A Lesson Learned

You spin faster on a spinning wheel--WAY faster.

All of last week, when I had my roving and the drop spindle was working (at camp), I probably didn't make much more than 50 feet...I'm bad at guessing measurements, but you get the idea.

In the 3 days it's been since I got back, I have spun all of the roving I got and am on the heel of the first sock!

Speaking of, here's my progress:
I'm on the heel, done with the Fair Isle Dancing Ladies. I can't wait to see them all done...I'm already planning on what a second pair could be!

D'ja Miss Me?

Camp was tons of fun....my brother can't wait until next year (we did the session together).
I did get some knitting and spinning done while I was there, though....

One color.... and the other
This is the roving I got in the mail. Not exactly the colors I wanted, but according to some of the counselors in camp, they matched for fall colors. Well, now I have a logical reason to go to the Fold: get colors that match and which I like. Normally, I wouldn't go for these colors, but I can say these were my practice socks.
At camp, they do many arts and crafts.....

My Camp Bowl
My roving fit into this bowl perfectly!
I also did some tie-dyeing!

MY TIE-DYED YARN!
Yes, you are looking at DYED YARN!!! The lady who helped with the tie-dyeing said that she had only dyed 100% cotton things, nothing 100% wool. She was willing to try it, however, and I began to dye the skein dark green. Yes, I started out with dark green, but a lot of the dye came out during the rinsing. It worked for my purpose, though.
And what was my purpose?

Well, one of the counselors is getting married in the fall, so I figured that, as a wedding gift/thank-you-for-being-my-counselor gift, I made a pot holder-one side was white, the other green, since green was her favorite color. I didn't think to take a picture of it (and I finished it the same day we left camp, so my camera was packed anyway, but you can imagine it.

On the way home on a bus where they take a bunch of kids halfway home so they can catch flights or their parents don't have to drive so far (does that make sense??), I made this headband for a camper who had been in my cabin-she had fallen in love with the green yarn, calling it Yarny.....something I would do!

Just A Quick Note

Hi,
We ordered Sandalwood and Cranberry; they were out of Blue Noil.....I'm leaving VERY soon, see you in 2 weeks!

Happy Birthday Dad!

OK, this is a couple days late, but better late than never, right?
My dad is so cool. He's one of those people who always, no matter what, finds the good side of things.
He also acts like a little kid in a candy store whenever he is within the vicinity of any sort of project store (think Home Depot and Hobby Lobby).
When my dad was a kid (when the dinosaurs roamed the earth, or so he says), he used to catch copperheads (yes, that type of copperheads) and crayfish in the creek/forest behind his house. He also played catch with his cat. I can just imagine the poor thing yowling as it went from person to person. He claims the cat never felt any ill will toward him.
I can't believe he lived past 20.
My dad is a project man. Currently, his project is creating a water table that shows what happens to runoff during a storm. (I should mention he's a floodplain manager) He wants to have a day called rain day. Well, that's my project dad for you.
Love you, Daddy!

Hey All!

I have chosen the fiber I would like to use for my socks....well, sort of.
You see, I know what I want the main color to be: Blue Noils (the Merino Superwash), from The Fold. However, I don't know much about color, and I'm horrible at matching color. I would like to buy all of the fiber from the same source, and to save DM a trip, I'm going to attempt to order it via phone. What colors do you see at this cool little shop that would match my pale blue?
My starting colors was Cranberry, Rosequartz, Sandalwood, and English Garden. I'm also considering Sage or Laurel. (To view those, click on the link above, go to fibers, then Mulitcolored Merino.)
Do any of them match to you? I would like to have (preferably) a warm color as the dancing ladies on the socks, but if the green matches with the blue, so be it!

Good Morning!

I usually get up around 6:30/7, hence the (usually) early posts. However, today is officially the first day of summer vacation, so I forced myself to get a little extra sleep.
Regarding the sizes not working: I was referring to the width around the foot being too small. I am not good with approximations, so I don't really want to change the width around. I also want a relatively simple pattern, one that I don't want to worry about while at camp. Oh, I haven't mentioned that yet, have I?
I am going to camp for 2 weeks with my brother--they have these rest hours each day, in which I will probably read my assigned school books (which don't look boring, thank goodness) while knitting. Therefore, I don't want to worry about whether the pattern size is good or not.
I think I'll start out with dancing ladies, then do either the felted clog things or the ones with the flowers in the heel. Maybe I'll try the ones on 2 needles....I'm still not sure they will fit.
Now, to pack the needles and yarn for camp.....

More Sock Patterns

I did a bit of research on the internet, and found some more patterns I like:

This one I like because of the little dancing people on the cuff....I would probably do it with a light color for the actual sock, and a darker color for the dancing people, and maybe the toe and heel too...that would look cool!

I like this one because of the designs in Fair Isle on the heel.

What about this one? I like the idea of knitting socks on just 2 needles. Or this?

The one in Spin Off was a bit too small, and the other one didn't look like it would be good without the beads.
Update: I re-rechecked the socks provided, and the only ones that fit me are the dancing people one, and the felted pair. What do you think?

Sock Patterns

I am trying to decide which pattern to use to make my socks. No, I have not spun the yarn--I haven't even gotten the roving!
However, I am not going to have access to the internet for two weeks after this Saturday (will explain later), so I have to decide on the pattern now or for 14 days hold my peace. DM (THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU) has agreed to get the roving and mail it to me if we don't make it this week. I'll have my trusty drop spindle, that should keep me occupied.
And now, the patterns....
One is from my handy dandy knitting calender, with an optional bead design and tweed lace. It is cuff-down.
The other is in my Spin Off magazine, and has lots of designs. I'm a little unsure about this one, because it has lots of yo's, and I don't want to have marks on my feet after I finish it.
I should also mention that I have size 9 1/2 feet--he he....I better get out my measuring tape and check to see if the patterns could actually fit me!

I Really Need To Post More Often!

In case it is not apparent, I like doing things in list form. So, our first stop: a FO!!

Here's the waist...

The waist is a little too big; I'll have to adjust it a tad before the 4-H fair...

Next, progress on my blanket:

before

after

I also did a bit of spinning!

I have 2 spools of this, once I find a third spool, I'll spin them together!

I also have more summer goals! (to see my past goals, you can click here)
I would like to make a blanket with patches representing the months. I have the pattern in my knitting calendar:

This is the patches for January through June!
I think I'll increase the patches by a factor of 4 or 5, so that there is only 3 patches on each row. That way, I won't have to make a bunch of little patches. This goal will also go for my interest in making Fair Isle, although I would like to make a pillow or something also.