to use as a sock blocker.
I made a couple more of these little key chains for gifts and the gals said they loved them.

Spinning again..........

I finished the lilac roving that I've been working on for the last few days.
It turned out beautiful. Approx 21 WPI....perfect for socks!
I won't be able to do much spinning or knitting next week because it's stamp class week again already. I sure miss it when I can't be playing with the yarn!

Busy, busy, busy

Here are some of the snowflake ornaments I did on my machine.
It's hard to photograph them, but they really did turn our pretty.
I can't remember the link where I got the patterns, but if someone really wanted to know I could prolly find the link. :)

Here's the Bow Tucks Bag that I made. The patterns are at www.quiltsillustrated.com
I made the medium tall bag, and the small bag.
I love the way they turned out and have a large bag cut out now to use as a knitting bag.

Caps for the kids.....

My red/blue/yellow handspun yarn didn't want to be made into socks.......it wanted to be caps for the kids at CIC....and here are the completed hats. I'm pleased with the way they turned out, and I think the kids will enjoy wearing them. :)

Pastel roving spun up

I finished spinning the pastel roving tonight, and here's a pic of it. It is 4 oz. and I ended up with almost 600 yards @ 22 WPI, making it fingering yarn, and perfect for socks. I think I should get busy with some of my Christmas projects now, and put the spinning aside for awhile....but I'm so addicted to spinning! LOL We'll see. Anyway, I'm pleased with the way this yarn turned out, and it will go for socks, I'm sure.

Purple yarn......

My latest yarn....it ended up being 22 WPI.
Of course, it will be made into socks. :)
I'm almost done spinning the pastel roving that I dyed on Wed. (see below) and will
take a pic of it when it's completed.

Everyone's gone now, and the house sure is quiet. I love having those kids here.

Thanksgiving...so much to be thankful for!

Here's a picture of Sassy taking a nap in her bed today (Thanksgiving). It makes me feel so sad to see her aging, and not being playful and up and about when the kids are here. She spent most of the day asleep. I sure love my little girl, and feel bad to see her not feeling up to par! Her arthritis in her poor little back legs bothers her.

I completed some socks this week, and thought I would post a picture of them. Both are made from my own handspun yarn. The yarn in the multicolored sock was dyed with acid dyes to form a striped pattern.

Here's some yarn that I dyed on Wednesday. Can't wait to make socks out of it!!

Here's roving that I also dyed on Wednesday. Ooooh...it's going to be fun to spin this roving!! Will post pix of it when it's spun.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone who celebrates today!

Three Generations....

Our son and grandson were both here, so I got a 3 generations picture. Pretty good lookin' fella's, eh? They are all keepers.
Pictured is Thad (our son), Terry (DH), and Warren (grandson)

Here's the lime green yarn and the pink and white yarn that I spun up. I'm happy with them.
I have some white yarn that I plied last night, and am going to try to dye it today.

Spinning.....

I've been spinning. Here's some roving I have on the wheels. The lime green roving is on my Kromski Minstrel wheel, and the pink and white roving is on my Lendrum wheel. The lime green roving reflected the flash, but when I tried to not have any flash it looked like avocado green. I hope you can get the idea of what they look like by these photos. I want these to both be sock yarns. Hopefully I'll be able to finish them this weekend sometime.

Spinnin' Wheel Goes Round 'n Round.....

I got it!! My new spinning wheel is here and put together and sitting in the living room. I love it. It's so purdy!! I actually spun up some yarn on it last night and then plied it. I know, I know.....it's 'supposed' to be for Christmas, but do you REALLY think I could wait that long? *teehee* I love the way the wheel looks in my living room. The 'feel' is different than with my Lendrum wheel. The Lendrum is scotch tension and this one is double drive, so I'm sure that makes a difference in the feel of the wheel, but I'm a firm believer that it's good to learn new things. If I were to compare the 2 wheels, I would have to say the Lendrum runs more smoothly and is quieter. I find it easier to spin on the Lendrum, but that may be because I'm used to it. I'll get used to the Kromski too! And the Kromski is purdy, purdy, purdy! LOL It's spinning really nice singles, and it plied a nice 2 ply sock yarn....so all in all, I'm very, very happy.
I love both of my wheels.

Finishing up WIP's! What a good feeling!

I plied some of the yarn I had spun up,
and I have the coral yarn balled and ready to knit....it will be socks!
I have a knit top that this yarn will match perfectly. :)

This cranberry yarn (below) is sooooooooo yummy! It will also be socks.
Both yarns are Merino wool.......so soft, and the colors are so vibrant!
I love, love, love this cranberry color!

I

I have completed all of my sock WIP's.
That's a GREAT feeling, since these green ones below have been cast on for
several weeks now, but I kept working on other things!
Now I can start some more socks tomorrow!
I will cast on the coral yarn (above) in the morning. :)

It's such a feeling of accomplishment to get some of these
socks done that have been sitting on the needles for ages.

This is my second post for today.
Man, I'm just getting so much done!
Terry should have retired sooner.
Hahahahahaha!!
I'm lovin' having him at home!

Another pair of socks.....

This pair of socks is done with Knitpicks Imagination yarn. It's very soft.
These are toe-up socks.

Spinnin' Wool 'n Knittin' Sox

Just some of the 'fruits of my labor'.
These yarns are all merino wool, and are between
fingering weight and sport weight. Some are 3 ply (Navajo plied) and some are 2 ply.
I'm sure excited about getting my new wheel. :)


I finished these socks today. They are done in garter rib stitch.
They are toe up socks. They are made out of Red Heart Heart and Sole sock
yarn. I'm very happy with them.

There's just not enough hours in the day......

I'm on a sock knitting binge again. I just love knitting socks!

I took pictures of a couple of my completed socks this evening.
The blue and yellow socks are Knitpicks yarn that I dyed with Easter Egg dyes.

The aqua, blue and purple socks are made from merino roving that I spun myself into sock yarn, and then dyed with koolaid and easter egg dyes. They were way fun to make, and I really felt a sense of accomplishment when they were done, knowing that they started out as roving and I created the yarn, dyeing and everything myself. :)

Both pairs of these socks are knitted toe up.....my new favorite way to knit socks. They are easy to do (once I figured out a heel that I liked!), you can try them on easier as you are knitting them, and if you run out of yarn midsock you will most likely be at the cuff and can just bind off then rather than running out in the middle of the foot as would happen with a cuff down sock. I have another pair of socks nearly completed, and will post a picture of them when they are done.

There just isn't enough time in the day for me to spin, knit, quilt, stamp...... Sleep is such a waste of time.....but oh so enjoyable!!

Terry is retired now.
I'm enjoying having him at home, and I think he's really enjoying it too.
It's not nearly as lonely out here with him around. :)

Tomorrow is election day. We will go to town and vote, and then I am meeting my two sisters for lunch. It should be a fun day.

I ordered my Christmas gift tonight. YAYYYYYYY!! It is another spinning wheel......the Kromski Minstrel (like what Mona has) only in a walnut finish. I'm so excited!!
Merry Christmas to meeeeeeeeeeee!!!!
Here is a link to the wheel that I am getting:
http://www.paradisefibers.net/Kromski-Minstrel-Spinning-Wheel-Kromski-Minstrel-p/2352.htm
Mine will have a walnut finish that I hope will match my grandmothers rocking chair that is from the 1800's.

Just Knittin' 'n Spinnin'!

I've been knitting and spinning the past week. The above is a pair of socks I just finished,
and below is some spinning on my wheel. My right thumb is giving me fits again, so that's slowing me down considerably. :( Getting old ain't for wimps, that's for sure!

We had a big snowstorm last weekend and here's a couple pictures from that. We still have snow, but it's been melting off today. I guess it was just a friendly reminder that winter is right around the corner for us.

10 Reasons to Buy Lots of Yarn!

10 Reasons to Buy Lots of Yarn

1. It insulates the cupboard where it is kept.
2. It keeps the economy moving. It is my patriotic duty to support wool
farmers, textile mills, and yarn shops.
3. It is less expensive and more fun than psychiatric care.
4. I'm participating in a contest - the one who dies with the most yarn
wins!
5. It keeps without refrigeration, you don't have to cook it to enjoy
it, you never have to feed it, change it, wipe its nose or walk it.
6. Because I'm worth it.
7. Like dust, it's good for protecting previously unprotected spaces in
the house, like the ironing board, the laundry basket, the dining room
table
8. It's not immoral, illegal or fattening. It calms the nerves,
ratifies the soul, and makes me feel good.
9. Because it is on sale. Because that is such a beautiful colour... I've never seen it
before... I must have it.
10. Buy it now, before your husband retires and goes with you on all your
shopping expeditions.

I've been so busy!

I've been so busy, and feel bad that I haven't posted in ages. Last night was stamp class, and here's the cards that we made. One of the cards is laying down because I scanned them all together, but you'll get the idea. :) Jodi has been doing the craft for me lately (thanks Jodi!) and I sure appreciate that. We did a scrapbook page last night, but I didn't make one because I was helping the other table.

I've been doing a lot of spinning on my spinning wheel, and have made quite a bit of yarn. Here is a picture of my wheel.

And here is a picture of some of the yarn that I have spun:

I have made 3 pairs of socks from my own handspun yarn. I LOVE spinning! And I LOVE knitting my own yarn! And I love wearing hand knit socks. :) Sounds like a win, win situation!!


Donna was here in Sept. for 3 weeks. We had a great time while she was here, and I sure miss her!
Here is a picture of us when we went out to lunch with my 2 sisters one day.
From left to right is me, my sister Lillian, my sister Darlene, and Donna.


And here is a picture of Terry, myself, Dale, Kathy and Donna when we went to Medora, ND for the musical. What a fun trip that was!

Another Stamp Class

Well, it's stamping class time already, and here is what we're doing this month. Tomorrow is class night, and I'm thinking it's going to be a pretty small class.......but only time will tell. :)

I am getting a spinning wheel for my birthday, and I'm excited about that. Will put up pix of it.

Friday night stamp class .........

Last Friday night was stamp class. I only had 11 students at class (one is missing in these pictures) and since I'd promised some of you to take pictures, I took several, but am only uploading 2. We always have fun at stamp class, and the gals sure do challenge me to learn new things. They are a great bunch of girls, and I love spending time with them.

Socks again!!

I love knitting socks. :) I love the way handmade socks fit my short, pudgy feet. These are just something I came up with off the top of my head. They feel so nice on my feet. :)

This is a shawl that I just finished. It is 6 feet at the widest part. I love this shawl. I used Simply Soft Shadows, and it's so soft and comfy. I used the same pattern as I did for the Christmas shawls I made, and I have it listed in the September 2007 blog. It's very simple, but very pretty. I did an I-cord bind off to finish it off.

My Hemlock Ring Blanket

I haven't posted in quite awhile, but have been busy. I'm currently working on 2 different shawls and a wool cap for 'the kids'. But I wanted to post this picture of the afghan that I just finished. I LOVE this afghan, and you can find the instructions here:http://www.angelfire.com/folk/celtwich/KnitHemlockRing.html and the chart to enlarge it is here:http://www.flickr.com/photos/68971937@N00/1161874254/ and more information here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/68971937@N00/1161877610/in/photostream/

This was an awesome and fun project. My blanket is done in 100% wool, and is so beautiful and is going to be so warm on those afternoons when I want to take a nap and need something to cover up with......or for when I need something to throw over my shoulders when I take Sassy outside. I started it Friday evening, and it is now Wednesday morning, so it took me around 4 days to make it. It fits perfectly on the back of the loveseat, and is 49 1/2 inches.