Herbstlied & Am Kamin, here I come!

I got my book from YesAsia last week! Took a while, about 1 month to get here, but it was worth the wait! This book also has the Am Kamin sweater in it--I didn't know that when I ordered it!!! That's a really nice bonus :)

I have found that there are multiple KALs and blogs referencing these patterns, and, to tell you the truth this blog is the one that convinced me to buy it so I could have help to figure out the instructions, which are, of course, in Japanese. And this blog has a list too.

For anyone contemplating ordering this book, here's a preview of what's in it (you can't see the insides on YesAsia before you order):

Look at the cute tams!!!

Ooooooh, love those oakleaf pattern cables in "Herbstlied." Fun, fun, fun. (I am an avid acorn kitsch collector! Some day I'll post pics of my collection.....)

I would so love to knit the Am Kamin in a deep red like what is shown. Hmmm, another must do!

Sharfik esta terminada

Yay, I did it!! I finished my July knitting goals (finish a scarf, start and finish another for Xmas gifts)! Wow, having made that promise--in the Stashalong--really made me get my projects done. I first thought it was a meager goal to finish 2 scarves in July, but....what with working full time, and all the crazy things life seems to throw at me randomly, I don't think I could have accomplished anything more than I did! So, Yay for me :)
(I AM patting myself on the back right now!)


Sharfik was finished tonight at Knit Night. And the ends are woven in and everything. Woo hoo! I used all 3 balls of yarn except for about 24" and I think the length is just right :) No finished pic yet....

And, I treated myself to a ball of yarn after finishing it :) A ball for moi....

Am going to visit 'the grandfather' this weekend, won't be posting until next week some time :) Will update with a finished Sharfik pic later on. (And yes, I will be working on Crazy Weave on the drive up, hee hee!)

Next scarf please

Swatching has begun for my next gift project....

can only show samples until gifted at Xmas, but here are the specs:

Pattern: Crazy Weave Scarf

Source: Inspired by a Barbara Walker pattern in "The Learn to Knit Afghan Book"

Yarn: Classic Elite Princess in color # 3485 'Milord's Madder', a worsted weight wool/angora/cashmere/nylon/viscose mix (!!!) Feels very very soft

Needles: US8

Work remaining: Most of it, heh



Mods: I first charted Barbara Walker's pattern, then changed it to suit both my required dimensions, and my need for simple stitches. I can't stand fussy "knit in the back loop" directions--I like to stick to simple knit and purl, and I wanted the majority of stitching to be knit stitches, not purls as her directions give. Just for ease and speed. So I rewrote it to suit my simple mind (!!)


So there you have it. A taste, an appetizer if you will. I will post the chart and instructions for this eventually....but there will not be a full-fledged photo until after Xmas. :)

Dishcloths again

Oh, you must go visit Criminy Jickets for the next installment of dishcloth mania! There are links to some really different dishcloths--I like the star-shaped one in variegated yarn. Love that.

I also think it is very clever of him to adapt the Lizard Ridge pattern to a washcloth--how cool is that! I'm loving the creative license.....!

I am beginning to dislike dishcloth patterns that are not mostly garter stitch. Garter stitch creates a fabric that is so thick and luxurious, it's perfect for these small cloths.... I think it also has to do with what yarn you use, I am really hooked on Sugar 'n Cream cottons, they shrink up nicely, get softer with each wash, and are thick, thick, thick! (I must remind you, reader, that I don't use these as dishcloths, but as luxurious washcloths in the shower.) Sigh....

Here's what I did with my Ty-Dye washcloth I had started:
Before:

After:

It is too flimsy of a cotton weight for me to like a washcloth out of it, so will gladly put it to a better use of some kind :) It's a little pricey for washcloths, anyway!!(But does make beautiful garments......what a silky drape.)

Oh, check out what Miss Happy Camper has been up to: a festive fish bag! This is really really cute. Want to, need to make one :)

I am hooked on small projects, so I am feeling the need to get another washcloth going :)

Pesto

Oooooh, yummy pesto. Last year I stumbled upon this great recipe for pesto. I had the mother of all Basil plants growing at that time, I could make as many Caprese salads as I wanted, and at the end of the summer, my basil plant was huge. It seemed a shame to let the inevitable frost ruin all the good taste that was hidden in those leaves, so I decided to make as much pesto as I could with my plant before the end of September.

Ten months later, I still have this many packets of yummy, homemade pesto:

No one else will eat it (as in so many of my non-hotdog/pizza/hamburger meals!), so I am still eating the great stuff all by my lonesome. Had some this weekend on my pasta, mmmmmmm, with oil and vinegar:

Great tossed into a cold pasta salad, or added to cooked vegies, added to soups etc. I'm glad I had made so much, as I did not plant a basil plant this year!! Thanks to turkey feathers for giving such great instructions and recipes! (BTW, I love her blog!)

Sparkle Time

Every evening, between 5-8 pm, the sun comes into our house, in a nearly horizontal fashion. Long shafts of the late afternoon sun dazzle through the redbud leaves and shoot across our living space, to light up this wall. Look what happens:





We call this *Sparkle Time*. This implies that time of day when we wind down from work, settle into a relaxing book in our cozy home. It is the magical time of day just before light transitions to dark, when all the world feels as if it is right and perfect. I love Sparkle Time. I love to knit at Sparkle Time, to sit and meditate on my day, to formulate plans for the next day, or just to enjoy being present in the moment.

Every day ends with a Sparkle Time--if it doesn't, it feels incomplete. Must have my Sparkle Time :)

Ravelry wait

Wow, this is really cool (pattern here), and what a great idea to do a fair isle with this type variegated/striping yarn!!! Nifty. I've heard someone drooling over this yarn in the past, but forgot about it in all my yarn-induced madness.

I finally gave in and put my name in on Ravelry waiting list:

Get a load of my place # on the waiting list! I might as well just wait until it becomes open to the public!!! (Knew I shoulda put my name on the list a few weeks ago when I first heard of it, heh!)

This is a really pretty sweater that Annie knit up based on a Knitty.com pattern. She did a great job, makes me want one myself!

Fair acquisitions

Okay, I admit it. My budget just got busted. But I don't really care at this point! I'm so happy with my Saturday :D

This is one of the great books on my list of wants, that I found at a booth at the fiber fair:

And I have had this on my list too--I got both these XRX books from the library in the past, but really wanted my own copy of them.

I have been wanting to get the sock knitting going, and have seen everyone's versions of the embossed leaves sock from a past issue of Interweave Knits, so when I heard that pattern was republished in this book, it made my wants list!

And, since I am such a cable fiend, I purchased this workbook from Janet Szabo on planning your own Aran sweater:

Awesome!

I also got a much needed ball-winder, and an instruction book on spinning with a drop spindle:

There was a booth with handmade soaps, and the scent of them floated me right over to it! I bought 2 bars of their Goat-milk soap that smells like cinnamon and spices--kindof like chai! Yum. They have a website too!


Oh, I almost forgot! I also got this great penannular brooch, in pewter:


Shown on my clapotis. Been looking for one of these!

I bought some more wool to spin up, this was only $6! Don't know the content, don't really care except it's very soft :)

And from Carolina Homespun, I bought this lovely wool top to spin, and a mag:

So there you have it: books, gadgets, and wool. Not a bad haul, AND....I kept my promise to the Stash-along, by not buying yarn. Guilt free, woohoo! (-ish)

Saturdays were made for fiber!

Sharfik is now 34" long, and I just finished the 2nd ball of yarn. I will be knitting one more ball onto this. Have been a knitting fiend, even though my wrist cyst is bugging me again. Whatever, I'm not going to stop.

Here is Sharfik posing early Saturday morning:



On this project, I am enjoying the "cables without a cable-needle" technique, as explained by Grumperina here. Am sooooooo itching to start my next cabled scarf project, but I know if I divide my time up, it'll take longer to finish this WIP, so am just going to work only on it for a while.

Midwest Fiber and Folk Fair: ooooooh yeah! The only thing that would have made it better is if there were actual sheep and alpacas there. I thought there would be, but I was mistaken. Mostly shopping booths. Not that that's a bad thing (!!!)
Bombyx top, above, and various wools, below
The goal I had was to learn how to spin with my drop spindle I had purchased from Hello Yarn in April, when I joined the fiber club. I now have bundles of wool roving (that come in the mail monthly!) waiting to be spun up. So I packed up my little spindle, and my test blob of roving, and went off to the fair....

Look! Lookit! That's me spinning! Wheeeeee!




Yay for spinning! Woo-hoo! (Fair photos courtesy of DH--thanks, DH for being such a sport and coming with me to endure fiber shopping!!! Whatta sweetheart!)

I want to say a HUGE thank you to the gals from Carolina Homespun, who so generously taught me to spin while being swamped with customers waiting to pay! I will always remember you both fondly, as the ones who started me out! Because, I have wanted to spin for 20+ years!!! Thanks so much, Morgaine, and your un-named helper :)

On top of that, they were able to point me in the direction of a local spinnery and guild, where I can take lessons (for dirt-cheap it looks like) and purchase a wheel if I desire! Wowee!!! I'm on overload :D

Can't stop my cheesy grin ! :D

I purchased a bag of Romney wool roving (is it roving or top? I don't think I have the correct terminology yet!) in this gorgeous blue green colorway (from Carolina Homespun):

My production by the end of the day. Because, you know, I came home and could. not. stop. the. spinning. I just kept going, and I AM SO HOOKED ON SPINNING NOW! :D

I have to say one more thing: On the drive home from the fiber fair, I had this all-encompassing sense of well-being that I have not felt in years. I was fully saturated with peace -- like I used to get when practicing yoga. I don't know if it was finally achieving that llllllooooonnnnggg held goal of learning to spin, or the actual act of spinning itself that gave me that high, but I have not felt that wonderful in years! I want more of that feeling :) Sigh.

I will bore you tomorrow with my other great acquisitions--a teaser: I did not buy any yarn! --though looking at the above photos makes me want to go back and buy some in yummy colors! ;o)