Labor Day Weekend

All in all, the weekend was pretty enjoyable.  I didn't get *nearly* enough knitting done, but I did have some time to relax and breathe (also very important!).  Now, back to deadlines and time crunches.  I now have 6 days to complete 2 lace projects so I can have photos ready to send into a gallery who may or may not end up showing the pieces.  I have *got* to find my blackbear/qiviut yarn, as I'm almost to the last repeat, and that's the (irreplaceable) yarn I need for it.  Any other just won't do.  And if completing this project has to wait until I do find it, then that's what's going to have to happen.  No compromises for this one, that's for sure.

On another note, it is long past time for me to be sleeping.  Work kept me a long time tonight, and I have class at a fairly early hour tomorrow.  And so it goes. 

This is the start of my very own lace pattern, being knitted in a lovely mohair boucle!

Adventures in Lace

I wrote a lace design a  few weeks ago that I have (slowly) been knitting up, and I'm super excited about it!  The chart is a bit annoying to read, but the rest row helps a lot with that.  I'm also almost finished with the last yarn I need for my blackbear/qiviut/etc. scarf that I've been hibernating for a few months.  Now I just have to remember where I put it (moving kills me sometimes), and the knitting itself will be pretty quick. 

Once I'm done with the scarf I'm knitting from my pattern, I think it'll be time to go back to Diagonale, which I am knitting from super-thin lace silk handspun.  I plan to decrease the pattern repeats to three across, instead of four, and see how it goes from there.  The twist should have settled in the silk by now, which will help a lot.  Now I need to find a set of super-points (I forget what they're actually called) so that the blunt metal needles actually pick up the silk stitches with ease.

I actually really like working from my own lace pattern.  When you design it, you know when things have gone wrong and it's easier to tell how to fix it without just tinking backward.  Perhaps there are more designs to come!

I have some photos to add here at some point; I need to resize and upload before I can post them though.

Well!  Life's been quite the adventure lately.  I finished my move, which was promptly followed by a heavy study load.  I've been curled up at home for the last 4 days with a *terrible* ear infection (hopefully the latest drugs will clear it up for me).  My super-sneaky boyfriend came and stayed with me for the weekend, which was very nice of him.  I'm glad I didn't have to be sick AND alone this whole weekend.  I have no idea how I'm going to pay for all these doctor visits, but I have to get better before that even becomes a problem.  In the meantime, since I'm missing school and work, I'll be putting together a few more items for my Etsy store. 

-3+ Grab-and-Spin Fiber Porn Kits

-2-4 Art Yarns

-Finish a repeat of "Criss-Cross Applesauce"

-Paint a few watercolor flowers (if I can find my art supplies!)

Post-Move Stress Relief

Whew! I'm finally 90% unpacked and getting settled in.  Yesterday I cooked pretty much non-stop all day, and today I dyed a whole pound of wool (pictures tomorrow; the wools are wet still, of course).  I listed two yarns this evening.  I'm waiting for my next order from Carol over at the Sheep Shed to arrive.  I should be good to go on locks for a month or two after this...now I need to stock up on extra goodies - glitz, ribbon, accessories, and whatever else I want to put into my Fiber Porn spinning kits.  I'm working on getting my stash organized (still) but I have a few stacked trays that I'm going to put the little stuff in for now.  I seriously need a place for all this big stuff, though!!  I have over 30 lbs of raw llama that needs some sort of storage space already!




In other news, I'm still saving up for my drum carder.  I just opened a new bank account that has a cash reward after completion of a few minor requirements, and that will put me in reach of the carder I want!  I'm saving up for the Strauch Mad Batter.  I've heard a lot of places that saving up for a Strauch is way worth it, so I'm doing it.  I can't wait!

All dyed and waiting to dry.

 Robot Unicorn Attack

Superwash from The Sheep Shed Studio

New Order + Photos

Got my order from SSS yesterday!  It was actually probably here on Saturday, but I wasn't around to check the mail.  Although I really want to get dyeing, I probably won't be able to get any done until next week, since the move is happening this weekend.  But I'm working on reorganizing my entire stash and getting things in logical places, as soon as I think of a good (cheap!) way to do it.

Etsy Update!

I just added a few new yarns to my store!  I think I will add the rest of the items one-by-one over several weeks so that I don't get frustrated with resizing pictures and all that. 

The order from Carol Lee over at the Sheep Shed Studio should arrive tomorrow.  However, I'll be gone for the weekend, so I won't get to play with it or dye any fibers until Tuesday at the earliest.

Lots of new stuff planned for the next couple of months!  Things will get underway once I'm done moving next weekend.

Placed an order to SSS (http://www.thesheepshedstudio.com/) this afternoon for more fantastic supplies.  I have a few yarns and dyejobs planned!  I'm excited for the fibers, as always.  I also recently ordered a new phone from Sprint - after a year in WA, I'm finally switching my service provider and phone number to local ones. 

Week two of school has begun.  I only got a little bit of yarn stuff done this weekend, and next weekend won't be much better as I will be out of town.  I'm going to work hard to get schoolwork *and* yarnwork done in the next 4 days.  Things are going to be busy at work, too, and I'm sure I'll have plenty of sore muscles to go along with it.  I'm actually really excited about this job.  I like actually using my body to do things besides sit all day long.  Loading packages for UPS is completely opposite, and so far I am really enjoying it! 

I will be moving a few items over from Artfire to Etsy in the next week or two.  I love that listing items on Artfire is free, but I am not seeing the same traffic that I am to my Etsy.  I also can't figure out how to renew items with Artfire.

Pictures of the new goodies to come!  I am also halfway done with the first sock from my Fiber Porn Sock Blend Batt, so that will be on here soon as well.