Knitwith Homespun

Yes, I started another project. Hey, I only have three going right now so it’s not that bad. I got my Sock Innovation: Knitting Techniques & Patterns for One-of-a-Kind Socks which I had pre-ordered from Amazon. I had to start one right away.

This is Kai-Mei (Rav link).  It’s a very simple sock to knit.  I was attracted to this pattern right away because of the unique lace panel going across the top of the foot.  It’s knit top down and simply a 3×3 rib for quite a while.  The lace panel is done along the gusset shaping after you have turned the heel.  I had a tiny bit of trouble getting the edge of the panel right and I’m sure it’s still not right but I’m happy with how it’s turning out anyway.  I’ll keep y’all posted.

This is what I have been up to. I have finished the Karen’s Smoke Ring (Rav link).  I am far beyond pleased with it.  It knitted up so quickly I can’t even believe it.  It was a very simple pattern and it shows off the yarn very nicely.  I feel I have to thank Amy King for this one because the colors are so very perfect for this kind of project and the yarn is so very soft.  I only regret that it is starting to warm up so much around here and I probably won’t get to wear it until next fall.  Sigh.  Oh well.  Here are some finished object shots. (Click on the shot and a separate javascript window will open with a large image for more detailed view.)

In my recent Tweeting and Plurking, I mentioned that I started the Woodland Shawl.  My super adorable friend, Angela, is going to knit this with me.  Gosh I miss you Angela!  So I told her I would post my progress to day with some pictures.  I started this a few days ago but frogged cause I couldn’t figure it out.  I restarted on Thusday while David was under the knife.  I am currently on the third repeat.  Here’s what I did wrong:  I thought it was a 12 row repeat so I started row 13 as row one but it’s a 16 row repeat.  No wonder it wasn’t working.  Those models ARE dumb as stumps.  I am really enjoying it but I haven’t quite figured out each of the rows yet but I’m sure I will.  The yarn is a bit heavier than the pattern calls for but it’s handspun and super soft merino.  This is why I am calling this one my Cloudy Day Woodland Shawl (Rav link).  The yarn is gray and cloudy and soft and smooshy.  I love clouds and think they are like big cotton balls.  I am using size 7 needles to keep it very loose and it’s nice so far.  Here are some progress shots:

David had his ACL replacement surgery on Thursday.  It’s going really well so far.  The nurse came to the house yesterday to take care of his dressing and remove the drain from his knee.  Today the physical therapist came out and made him do things that almost made him cry but she said his movements were great and he is very strong.  He is out of work and annoying me all next week.  We will see if we make it to our 19th anniversary.

Next post will be about my Kromski Harp which I got a couple weeks ago.

My friend, Angela, posted a list on her blog about the programs she can’t live without on her computer. I thought it was a great idea and encourage you all to respond and also post on your blogs. Here’s my list which is now different than what I posted on her blog:

Office Professional
Lightroom 2.0
Photoshop CS3
Living Cookbook 2009
Calorie King
Hormonal Forecaster
Google Earth
iTunes
Flickr Uploader
Firefox
Thunderbird
WS_FTP Professional

No, not me!  Ok, so I have something new.  I have a few new things but this one get’s it’s due first.  This is the new iPod shuffle.  The third generation and the smallest ever.  This comes from the shop with a 4 gigabyte capacity.  I have been buying and or having iPods since the first generation iPod with the wheel that actually spun around.  That iPod was huge and thick and heavy.  This iPod Shuffle is teeny and huge (capacity wise for it’s size) and has barely any moving parts.

What I mean by that is there is only one control on this device at all.  This is one of the few problems I have with this edition.  Here we have the on/off/shuffle/unshuffle button.  That’s all we have for the controls of this iPod.  Everything else you need to use this iPod is on the cord for the earbuds.  You simply turn this on and use everything else there on the cord with the -/+ and the button in between them.  You use this kind of like a mouse.  There is a double click function and that changes the track from one to another.  If you click and hold this button in, the iPod speaks the title and artist for the current track.  If you choose to change playlists (that’s right, you can have playlists), you simply click and hold until you hear a single tone that isn’t a voice or a musical portion of your song.  At that point, the iPod will speak through your playlists and when you arrive at a playlist you want, you click and it begins to play that playlist.  The volume up and down are pretty self explanatory with the + and – .  However, if you are listening to the list of playlists and you want to go backwards in this list, you can hit the minus button and return to a previously stated playlist.  There is complete control here if you want it.

However, if you are like me, and you have smaller ears, these earbuds are going to annoy you.  I can’t for the life of me get them to stay in my ears.  I am aided with these foamy things that came with a previous iPod but they don’t come with this one.  The foamy things help to keep the earbuds in my actual ears.  But if I am working out, this doesn’t work.  The slightest movement makes them fall out of my ears.  I have called Apple about this and they don’t have an answer for me but they did offer that I could return it.  This was generous because I have had this engraved for free as Apple has offered since the beginning of iPod sales.  I don’t want to return it.  I have worked around this, however.  I can set up the iPod the way I like with the playlist I want at the volume I want.  Then I turn off the iPod and replace the earbuds with the headphones that I like to wear when walking.  The music begins and all is working but I can’t change anything with these headphones.  It hasn’t really bothered me yet but I’m sure it will.  Apple suggested that there may be an aftermarket set of headphones available with the controls on them before too long.  I hope this is the case.  I really enjoy using this iPod and love the size.  It’s practically not there!  Here is another comparison shot with other items for size.

Ok, I haven’t mentioned it before but my absolute favorite show right now is Ghost Whisperer.  I swear, at least 3-4 times a season they surprise me with their creativity and the well written episodes.  It is the absolutely most romantic and wonderfully well done show on TV right now (since they took away Pushing Daisies).  This season, they killed Melinda’s husband and I was very mad at them for that.  But now I see what they are doing and it is brilliant!  The acting is amazing as well.  I think it is completely underrated and overlooked by everyone!  I look forward to Friday nights every week and make sure I have tissues ready.

Ok that’s all I wanted to say since I am catching up with 3 episodes in a row.  I love it when that happens!  If you haven’t wathed before, either rend the first few seasons and catch up!  It’s awesome!

I am making the very over knitted Noro Striped Scarf.  Why?  It’s cool looking!  I love the way the two different colors of the self striping yarns work together.  I love the gradation on one color that intertwines with the gradation of color on the other skein of yarn.  I love the interaction and now I love the softness of this yarn.  I have only knit with a Noro yarn one time and it was Noro sock and that wazsn’t very soft.  The reversibility of this scarf is awesome and the way it behaves when you are knitting is lovely.  There is no twisting or curling at all.  I love everything about this scarf.  However, the colors I have chosen might be a problem.  Unfortunately, I got sucked into the internet on this one and ordered this yarn on clearance from Webs and the images I saw did not show how much these two colors match and meld together.  These two skeins are far too similar for this to work very well.  I have decided, however, to continue on and keep knitting.  There is enough contrast for me and I just love how this yarn feels when I am knitting it.  I love love love it.  Please let me know what you think though.  Can I pull this off?  Are there enough differences to let me keep going?  Let’s find out in the end.

The next item on my blogging agenda is my future loom.  I got Learning to Weave by Deborah Chandler and am totally loving it.  I am hoping to buy a rigid heddle loom at Village Spinning and Weaving in Solvang.  I am making a trip up there with a Craft Night girlfriend possibly on Sunday to do a little hands on shopping. The problem I have encountered is that the book is designed and written to support somone weaving on a 4 shaft loom and the rigid heddle that I am looking at is considered a 2 shaft loom.  I am not sure if this can work or not but I am willing to make the 3 hour drive up there to ask around and see what I can see.  This is the closest I can get to anything weaving in all of the Los Angeles area.  Hard to believe isn’t it? I’ll keep y’all posted on my progress for this shopping.

I have a new craft.  Thanks to the blog Seabreeze Spinners, she started to post information about it and started posting her braids.  Then, I put a book on my Amazon Wish List and my sister bought me that book for Christmas.  It was awesome!  It’s so much fun and it’s so easy.  There is so much room for creativity and color and beauty and everything.  Here is the second braid that I made and a close up to show the colors.  This is a 16 strand round braid which is the easiest braid to learn and very fast to finish.  My finishing needs some practice but I like how these look.  This one is a necklace, but I am working on another one that will be a strap for my reading glasses.  Here is a picture of the disk with that braid on it working.

Ok so I have also done a little spinning on my Dulce de Leche fiber which will be my Dollar and a Half sweater.  Here is how the fiber is looking as singles.

I have one bobbin done and 5 more to go to get this done.