Swap Goodies!!!

First off let me say that my swap partner is completely amazing! I received my Color Swap box today and it was filled with Grey goodies.

Inside was an awesome project bag in a lovely grey, black, and silver design. Attached to the bag is a very handy tool, a WPI which will come in very handy very shortly. 

Also in the package was some gorgeous Jacob fiber. It feels so nice and I am really looking forward to spinning with it. 

She was also generous and sent some samples from her stash of a cormo/coopworth blend (which she made me fingerless mitts in) and a fine shetland fiber. Those too are absolutely lovely. I am really looking forward to the local sheep and wool show in September so I can snag up a variety of wool as well. 

More goodies!!! Owlie fingerless gloves in the same cormo/ coopworth above, an adorable owlie cup cozy (yes I love owls), a handmade stitch marker bracelet which is absolutely lovely, and a Diz/ WPI tool as well. 

Here is a better picture of the Diz/ WPI tool. 

Also included were some lovely dangly hematite stitch markers. They ended up going on my shawl in progress asap and replaced some stitch markers that were not well suited for lace. 

Last but certainly not least are some edible goodies. It has been 100+F here for the past few days so the chocolates were quite squishy but they went in the fridge right away to set up again. The goodies are Grey M&Ms, hershey kisses, two dark chocolate truffles (which are so yummy), and some amazing cookie and cream caramels --> I really need this recipe, they are absolutely delicious. 

Many many many thanks for the fabulous package and yours will be going out shortly (once the last few items come in). 

TdF Progress

TdF Day 2

Tour de France Day 1 Pictures

Knitting Update

So... the Black Lace Socks I had planned on completing this month... well my progress has been frogged. The pattern just isn't written very well and it was difficult to translate to socks that will fit me. Basically I was creating a new sock pattern that just used the lace motif of that pattern.

Right now I am thinking of what I can knit as a fast knit. I will probably just make more sock yarn squares.

In excess of joining Tour de Fleece which is for spinning, I joined A Tour de France KAL. This KAL is one where you join the group and decide what project(s) you want to do during the tour.

I am thinking of doing one major lacy shawl during the Tour since I will be spinning as well. It will definitely be a challenge for me since I have never knitted a shawl, have only done simple lace motifs (yarn overs and decreases) on hats and socks, and I have not knitted anything in lace yarn yet. I will definitely be pushing myself through everything to complete the shawl.

The shawls I am contemplating are:

Dancing Batty
Tree of Light
Greek Revival
Haruni
Summer Mystery Shawl
Bigger On The Inside
Percy

Ravelympics Planning

If I am still unemployed when the Olympics start, I will definitely be cranking out finished objects during the Ravelympics.

I have several amigurumi creatures in various stages of completion that really need to be finished.
- Octopus
- Fish
- Adipose
- Elephant
- Ugly Doll Pincushion

I also have the second sock of my Pablo socks to finish. I would also like to finish the lovely Selbu fair isle hat. In addition to those, I want to knit the Saroyan and La La's Simple Shawl in a local dyer's yarn, Gypsy Girl Creations. So many projects to turn into finished objects, I know...

I will likely also want to cast on some projects to use some of my handspun yarn that I will be making during the Tour de Fleece.

Hopefully I will be able to use this post as a task list to keep myself focused and on track.

Spinning and Tour de Fleece

I recently got my very first spinning wheel, the Kromski Fantasia. I am quite happy with this wheel and look forward to spinning on it a lot.

I am super happy and excited to be part of the Tour de Fleece this year. If you have not heard of it, the Tour takes place during the same days as the Tour de France (June 30th- July 22nd). Check out the group on Ravelry here if you are interested. I joined the main group's Rookie Team since it is my first Tour and I am relatively new to spinning. I also joined Team Tardis, which is for anyone that is a Doctor Who Fan and wants to do the Tour de Fleece. There are a lot of different teams that you can join.

I have purchased a few 4 oz. braids of lovely fiber from DyeingForColour on Etsy. I am currently waiting for them to come in, but you can see the pictures from Etsy below. The blue is named Thunderstorm II and made of superwash merino and firestar and the yellow/red/multi named Temper Tantrum is a blend of superwash merino, firestar, soysilk, silk/seacell, and bamboo.

To me the colors are perfect from the Van Gogh Exploding Tardis from Doctor Who.

While I am on a yarn diet, I am looking forward to a local fiber festival- Midwest Fiber and Folk in Grayslake, IL in June to get some additional fiber for the Tour. 

Knitting

I am currently working on knitting some sock yarn squares for what will eventually become my sock yarn blanket. I am not planning on getting this done next week, next month, though it may be done sometime next year. I am using miscellaneous sock yarn left overs to make the squares. This helps to enable me to make more pairs of socks so I have more left over bits to make the blanket. 



If anyone reading this blog has some excess sock yarn bits that they would like to clear out of their home, feel free to contact me in a comment here or through Ravelry. My Rav ID is Ajkane. I am looking for sock yarn- fingering weight, superwash wool bits for my blanket. 
-  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -


My latest socks for the month of June are the Black Lace socks, but I will be doing them in red sock yarn... so I have dubbed them my "Red Lace Socks". I am using some yarn I picked up at Yarn Con in Chicago, IL last fall from the independent dyer- Grinning Gargoyle in the Dedo yarn base. I will try to post updates with progress photo(s). 

-  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -

In other knitting news... The Olympics in London is starting next month. To fiber enthusiasts on Ravelry that means it's time once again for... Ravelympics! If you have not taken part of or know nothing about what this is... do check out the official group for further information. You can find the info here. 

I am still undecided on what group I will be joining to take part in the Ravelympics, but it certainly is fun. If anything, it gives you the encouragement to turn UFOs into Finished Objects. Honestly, who doesn't want that?!? If you are one of the lucky ones that have absolutely zero UFOs lying around the house... try challenging yourself to get some holiday gifts made early, conquer the sweater you have always wanted to knit, or learn a new thing like double knitting or fair isle. 

First Post on a New Blog

I have read and heard from many knitters that sock yarn doesn't really count as stash. Well, my personal opinion is that if it is taking up space (and way more than I thought) it is indeed stash. I really need to update my Ravelry stash because it does not reflect my stash completely. I have been good and have not bought new sock yarn for awhile. I have so many lovely skeins that I really need to go through before I even think of buying another skein of sock yarn. The problem is that there are soooo many unique skeins from independent dyers that maintaining a sock yarn (or any yarn) diet difficult.

Please have fun watching my progression through my stash of sock yarn being turned into... socks as well as other projects I complete. :)