Christmas Stockings

I was just recently asked by a friend of mine, if I would make some stockings for her children.. Of course, I tell her I would love to :)

She wants them to look/match the one that she has had since she was really little... So, I told her to bring it on in and I would have use it for comparison and make two that look (hopefully) like they were made in the same style or as if made by the same person... Here is hoping :)

I have gotten most of the first done, and thankfully they do not have to be done by this Christmas, but I would love to be able to surprise her with them.. (though doubtful :( ).. I will still try though. And because her stocking was knit using intarsia.. this is something I have yet learnt, or even attempted until now!! I have to say it is turning out pretty nicely, but I'm just not as impressed with it as I am with fair-isle knitting...

I will though, be posting pics as I go, or at least when they are all finished and ready to go!

Here is my green and purple yarn...

Still need to get the blue/green and white spun...

And here is my first ball of white.. Looks pretty good so far. Should wind up with about five to six balls of white.. Yay!!
Here is hoping I will get enough for at least two pairs of socks..

I don't have a lot done so far.. but I've also been working on a scarf for my cousin.. it should turn out really nice :) I can't wait to see it when it is all done!

I wouldn't say that today was one of my most productive days when it comes to knitting... but I did manage to crochet two kitty toys, spun a little more of my yarn, mended a little of a pair of socks that sorely need some fixing up....

So I suppose today wasn't that bad... still do need to finish a thumb on a pair of mitts that will be a Christmas gift... if I manage to get back to them before the big day :(

The first mouse I made... found them on Ravelry and thought they were just too cool not to make :) My kitty seems to think the same thing too! Good thing.. I made two.

And here he is, enjoying his second mouse for the day...

 So this, being my first go, is my very messy and sad attempt to repair my sock... Our new addition to the family decided they were worth chewing on.. resulting in a lovely little hole needing repaired.. So I figured, rather than letting one of my favourite pairs of socks go to waste, that I would give mending a go...

This is what it looks like on the outside...

And oh look... they are wearing thin anyway, which is why I decided to just go over the first two to three inches. That should cover up where they will be getting the most wear and tear.. Kind of figured it would be the heel that would go first, but I guess I don't walk enough on my heel...

And here it is... Been working a little on this yarn throughout the past two days.. Figured that I would be good and get all my yarn spun before I start working on my socks... Which is proving to be quite the test in patience... I find myself wandering around aimlessly, lost and without purpose lol... A bit odd since I still have plenty of yarn to spin!

Navajo plying with my drop spindle

Oh wow am I good! Well OK, not so modest, but without doubt very good...
I decided, especially since I swear more than a road raging trucker during rush hour while trying desperately to ply using a spindle, that I ought to learn to ply using the Navajo method.

Alright, distractions... I figured why on earth not right?? Well after watching a few videos on line.. I decided I would give it a go. I had already been working on some lace yarn, but since I have done that so much lately, I unwound what I had and started off with a good dose of swearing and a handful of yarn...

My brain isn't putting this all down all too well right now.. so here are a few pics of what Ive done so far.

**I should note that I plied my yarn while spinning, I did not go back and ply it after the spinning was finished.**
You may need to fudge around a little to figure out the beginning loop, it's been a while since I've used my hand spindle (spinning wheel yay! too much fun) and can't remember well enough to explain just yet. I will try to figure that out some time, and maybe get gutsy enough to make a video tutorial.

You do need to start with a loop in order for this to work. Once you have that loop, don't lose it! You will need it in order to keep pulling up a new loop each time.

Once your loop is long and looks like it does in the picture to the left, spin your spindle in the opposite direction that you had originally spun your yarn.

Don't worry if you goof, I've done it plenty... Just un-spin and re-spin the proper direction.

And this is what it should look like! (pictures below show it better).

Now, while keeping track of your look, wind your plied yarn around your spindle (I do two double hitch knots in order to keep my loop and plied yarn snug, I don't want them to un wind or loosen on me here).

When everything is in order and you are ready to start again. You spin your spindle in the original direction, draft out some yarn and spin it a little more snuggly than you would normally (now is a good time for over spinners to relax and enjoy that they can get away with a little extra twist in their single).

Once you have a workable length (enough that you are comfortable with), gently pull your single through the loop, even it out and spin in the opposite direction.

And now, simply start it all over again, and soon enough, all your yarn will be spun and plied!

 

 

11/30/2010

 

Just sharing a few more pics of this yarn.. and one of my daughters. I finally decided to break down and try teaching her to spin.. Not only is she spinning, but I've got her learning the Navajo plying method.. not too bad for her first go (her yarn is the white :) ).

 

 



What a day.. There is so much to do, and this is merely a break from housework. Thought I would share a little from another spinning project I've got going on...

DPN's VS 2 Circular Needles

Decided to take another stab at knitting two at a time socks using two circular needles... What a mouth full!!

Though I am really starting to enjoy getting both socks knit at the same time... meaning they will both get done at the same time and I wont have to knit the second sock!!

I am however, finding it to be insanely  fiddly compared to using dpn's. I'm sure this can be explained away though, since I did learn to knit socks using dpn's, and really, it didn't start out so well either. So, I will keep plugging away at this pair of socks until they are done before I make up a final decision on using two circular needles.

Though this will bring about a whole other serious debate... how well will it work with stranded colour work?? I do have to admit that the thought sort of scares me off a little....

Aside from all this yarn I have on the way, I have already planned out another project. Not that I enjoy being ridiculously cold, but I have kind of been looking forward to winter... you know, nice cosy pair of wool socks. Now I just love the pair I made myself last year, http://www.ravelry.com/projects/Samaria/selbudeath , but I really want another pair... The first pair was made out of 100% wool, meaning they have to be hand washed... and though this doesn't necessarily scare me off, but that wool just doesn't seem to have as much bounce/stretch to it as the merino wools I've been working with... So, I really have to dive in and make another pair. However, a few slight changes to the pattern are in order. I am thinking longer socks this time... I know, where on earth would I wear them? I don't know!! I just want them! Maybe I will just have to make a few pairs?

Well, I'm not all that sure what else to rant on about... so I'm off to work on these socks some more... struggle away with those circular needles lol.

As always, busy finishing up projects and adding more to the pile.

More yarn is on it's way... Will be making some mittens/gloves for Christmas gifts... Been working on spinning some yarn too. I think that will be a gift for someone as well. Just trying a little something different in order to mix the two colours together. I will post all the pics of the step by step process I am using to achieve what I am hope full after. Fingers crossed it will work out.

And very excited! I just finished up a pair of socks for myself. It's been a while since Ive made myself a pair of socks, so I had to treat myself to some.

 

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/grn-ist-die-hoffnung

 

So I have been busying my hands trying desperatly to make Christmas gifts for family/friends.. and there is a LOT of them :) And I'm really not sure I will even get a quarter of the way through them this year... a little disapointing, but atleast there is always next year!

Considering all the work I've been doing too, I have decided to treat myself to a new pair of socks as well... Been eyeing up a certain pattern for a while now and since I have a handful of sock yarn littering my home now, I am going to make them! I will certainly be posting a pic of them the further I get with them... I am so excited for new socks.. It is funny the things you just love and can't get enough of as you get older... I just love socks! Silly for sure, but still love socks :p

Alright.. so I'm not so much a scarf person as a cowl person. Why? Well, I really don't know.. I decided to rip back the scarf I had been working on before I had gotten any further with it. Wanted to avoid as much guilt over wasted time as possible. Mind you, finding out what you would rather have and seeking it out before wasting it, isn't much of a waste of time :)

I will get some pictures up of the new cowl as soon as I get my butt into gear. This lack of sleep, mass quantities of canned good and weather are just not working with me :( The change in season just doesn't seem to be in the mood for creeping in slowly... Lot's of fog and cold crispness in the morning... winter is poking it's foot in the door... Nice incentive to get working on the cold weather knits I suppose :)

OK, I'm doing terribly at keeping my blog up to date :( But in my defense, I have been doing a ton of canning... and oh how tiring it has been.

I did however, get two pairs of mittens done (save for a thumb on one), one of the very secret socks I've been working on.. and yes, very secret until Christmas... and it's killing me! I want to show them off so badly... and I think everyone that comes over is getting sick of seeing it lol.. Soon though, and if I manage to convince myself to get it written into a pattern and sent away to my most favourite yarn shop, It will (in my dreams of course) be chosen to sell in their store of independent designers... I know, I'm kind of getting ahead of myself, but I am just too excited about this pair of socks...

And before I forget about my hand spun yarn I've been working on... I've started to knit a scarf out of it... was kind of on my "To Knit" list. Very nice scarf.. but I'm starting to fear that this is just not the right yarn for the job... I'm still very mixed on that.. but here is a teaser of it so far...

So.. what do you think? I'm kind of unsure about it really.. I do love the first part of it.. maybe I will turn it into a cowl or shawl or maybe something of the sort... Oh decisions!

010/10/2012
Right!! I almost forgot to post the pic! Decided I would rip out the scarf and start on a different one... more or less a huge cosy cowl. So here is the pic of it!

Alright! Im not really doing very well when it comes to keeping up with my blog :( Still have to work on that one.

Been workin gon my yarn still... some socks and mittens, and trying to figure out what to do with the random colours of left over yarn I have.

I am now up to two smaller hanks of my pink/white handspun yarn and working on a third... Im really starting to think Im going to wind up with up to six or more! Should be great if I do though... not entirely sure how much there is in the way of yardage since my nasty little gadget I bought just doesnt seem to want to work for me... I great detest that thing! My yarn scale however, just awesome!! So atleast I will know how many oz or grams I am working with... but I will have to figure out yardage the good old fashioned way... or, well... maybe this will be a great time to track down my calculator :)

The pair of socks I am working on, a surprise for someone, are turning out to be pretty cool! I did rip them back at least a half dozen times though... I think times of great boredom would be a good time to figure out how to work knew heels, not when Im trying to get something done... didnt work for me, so back to the tried and true heel flap :(
Although I do greatly dislike the heel flap... Don't get me wrong, it works great, I just dont like the fit it offers... I do greatly preffer the short row heel and toe above all.. something about simple things that make like so much more enjoyable :)
I will certainly share some pics of these socks when I am done, though they will have to wait until after Christmas...

The mittens I finished up yesterday... after a few moments of muttered curses under my breath.. and many days of arms tossed into the air in disgust.. I have finished them! I did have to shorten them and figure out a nice way to finish the tips, they have (aside from a few mistakes) turned out rather nicely... Once I finish weaving in ends and blocking them I will post pics of them.

OK.. not so impressed.. I think my yarn turned out pretty good considering the mass confusion on the plying end of it all... My hands and brain just didn't want to work together on this one. Tangle galore and a few breaks, but in the end it turned out... Now to make more! Not sure I'm too excited about it considering the disaster this round turned into..

 All wound around my new toy.. love this thing.

Just tossed it into the bath...

And hanging to dry.. so fun. Now off to spin more :)

Well, I wish I could say I was away on vacation.. but really I have no excuse for neglecting my blog :( But! I just recieved a parcel full of roving and sock yarn!! Now I just need to decide if I want to spin or knit first!

Ok, I can't focus.. be back later when I can, and I will tell you all about it.



9:44 pm

And I'm back! I've got a few new projects on the go.

First off, a pair of mittens I've been working on the past few day while awaiting my parcel of yarn and roving... thankfully it showed up today since I was getting a little antsy about it.
I have since put them down and begun work on a pair of socks for some very close to mylife.. I cannot go into specifis just yet as they are going to be a surprise. Not just as a gift, but as rememberance to past memories.. (fingers crossed more good then bad).
The next awaited project is some more roving... white and pink. Since I have not gotten the supplies together in order to dye my own roving, I have decided I would try a little something. I have taken both the pink and white and gently folded them together and started to spin them.  Here are a few pics of it so far..

OK, so I have failed with keeping this blog up to date... at least for a while anyway.
It has just been so hot so far, and I'm finding it so hard to get anything done :( But... I did get a small shawl finished!

If my pathetic attempt at blocking this shawl using only a towel and straight pins (thankfully I sew or I wouldn't even have those!) didn't bugger up the top edge of the shawl I would be beyond ecstatic... but, the straight edge leaves little to be desired.. the rest however, just wonderful!

~Carrots you say?~

Carrots or Coffee? And what did I pick.. carrots of course!
And well, it really didnt turn out nearly as cool as I thought.... though, it is kinda neat... I suppose....

Above is how my latest batch, first attempt at a natural dye.... it did take some of the colour, but not as much as I had hoped...

Here is what I turned my first two batches of handspun yarn into... I didnt have enough for a decided gift, so I turned it into a cowl. And being that I lack much in the way of winter wear, and that I live in the most awesome north (Canada!!), I kind of neet it... who knows, maybe this year I will finally invest in some mitts and a toque too??

~It's been so long...~

Ah well... now that my bad week is over, and the many lazy weeks in between.. here is hoping I will get a little more attention directed to my blog..

Been working on a cardigan for myself... one sleeve left to go!!
Also got more going on with my spinning... keep looking at what I have and wonder if I should keep going, or just call it quits with what I have... Im leaning towards keeping up with the work Im doing. I find it so hard to just quit when there is so much more yarn to spin.. the possibilities!! Wonder if I should try to dye it with carrots or coffee??? I find I have an abundance of both and neither will be missed so greatly... so, what to choose??
Decided, since my latest spinning endevor has brought about a very fine thread, to just keep going with it rather than trying to make more to go with the first two batches... so, I made a really awesome cowl that I will treat myself to come winter time.. pics to follow so dont get antsy yet :)
Finished up the socks for my father-in-law and have the BEST idea for my Dad's socks! I will post a string of these pics nearer to the end of dec... I know, its a long time to wait... I dont even know if I can help myself from posting pics as I go.... anyway, just a little teaser about them.. it will bring some childhood to the present :) Memories, as far as Im concerned, are something to be treasured.. after all, they have proven time and again to make the best stories to share with family/friends. I know he will love them... perhaps enough to get msity eyed?
As for my hubby... his will be green ( I say this freely on my blog and anywhere knit related, as he is all "whatever makes you happy.. enjoy".. so I know he wont find out lol), as for design... Im not sure if he would be delighted to get cables or just plain old st st... hmmm... try to find something manly I suppose....

And aside from that.. I think there will be a pair of delightful fingerless gloves in the works.. a soft and cozy angora I believe.. a nice little something.

Still not sure what on earth to make for my Mom though :(  I want to make her something she can wear and show off.. some little treasure she can brag about time and again... a pretty scarf maybe?

Well, there is more now... but here is my little thread Ive been working on... yes I know. Doesnt look that skinny... but it is good enough for my third go at spinning :)

 And well, this is the latest pic of my cardigan right now... it only needs one more sleeve now.

And ok, so this radish is not exactly knit... but it is the first thing I have pulled out of my garden so far!!! Very exciting.. this poor little guy was the only thing in my garden for the longest time... still sparse, but there are at least a dozen or two more radish and a bunch of carrots... and here is hoping my pea's will grow!!

~Spinning cont~

Was so excited the other day I didn't manage to get these pics posted on my blog! But here they are... plying my yarn... now that was an experience! Could have used and extra pair of hands :)

Here she is... all finished and ready to take a bath!

Still needs a bath... but you get the idea :)

Worked out really well.. I just had to make some more!

Decided I couldn't wait to use them... and for the life of me, couldn't figure out the yardage on how much yarn I had.. way to go sad math skills :(
In the end though, I will have to make one or two more balls to finish my project.. good thing I have lots of roving left over :)

~Spinning~

As frustrated as I am... This is just too exciting!!

First, for the life of me, I can not find my video on spinning.. and it was so easy to follow and so great! So, off on the adventure on my own, I've begun spinning some yarn!

Started off with slightly fat old yarn.. figured it was OK since I was just starting.. quickly I was able to get close to a sport/fingering weight and continued like that for a bit... until I began hitting a snag. Not literally, but close enough... it was getting way too close to a lace weight!!! Yikes!!!!
I did manage to get that straightened out though... and managed to get my way through one little chunk of roving.. now I get to add more!!!

So, I'm not even done spinning a sliver of this roving and I think once I am done with it (and since I bought so much, I should have enough) I already have a plan for it... and know it will be really very appreciated.

YES!!!!!! It is finaly here!!! I can now, wait until my kids go to bed :(
But oh the glory and awesomeness that awaits!!!! Very much itching to dig into that roving!!!

As if I don't have enough yarn as it is... but I am so excited! Just ordered myself yarn to make a cardigan for myself! So excited and can't wait for it to get here. And, if I'm right, it should be here in about a week to two weeks.
 Being that it is a cotton yarn, a fibre I have only used for dish cloths so far, it should prove interesting. I'm definitely an animal fibre kind of gal.... but since it is cotton, it will give me something nice to wear in the warmer months. Of course I will wear it all year round anyway :)

Ok, so not only did my pic not work, but I have lost everything Ihad typed out :(
So, I will just stick to uploading pics on my computer only. My husband just got me a tablet and since I am so addicted to it right now... I figured I would try it out with uploading pics with it, because you never know when you,re out and about needing to upload some pics haha.

Well, off to knit some more on these tardis socks... and since my spindle and roving didn't show up today, I will have the weekend to get as much done on them as I can. Once my spindle shows up, I have no idea when I will put it down.

Alright... so these socks are not working out well... its all the sizing that has got me running around and on the verge of pulling out my hair!

My first go at it, they wound up too big, thankfully they will be easy to re do. The problem is trying to get the size and fit just right... and being that I can walk on over and grab the foot of the person they will belong to... my husband is patiently (as patiently as any man with no knitting desires goes) acting as Guinea pig...

The second attempt ended quite abruptly, when looking over my notes I noticed that I was now using a needle size larger than what my first attempt was butchered with... I was supposed to use a size smaller, or two sizes smaller than with my second attempt..

So, here I sit... at a slight impass... at least until I figure this out, and hopefully I get it figured out before my spindle gets here....

Yay!!!!! My box of yarn arrived this morning! So thankful I was able to get that last pair of socks done before this box arrived.. cause here we go, new pair of socks to start today!
And oh boy, I can not wait to get the next box... I ordered a spindle and roving.. along with a few other goodies too! I am so excited about it. I am going to teach myself to spin yarn... hahaha, I'm just so excited about it. I'm all giddy and giggly just at the thought of it!

Here is what I just got this morning.....

I will post a few more pics of these socks as I go...

And the books!!! Oh don't even get me started on those! I was so excited about the thought of spinning I forgot about my books!!! The many more possibilities for sock patterns.. my brain is being bogged down with them all!!!! AH!!! OK, I am going to get started on these socks right away... they are going to be for big feet, so its going to take a bit of math (a terrible subject for me) to get just the right size figured out... that is going to be the worst part.. but the rest, a breeze. So, I'm off to figure this out!


12:35pm
~Update~

Alright... so I missed a step, got all excited and ahead of myself... Happy to say I am now ready to begin knitting these socks!
In all the excitement, I had forgotten that I needed to wind this hank into a ball before I could use it! Well, here it is... and oh wow is there a lot more than I had expected there to be. Awesome though, because I can most likely get another pair of socks out of the bare yarn. Or, at the very least, two pairs of child's socks.

3:58pm

Well, so far the cuff is done! Ready to start work on the first chart... and here is hoping that they will be the right size! Going to have to shanghai the hubby's foot to test it out.. but keeping in mind that I will have to make these socks about a half inch shorter than his feet... Don't want to make them too big.. the recipients feet aren't as big as the hubbies.

Here is a pic so far...

10:38pm

And I am done for the night....

First Christmas gift done!! One in the mail now... still waiting for my yarn and books to get here :(
This is not one of my patterns, I found it on Ravelry and thought it was just too cute! Decided I would have to make a pair for someone. Below is where you can find the pattern and a few pics of my finished project.
Unfortunately, try as I might, I was not able to get as close to the actual colour as I would have liked...
The yarn I used was KnitPicks - stroll in Peapod.

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/owlie-socks