tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-289003922024-03-13T08:15:11.478-04:00Knitting Between the LinesA grad student tries to find the time to knit... and spin... and tell the world about it too!Lazulihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05190270995311616124noreply@blogger.comBlogger187125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28900392.post-57215070982052277462009-01-29T13:47:00.003-05:002009-01-29T14:24:32.827-05:00An FO in fabricI never really know how I get obsessed with certain ideas. Suffice it to say, recently I decided that our bedding needed a facelift. We'd been using a tan duvet cover with a really basic pattern on it, somewhat leafy and flowery without offending Coffeeboy's lack of interest in overly feminine bedroom decorations. The comforter, however, was proving too hot for a house in the south with the heater located in the attic right above the bed, so we'd switched to using a lightweight down blanket covered by a nice quilt. I missed the scrunchy comfortableness of down, though, so I found a lighter-weight down comforter on sale and bought it. According to my measurements, however, it wouldn't fit in our old comforter cover. Of course, I now see that my measurements might have been wrong, which was perhaps simply an excuse to try a new type of project...<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/27741849@N00/3236432683/" title="duvet-cover-fabrics by lazuli_knits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3096/3236432683_f5c54c07ac_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="duvet-cover-fabrics" /></a><br /></div><br />... that of making a duvet cover with a quilted top. I decided I didn't want to hurt the nice quilt we'd been using by making it into a duvet cover; besides, it would have been too warm. So maybe if I made a patchwork quilt top and quilted it to the middle layer, leaving the space between the middle and bottom layers to stuff the duvet into, it would work. I searched the internet and found <a href="http://www.craftstylish.com/item/10897/how-to-make-a-patchwork-duvet-cover">this inspiration</a>. Coffeeboy asked it it had to be so flowery, and I said, no, "not necessarily." (It's still flowery. Maybe not as flowery as he hoped to avoid, though!)<br /><br />I bought some fabric and laid it on the bed to make sure it would look all right. I bought a yard of each fabric in order to have plenty of material to play around with. I also bought a white king-sized sheet for the middle layer and a pretty blue sheet for the bottom layer and borders. The king size would give me room to fiddle with on a queen-sized bed. (Actually, my first fabric purchases didn't work; they were too dark, so I went back and got others, which you see here). Magellan, the most frequent denizen of the bed since she's there both night and day, watched on curiously.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/27741849@N00/3237275150/" title="fabric on bed by lazuli_knits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3362/3237275150_70cf79c16a_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="fabric on bed" /></a><br /></div><br />I cut the fabric into big blocks (less sewing that way), and laid them out on the bed to see what looked nice.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/27741849@N00/3236431281/" title="cut pieces by lazuli_knits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3103/3236431281_daec041dce_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="cut pieces" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/27741849@N00/3237273786/" title="testing a layout by lazuli_knits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3262/3237273786_4df92997e2_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="testing a layout" /></a><br /></div><br />Not bad, not bad! But now I had to sew. And sew, and sew.<br /><br />I don't know why, but the sewing machine sort of scares me. Ok, not quite <i>scares,</i> but it's so much more complicated than a wheel or two knitting needles. All those settings, sharp points moving rapidly... it's never been my forte. Plus, you have to have the iron on all the time, heating up the room, and the bulb in the machine makes everything around it hot, too. I also tore around the house trying to find the manual, just to make sure I was using the right needle and so on, and I couldn't find it. The cats looked on in alarm: why was I running around and tearing into things as if I were as crazy as they are?<br /><br />Eventually I plunged ahead without the manual, sewing, sewing. My goodness, was it a lot of fabric.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/27741849@N00/3237273072/" title="sewing the pieces by lazuli_knits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3464/3237273072_e57a5997e6_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="sewing the pieces" /></a><br /></div><br />So much fabric that eventually the machine protested and I needed to do some basic maintenance, but I didn't have the manual. Coffeeboy, wanting me to return from the land of obsessive sewing, no doubt, found it online for me, and downloaded it, the better to get his spouse back, I expect. I had been sewing Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday... it was time to finish the thing so we could use it (and so that we could finally watch the <i>Lost</i> series premiere and retrospective, something the sewing hadn't permitted)!<br /><br />I laid the quilt/duvet cover out on the living room floor, much to Juniper's amusement. "What is this new rug," she must have wondered! Magellan came into the room and demonstrated that it wasn't a rug: she promptly pounced on the fabric just as she often does with our bedcovers. Was it ever huge! It was as big as our living room rug! Had I really sewed that much in just a few days?!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/27741849@N00/3236429197/" title="laying it out by lazuli_knits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3359/3236429197_5a6058dcd7_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="laying it out" /></a><br /></div><br />A little more sewing proved that the effort was well worth it!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/27741849@N00/3236428423/" title="finished quilt object by lazuli_knits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3079/3236428423_7e1e272671.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="finished quilt object" /></a><br /></div><br />Magellan also checked out her new napping environs, and seemed well-pleased with the results.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/27741849@N00/3237270830/" title="Magellan examines the new bed by lazuli_knits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3472/3237270830_ccb32c5bd9_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="Magellan examines the new bed" /></a><br /></div><br />The comforter and its cover are cozy, just the right warmth, and such pretty colors! I almost feel that I've never made such a "me" project before. I love the colors; they make me think of daffodils and spring days. The cover reminds me of my favorite childhood blankie, a patchwork quilt with colorful squares. (I swear, that wasn't intentional. I'm not sure what it means that as a grown-up, I've made a patchwork quilt for my bed. I'm sure Freud would have a word or two or three to say. I'm not going to worry about that, though; it's cute and cozy; I made it myself, and I learned a lot while doing so!) <div><br /></div><div>Coffeeboy seems to like it too; he keeps calling it "folk art." I'm not sure that's a good thing, as such a designation refers to things like my amateur attempts to add snaps, and when those didn't work, buttonholes, using those extra buttons that come with clothes that I've stashed for years on end.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/27741849@N00/3236426945/" title="a real buttonhole by lazuli_knits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3472/3236426945_4187ca5277_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="a real buttonhole" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/27741849@N00/3236426197/" title="with a button, even by lazuli_knits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3437/3236426197_3c934a5e50_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="with a button, even" /></a><br /></div><br />I'm really glad I tried out the buttonholes; this forced me to use the buttonhole foot on my sewing machine and realize that it's really not that hard, at all, to do. Maybe I can actually do this sewing thing after all! Next time, of course, I'll have to measure more carefully, get a little bit better at sewing a straight line, and well... I'm not at all known for my spatial and geometric abilities, to put it mildly, so if a lack of right angles, a slightly too-snug comforter cover, and some funky buttons make something "folk art," then so be it. I'm quite pleased with the results; they are oh-so-comfy, and I'm a little bit surprised I did it at all! <br /></div>Lazulihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05190270995311616124noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28900392.post-68810377682571243872009-01-09T11:00:00.001-05:002009-01-09T11:02:11.634-05:00Paris stole my needlesCoffeeboy and I had a great time in Austria, eating wonderful food, seeking out vegetarian and fishy alternatives to wienerschnitzel, tasting beers, and taking in the music of Hadyn and Mozart in churches filled with worshippers and fellow tourists. <br /><br />But he's still in Salzburg, at a conference, and he has the camera, so I can't show you pictures yet. Instead, I have to tell you about my return journey, in which, among other things, the Paris security people took my magic loop away from me! Horrors! <br /><br />The return started early on Tuesday morning, 4:30 am Vienna time, when I and my under-the-weather honey trudged to the airport bus. (He went with me, kind soul that he is, to make sure I got there OK). Turns out that in Vienna at 4:30 AM on a Tuesday, there are lots of bars still open, and enthusiastic drunk people stumbling around the streets. Other than that, it seemed pretty safe. <br /><br />Once at the airport, I checked in on Austrian Airlines, en route to Paris. They checked my bag through Cincinnati, because I'd have to go through customs in Cincinnati (but I still needed to fly from there to Atlanta to Asheville to get home!). On my way through security, I could tell they were scrutinizing my knitting materials. In English with a strong flavor of Austria, they asked me, "You have scissors?" I showed them my little 1" sewing kit scissors, heroic travelers on many flights. "No, bigger," said the guard. So I pulled out my Monkey sock, sitting on a knitpicks size 1 (2.25mm) 32" needle. They examined the needles, checking out the way in which, when laid side by side, they resembled scissors, and sent me on my way, needles and sock intact. After that, everything went smoothly; I slept on the flight. <br /><br />I arrived in Paris, Charles de Gaulle, at about 9:30 AM. I had a couple of hours to change flights, which was good, since I still needed to check in with Air France for my connecting flight. Or so I thought. After wandering around a terminal, trying to figure out where, on earth, to check in for flights, I finally found an Air France person to ask, and he looked up my flight. At first it seemed he couldn't find my flight, but then he realized I needed to check in with Delta, who was operating the flight, a ten-minute walk away in another terminal. So off I went, tired, needing a bathroom, badly wanting a <i>pain au chocolat.</i> (This was as close to Paris as I'd get this trip, so why not?)<br /><br />Finally I walked into the Delta part of a terminal, where I was confronted with a seriously long line, and the unfortunate sight of very tired people sitting on the floor huddled around their baggage, with further bags under their eyes. I heard an American accent, and asked what was going on. Apparently the 3" of snow I'd seen upon landing had caused considerable delays and cancellations the day before, and the long line was full of people from <i>yesterday</i> trying to check in. There went my plans for both a bathroom and a lovely pastry treat. I stood in line, and stood in line, and stood in line. <br /><br />Finally, after about an hour (and about 40 feet and one small cup of coffee they were handing out) I got to a small desk about 2/3 of the way up, where two women were asking passengers questions about their luggage (has it been with you always, has anyone given you packages, etc). In my sleep deprived state, I think I answered one of the questions wrong. Since my luggage had been checked in Vienna, that was suspicious. Since I was flying alone, they were even more suspicious and then somehow it came out that I'd been traveling with my husband, but he had stayed behind. So then they asked me <i>how long I'd been married, and how well I knew my husband.</i> This wasn't very funny to me; Coffeeboy is a wonderful upstanding man, and the thought of him using me to smuggle things into the US was just plain absurd. I couldn't say that to the woman who didn't speak English well, though, and needed to be polite, so I held my frustration and conveyed my faith in my sweetie's honesty. She might have marked something on my travel documents, though, as you'll see later... <br /><br />Once passed that hurdle, I darted off to find a bathroom, locating one that actually didn't have a line, and then to find myself a much-desired <i>pain au chocolat.</i> Luckily there was a French bakery chain right there, <a href="http://www.paul.fr/" target="_blank">Paul</a>, so I stepped inside. I couldn't remember how to ask for anything in French, because my head was too full of German (and I actually know a bit of German, whereas I know about 5 words in French), so I simply said hopefully, "pain au chocolat"? And the cashier shook her head. Darn. I saw a basket plain croissant, though, and said, "due croissant." At least I'd get some sort of tasty treat out of this adventure! <br /><br />After that came the security lines. If the previous lines were an hour long, you can imagine how long the security lines were. When I finally walked through the x-ray, I could see that the technicians were spending time on my bag, yet again, and once more, and I thought, oh no. Sure enough, when my carry-on came out, they took it to the special desk and beckoned me over. They quickly located my magic loop sock (it was near the top as I'd been knitting in line), and frowned. Then they spoke amongst themselves in French and the only word I caught was "crochet." I didn't know if these two French men were simply ignorant of the finer points of fiber paraphenalia, or if the word for "knitting" in French indeed sounded like "crochet," but it didn't matter, because they switched to English and uttered my fate: <br /><br />"Is forbidden." <br /><br />I replied: "But in Vienna they said it was OK."<br /><br />"Is not Vienna. Is Paris," came the entirely expected answer. I thought to myself, oh yes, I probably shouldn't have stepped on those particular toes! Then they asked, "Do you have scissors," gesturing that I could <i>cut off</i> the offending five inches of metal. At that, I could only stare. Did I have <i>scissors</i>? Wasn't this a security checkpoint? Shouldn't I not have scissors, not even my little 1" sewing scissors which they seemed not to have noticed? <br /><br />Because it was a security checkpoint, I said, "No, I don't," and hoped they didn't find the little scissors. Instead I asked, "Is wood OK," but they apparently didn't know the word for "wood." So I pulled out my 6" bamboo DPNs and asked, "Are these OK?" <br /><br />The security guards consulted. "Is OK." Then while standing at the security table, I laboriously transferred the heel onto on DPN, and the held stitches of the top of the foot to the other. Had I been less tired and felt that comedy was appropriate, I might have dramatized it, transferring three stitches and glancing at the guards, then transferring three more. As it was, I just did them all, and then held the magic loop needle for them to take. At least I had the DPNs, but oh my... never had I had my knitting meddled with by security! <br /><br />I arrived late to Cincinnati, of course, because of the delays in Paris. I went through customs just fine -- the only thing I had to declare was 6 balls of Regia sock yarn, bought on sale in a real live German knitting store (more on that later). I got my suitcase, rechecked it on US Air (onto which I'd been rebooked), and went off to get my boarding passes. I took the train to one terminal, and found that Delta didn't have them, so I hiked over to US Air and got my passes and went to security. <br /><br />Whereupon they asked to see my other boarding passes. I thought, Great, they'll see I've been through security at least three times today, and let me through. No such luck. The "$$$$" on my ticket meant special screening, not "already screened way too much, with needles stolen besides." Had my confused answers to the security questions put a black mark on my ticket? I'll never know... <br /><br />Now, Cincinnati had a device I'd never seen before. A box into which you step, and then it blew a loud and vigorous puff of air at me. I jumped and started to panic while I waited for the light to turn green and the doors to open. I hadn't expected that - and besides, it was 6 pm on the East Coast, midnight in Vienna, and I'd been traveling for about 20 hours at that point. Finally the doors opened, I went through the usual x-ray device, and a woman who in any other situation would have looked kindly took my bags and started poking through them. It was all I could do not to cry as she swabbed things and fiddled with my beloved iPod touch. <br /><br />Finally I got out of there, got myself a bagel for dinner, and sat down to wait for my flight. I flew from Cincinnati to Charlotte, and from Charlotte to Asheville, sleeping on the flights so I didn't crash on the drive home. I got home just after midnight, or 6 AM in Austria. The cats were hungry and happy to see me. I had been awake for twenty-six and a half hours. I had traveled on four different airlines and seen five different airports, lost some needles and good bit of sanity. Day was dawning across the ocean, I fell asleep right away and slept the whole night through. The absolute worst travel of my life was over.Lazulihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05190270995311616124noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28900392.post-84689976108293025702008-12-27T23:39:00.002-05:002008-12-27T23:49:56.147-05:00Hats off to the holidaysMy previous felted hat turned out well enough that I decided to do some quick knitting, and I finished up two more felted hats, one for my mother-in-law (blue and black), and one for my mom (in her favorite shade of green, to match a scarf I knit a couple of years ago). <br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/27741849@N00/3139591922/" title="Black felted hat by lazuli_knits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3099/3139591922_1a38f639de_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="Black felted hat" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/27741849@N00/3138764805/" title="Green felted hat by lazuli_knits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3092/3138764805_0f58fd829f_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="Green felted hat" /></a><br /></div><br />I figured the moms would prefer it if a lampshade modeled the hats, rather than their faces! Both women admired their hats and forgave things like seeing the hat drying on the bowl+orange juice jug hat-drying contraption and seeing me stitch the contrasting bands onto the hats in their very presences... during which I'd reveal that this hat was not, in fact, another felted knit for myself, but something for them to take home. I didn't exactly intend it to go this way, and would have preferred the whole official opening-the-present routine, but life being what it was, I'm just glad they were finished on time!<br /><br />Coffeeboy and I had a lovely week with first his mom, and then my mom and her friend. We celebrated the first night of Hannukah one night early with my MIL, and then we celebrated Christmas two days early with my mom... and ever since then, my clock has been somewhat messed up! <br /><br />The big triumph of the week, on December 21st, was getting the antique wheel to spin!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/27741849@N00/3138764013/" title="Eleanor spins by lazuli_knits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3211/3138764013_eda3ed5220_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="Eleanor spins" /></a><br /></div><br />I haven't had too much time to play around with Eleanor yet, but I really want to confirm that she still works! I've found out that she was most likely not an old family antique; my grandmother says that neither her mom nor her own grandmother were spinners, so the wheel, so far as she knows, doesn't come from them. She had no idea where my aunt and uncle got it from, but all I can say is that I'm grateful it came from somewhere, because it's a beautiful treasure to have.<br /><br />Speaking of being confused about the time, Coffeeboy and I head off to Austria and Munich, Germany, tomorrow, for a fun New Years' trip! His dean asked him to return to the early January conference he went to last year, so this time we took advantage of the advance notice and booked a trip for the two of us the week before the conference. Tomorrow we're off to Europe! I will certainly keep my eyes out for any gems of a yarn store in my travels!Lazulihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05190270995311616124noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28900392.post-50703437622410373242008-12-18T14:22:00.004-05:002008-12-18T17:19:58.926-05:00A very special WIPWhen I drove home from New Jersey last week, I packed a very special item into my car. I took it apart carefully, I wrapped it in towels and secured it with seatbelts, just as you would a new baby you're bringing home for the first time. (OK, not quite just as, but nearly so). <div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/27741849@N00/3109031634/" title="wheel-back by lazuli_knits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3167/3109031634_3f0d2df6d9_m.jpg" width="180" height="240" alt="wheel-back" /></a><br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/27741849@N00/3108195551/" title="flyer-bobbin-whorl-2 by lazuli_knits, on Flickr" style="text-decoration: none;"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3047/3108195551_136403aa53_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="flyer-bobbin-whorl-2" style="text-decoration: underline;" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); "> </span></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/27741849@N00/3118132843/" title="maidens cleaned by lazuli_knits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3111/3118132843_6101cc3237_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="maidens cleaned" /></a><br /></div><br />Still confused? I may have alluded to this particular WIP a couple of months back, during my September trip north. I can't seem to find a reference, though, so we'll just have to pretend that I warned you that at some time in the future, something really, really cool would be coming home with me from New Jersey!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/27741849@N00/3109042562/" title="antique-wheel by lazuli_knits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3135/3109042562_ece5e71770.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="antique-wheel" /></a><br /></div><br />This is an antique wheel that, for as long as I can remember, has stood in the front entryway to my aunt and uncle's farm. Ever since I started knitting, and then spinning, I've eyed it occasionally, and when I visited my relatives in September, they got to asking about how spinning worked, and whether or not the wheel in front hall had all its parts. Finally my uncle just came out and said, "what we're driving at is that this wheel is just decorative for us, and we'd love to see it put to use by someone who knows how. Would you like to talk it home with you?" To which I said, in a voice full of emotion, "I would love that." <div><br /></div><div>This most recent trip, we cleaned and polished the wheel. My uncle has an interest in wood-working, and my aunt in horses (so she knows about leather), so with their help, we took parts of the wheel apart, cleaned it with a wood cleaner, and "fed" it with some Howard's Feed n' Wax. My aunt soaked the leather that holds the flyer in some leather toner that she uses for her saddles, and my uncle brought in an awl and mallet to help with some of the small pegs, as well as finding soft cloths and the cleaning and polishing items. </div><div><br /></div><div>When I headed home, I put the wheel in one seatbelt and wrapped it with a towel, and the bench behind the other passenger seatbelt. I wrapped the wheel's posts, the mother of all, and other parts, in towels on the floor of my car, and upon arrival at home, after greeting Coffeeboy, immediately set to putting it back together again. So now my home has been graced by a truly beautiful wheel. My aunt thinks she remembers seeing it in her grandmother's home -- my great-grandmother's home -- so in her honor, I'm calling the wheel Eleanor. <div><br /></div><div>The wheel has some problems: the maidens and mother of all were wobbly; the flyer and the bobbin don't quite fit right together yet; the drive bands are sometimes crooked and fall off. But with help from the internet (and especially the Antique Spinning Wheel group on Ravelry). I'm getting her put back together again. Hopefully I'll have this WIP up and working in just a little while! </div></div>Lazulihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05190270995311616124noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28900392.post-19090230901010692212008-12-15T21:39:00.002-05:002008-12-15T21:54:22.289-05:00Third hat's the charmWell, in my second-to-last post, I showed some funny pictures of a hat that didn't quite fit. The saga has ended, but not without some to-dos in between. The first hat ended up like a glorified cat bed. There was the second hat, a Stirling cloche (Ravelry link) made out of Berroco Ultra Alpaca that ended up looking like a bit of felted muppet. The third hat ended up - just right! Third time's the charm, they say. <div><br /></div><div>Remember this hat? The cat is for size. </div><br /><div><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/27741849@N00/3111547465/" title="Gretel-cat by lazuli_knits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3076/3111547465_72055f7b44_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="Gretel-cat" /></a><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Well, here you see the hat on the left - <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">after</span> felting - with a normal-sized beret to the right. Oops! </div><div><br /></div><div> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/27741849@N00/3111546061/" title="Gretel-comp1 by lazuli_knits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3020/3111546061_c85d14c2f4_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="Gretel-comp1" /></a><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Glorified cat bed, indeed... Obviously, that wasn't going to work, and I wanted an actual, honest-to-goodness felted hat, only this time, I thought I'd try a nice, classic cloche. So I knit up a bunch of Berroco Ultra Alpaca, foolishly held double.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/27741849@N00/3112373394/" title="Stirling 2A by lazuli_knits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3108/3112373394_ec7cd7a850_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="Stirling 2A" /></a><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Thus, the felted muppet. Again, oops. </div><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/27741849@N00/3112374446/" title="Stirling1C by lazuli_knits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3197/3112374446_a3712d1342_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="Stirling1C" /></a><br /><div><br /></div><div>So, I tried again, determined to get it right this time. Third time's the charm, right? This time, I broke out the Cascade 220, the size 10.5 needles, and about 100 stitches, and cast on for what I hoped would be a charming hat. Cascade 220 is supposed to felt like a charm, right? So why not give it a go, I thought. </div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/27741849@N00/3111542881/" title="Stirling1B by lazuli_knits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3072/3111542881_b90835d505_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="Stirling1B" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/27741849@N00/3112376320/" title="Stirling-1a by lazuli_knits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3087/3112376320_c4184f2ae0_m.jpg" width="180" height="240" alt="Stirling-1a" /></a><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>This time, it worked out far better than I could have hoped!! </div><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/27741849@N00/3112372534/" title="Stirling2B by lazuli_knits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3102/3112372534_929facb163_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="Stirling2B" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/27741849@N00/3112371366/" title="Stirling2C by lazuli_knits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3011/3112371366_590a0fbfe8_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="Stirling2C" /></a><br /><div><br /></div><div>I love this hat! I love it so much I've cast on for another for a holiday gift, and am hoping to do yet another. When I really put my mind to it, I can crank out a big loopy stockinette hat in a few hours, and hopefully have them done for the holidays.</div><div><br /></div><div>Unfortunately, the other hat - the interview - didn't land me a job. I had a good experience at the interview, though, and learned a lot about what I could do better next time. Now we just need to keep our fingers crossed for a good outcome for both Coffeeboy and myself, somewhere, but that good outcome is looking farther and farther away, much to our disappointment. We started the fall with many good possibilities, and they are all disappearing. I keep trying to keep my chin up about it all, but sometimes it's hard to look on the bright side. Maybe a happy holidays will make the time and waiting pass a little bit better. </div>Lazulihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05190270995311616124noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28900392.post-15096851599594441012008-12-01T14:06:00.004-05:002008-12-01T14:14:44.741-05:00Finding a hat that fitsWe've all heard the phrase "if the shoe fits" and "wearing many different hats." Well, this week my life has a little bit of both. <div><br /></div><div>Luckily, it's not shoes, but socks, and these socks fit admirably and they even match!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/27741849@N00/3071836003/" title="conference socks FO by lazuli_knits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3269/3071836003_0576489a20.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="conference socks FO" /></a><br /></div><br />These are the conference socks made with Regia (details at <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/Lazuli/conference-socks-2008">Ravelry link</a>) that I knit in Chicago and in California, finished a couple of weeks ago and finally photographed. I love that I was able to keep the stripes aligned! This took some doing, unfortunately, in that about halfway through the second ball, there was a knot, and after the knot, the pattern started going backwards. Yes, backwards. So I had to wind down to the end of the ball and re-wind it from the outside in in order to get the colors to stick together. This happened somewhere on the middle of the foot of the second sock. As you can see, it all ended up just fine!<br /><br />Slightly more scary of course are the hats I need to wear. This hat, for example, is scary just because of its sheer size - its <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">unintended</span> sheer size. Here is Gretel, and it's not half-done yet and it already envelops my face!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/27741849@N00/3072673138/" title="gretel-wip by lazuli_knits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3270/3072673138_d2347c7fb7_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="gretel-wip" /></a><br /></div><br />Clearly at this point I started thinking about making a <i>felted</i> cabled beret, not just a cabled beret! I also started wondering if this was one hat I just couldn't wear, one that was just too, too big.<br /><br />There's another really big hat I'm desperately fit my head into (or around, as the case may be), and that's an <b>on-campus interview!!!</b> It's a rural SLAC (that's "small liberal arts college") in Pennsylvania, given that I'm not yet finished with my PhD, I'm really honored to have been asked to campus. Regardless of what happens with the job, this will be an excellent, if nerve-wracking, experience to have. So, while I've been working on a hat that's just plain too big, I've been preparing for my interview.<br /><br />The toughest part to prepare is my sample class. Can you believe it, I've gotten through graduate school without having to plan my own class from the ground up? I've only been a teaching assistant, meaning that I've led entire classes on material other people (the professors) have picked out. So I have to give a sample class on a topic from the survey course they'd want me to teach. I need to create something that's engaging, that demonstrates my very-much still-evolving teaching style, that fosters discussion and also reveals how do at speaking for a longer amount of time (so, a very very short lecture), and that requires absolutely no advance preparation on the part of the students.<br /><br />A big hat to put on, indeed.<br /><br />The Gretel hat, certainly, came out too big. Way too big. This is not a tam, nor a beret -- as Coffeeboy said, it looks like I'm wearing an orthodox Jewish woman's headcovering. I thought perhaps I needed to grow a lot more hair and shape it into dreds or braids to fit the hat around, but either way, this is no tam. <br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/27741849@N00/3075267264/" title="Gretel FO2 by lazuli_knits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3179/3075267264_d12d7a7a09_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="Gretel FO2" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/27741849@N00/3074432981/" title="Gretel FO1 by lazuli_knits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3232/3074432981_6acc79fc77_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="Gretel FO1" /></a><br /></div><br />I can only hope that the hat of aspiring scholar, teacher and professor fits a little better... but first, we need to felt this fiber and see if it's destined to be a nice felted tam, a cozy cat bed, or something else entirely!</div>Lazulihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05190270995311616124noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28900392.post-37840215643956577372008-11-29T13:44:00.002-05:002008-11-29T13:51:08.395-05:00Happy Thanksgiving!A little belatedly, I'm wishing all of you a wonderful, happy thanksgiving, full of family, friends, and good food. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/27741849@N00/3068880348/" title="Thanksgiving table 08 by lazuli_knits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3015/3068880348_ff417d8a81.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Thanksgiving table 08" /></a><br /><br />Coffeeboy and I, after a summer and a semester of too much traveling, decided to stay home this year and have a cozy vegetarian Thanksgiving for two, complete with leftovers. We ate a soup in a pumpkin (a childhood favorite, always risky given the pumpkin's tendency to collapse; this we avoided by using a pie pumpkin), a cheese-nut loaf, cranberry relish, stuffing, and of course, pumpkin pie. <br /><br />Mine turned brownish-gray and looked kind of gross, but it tasted fine! I'm not sure why this happened. Coffeeboy's google research reveals that this might have had something to do with either the inclusion of alcohol, too many spices, too-old cloves, or a lack of brown sugar. Whatever the cause, it was my first time using my great-aunt's recipe, which includes brandy and scalded milk, rather than no alcohol and condensed or evaporated milk. I also forgot to read my mom's notations ,which said things like "use 1/2 brown sugar," "use more spices," and "use 3 T brandy instead of 1 T." Given that her pies were never gray or brown, I bet it was my forgetting of brown sugar. Coffeeboy says this confusion necessitates a great deal of experimentation into the methods of pumpkin pie preparation. I'm inclined to agree! ;-)<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/27741849@N00/3068041963/" title="Thanksgiving foods 08 by lazuli_knits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3159/3068041963_1310c88bdf.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Thanksgiving foods 08" /></a>Lazulihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05190270995311616124noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28900392.post-30853799715603365062008-11-20T10:41:00.003-05:002008-11-20T10:58:41.270-05:00Fiber Flirtations: CorriedaleIt's been a busy few weeks, as I've worked on fellowship applications and Coffeeboy has prepared for a campus interview. We just returned from that interview yesterday, and he feels it went well. so far as one can tell. The trip took us both across the country for a few days, to the state where I grew up, California. The weather was hot and hazy from fires, quite a change from the early winter temperatures we're having in Western NC. <br /><br />Thanks for all your good wishes after the conference! Now we'll need them to make it through the next hurdles. We won't know anything else from them until a month from now, though, so it'll be a sort of crazy month of waiting. Meanwhile, he's had another on-campus cancelled for funding reasons (or something like that) and another scheduled for sometime in late January. I'm still waiting to hear from my one interview school, but am not expecting anything until next week or the week after. And of course, if I hear nothing, then that answers that question...<br /><br />Meanwhile, I've been remiss in updating you on the spinning! As you might guess from the post's title, I'm going to start a "series" of "Fiber Flirtations" in which I'll post about my experiences spinning with different fibers. After all, I collected such a variety at SAFF that now I need to be able to talk about them! <br /><br />My first "flirtation" isn't really a flirtation, but more of a long series of dates. I spun some Corriedale pretty early on in my spinning adventures (remember this <a href="http://knittingbetween.blogspot.com/2008/01/handspun-yarn-or-rejected-writing.html">deep red gift yarn</a>?) Corriedale, as I understand it, is a longish wool, very good for beginners, so it made sense for me to spin with it both when I was starting out, trying to go thinner, and also once I wanted to go thick again. The giftee of the red yarn gifted me back with some gorgeous tweedy light-blue corriedale, a whole 12 oz. of it, which I spent much of the spring and early summer spinning. I ended up spinning it much thinner than I'd anticipated, going for a three-ply, hence the long time spent working on it. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/27741849@N00/3009445646/" title="Light blue corriedale 1 by lazuli_knits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3006/3009445646_5587a661f3.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Light blue corriedale 1" /></a><br /><br />I ended up with varying amounts on the bobbins, so I had 2 skeins of three-ply, one of 2-ply, and one of navajo/chain-ply. I think I spun and plied the yarn at a 10:1 ratio and ended up with something between fingering and sport weight. All told there's something like 930 yards there, plenty plenty to make something really nice. I think it'll have to marinate in the stash for a while while I figure out just what's right! <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/27741849@N00/3008608371/" title="Light blue corriedale 2 by lazuli_knits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3214/3008608371_25228e1a21_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="Light blue corriedale 2" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/27741849@N00/3008607547/" title="Light blue corriedale 3 by lazuli_knits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3189/3008607547_574bb01b8b_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="Light blue corriedale 3" /></a><br /><br />My next spinning adventure in Corriedale took me to Colonial wool, in a navy multi colorway from Paradise Fibers that Coffeeboy gifted me with last year. This time, I wanted to spin it thicker, aiming for a worsted. I got something closer to heavy worsted or bulky than true worsted, but oh well. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/27741849@N00/3008605883/" title="Navy colonial wool heather by lazuli_knits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3003/3008605883_7f46f97217.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Navy colonial wool heather" /></a><br /><br />The yarn is 8 oz, a three-ply, about 250 yards. I don't remember the ratio I spun this with; probably either 8: or 10:1. I also spun up 8 oz. of the same fiber in a multi-red brick colorway, but I haven't taken pictures of it yet... I think I ended up with about the same amount of yarn, though. <br /><br />I'm not yet sure what I'll do with all these new yarns; the colonial wool will probably become a hat or a cowl or something like that, I'm just not sure! What I do know is that I have 2 weeks to get a passable draft of the next chapter of the dissertation finished, and that I should probably turn my attention in that direction for a while!Lazulihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05190270995311616124noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28900392.post-26355675309213204292008-11-06T19:54:00.002-05:002008-11-06T20:09:38.853-05:00Conference socksThe conference went well; Coffeeboy's interviews went particularly well, as evidenced by the two campus interviews he's already secured! My interview went, so far as I could tell, as well as could be expected for a first-time interviewee, so we will see what happens. I don't expect to hear from the school I interviewed with for at least two weeks, so I need to hang on and be patient. <div><br /></div><div>The conference itself was - get this - right across the street from Grant Park, site of Obama's recent victory speech and screaming crowds. When we left the hotel Tuesday morning -- the very same hotel Obama would later await the results -- workers were hanging red, white, and blue flags around the hotel; red, white and blue lamps created bright streaks of color on the hotel's facade, and security guards and police cars already waited across the street at the park. </div><div><br /></div><div>Later that evening, after we'd spent most of the day on the airplane, we arrived home in time to watch the first results come in. As the conclusion came ever closer to a victory for Obama, we had a sudden feeling of regret that we hadn't stayed right there in Chicago one more day, just so we could say that we were there when the nation elected its first African-American president. But no matter, we were home, and at least among the humans, no eye was dry, and even if we weren't there ourselves, our hearts most certainly were, and are. <br /><div><br /></div><div>At the conference, while flying, and while hanging out with friends and family before the conference, I got a fair amount of knitting done, as you can see! The colors of the Regia sock really caught my attention, and I even completed one whole sock in the course of the 5-odd days we were away! </div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/27741849@N00/3008605103/" title="Conference socks 2008 by lazuli_knits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3179/3008605103_7323f4b283.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Conference socks 2008" /></a><br /></div><div> </div><div>Since I've been home, I've been getting back into the spinning. I have a lot of longwools to show you, some Corriedale and some Colonial wool (which I gather is pretty similar to Corriedale?) that I've either just finished recently, or have been waiting for the right time to post. </div><div><br /></div><div>This weekend, I'm hoping to get more sock knitting done, as Coffeeboy and I drive north to Virginia Beach for a family reunion. I have a wild dream of getting some work done while we're away, but I'm not sure it'll happen. </div></div>Lazulihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05190270995311616124noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28900392.post-86965299261179222952008-10-29T23:03:00.005-04:002008-10-29T23:32:05.500-04:00Off to a conferenceTomorrow, Coffeeboy and I head off to our big annual gathering of scholars of religion. This year we are both interviewing; it's my first time on the market and he's on again after a year off. He has lots of interview (count 'em, five!) and I have one. I'm really really proud of my sweetie for netting so many interviews! My interview is at a school I'm interested in, plus I'm still ABD, so I'm not terribly surprised I only got one. I'm taking some knitting along, a basic sock for Coffeeboy and a plain vanilla sock for myself. No need to stress myself out with difficult knitting. <div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/27741849@N00/2976261967/" title="Araucania ribbed by lazuli_knits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3247/2976261967_4bc90d1302_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="Araucania ribbed" /></a><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Coffeeboy's sock #1</div><div><br /></div><div>This week, when I haven't been prepping and researching for my interview, I spent time thinking about fiber. Last year's SAFF got me all excited about spinning; this year I got very excited about bettering my spinning, and took too few classes in that regard, so I've been reading Ravelry spinning forums and perusing some of the books on my shelves. I think I got myself thoroughly confused over whether I'm a right- or left-handed spinner; I write with my left hand, but I apparently spin right-handed (with my left in front and my right hand in back). I also decided to try the fast flyer on my Lendrum, for the first time since getting it a year ago, and wow! What a difference! It's really fun to use. I love treadling slowly but getting such a fine yarn. Maybe I'll be able to spin 3-ply sock yarn after all. </div><div><br /></div><div>In making these explorations, I did try several new things at once, never a good idea: a new flyer, different hand positions, and merino fiber, which I haven't spun all that much of yet. It seems to have gone well though. I've been playing around with some plain white fiber and have spun a first layer onto two bobbins, mostly because I felt the need to spin in order to relax the interview nerves. </div><div><br /></div><div>After this conference, I can get into my next goals for spinning, which are to explore this new flyer more, and to try out different types of fiber. As I think I hinted before, I bought a whole lotta different fiber at SAFF, and a measly amount of sock yarn, comparatively speaking: </div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/27741849@N00/2981403595/" title="SAFF loot 2008 by lazuli_knits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3205/2981403595_d24fbc70bd.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="SAFF loot 2008" /></a><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/27741849@N00/2982261114/" title="SAFF sock loot 2008 by lazuli_knits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3060/2982261114_17c7f98bf4_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="SAFF sock loot 2008" /></a><br /></div><br />For the fiber, there's merino, merino-silk blends, alpaca, alpaca-wool blends, mohair and blends - not all of it is in that picture; some of it Coffeboy has, um, stashed away for all the various events of December (birthday and holidays). I tried to go for a range of multicolored and more solid-colored fiber, too, but gave myself free range to indulge the blues. That big giant bag is about 30 oz. of fiber, hopefully way more than enough to make a sweater for Coffeeboy (I decided to err on the generous side). I might have chosen badly; the color looked so perfect for him but the fiber was made up of "little bits" rather than anything more official or "nice." It felt nice, though, and like it would draft well, so I decided to go for it. We shall see. <div><br /></div><div>The sock yarn includes two skeins from Miss Babs, and one in "Sea Silk" from the Sanguine Gryphon - yum! <br /><div><br /></div><div>Since I have to get up in a few hours to make it to the airport, though, I'm going to have to leave this post with that oh-so-tantalizing image of fiber fun to come. Wish me luck with the interview, Coffeeboy too, and all our friends who also have interviews! </div></div>Lazulihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05190270995311616124noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28900392.post-50029968844208943412008-10-26T22:30:00.003-04:002008-10-26T23:33:06.052-04:00Handspun, much funThis past weekend, we fiber-fans living in the southeastern United States -- and anyone else who cared to join - celebrated all things fibrous at the S<a href="http://www.saffsite.org/">outheastern Animal and Fiber Festival, or SAFF</a>. Unlike last year, where two of my best friends were waylaid in various ways, this year, one of them was able to come visit, and she was on a mission: to take a spinning lesson and choose a wheel. Her mission appears to have been wildly successful! (I'd love to link to her blog, but I'm not sure she wants me to.)<br /><br />My mission at SAFF (which Coffeeboy chose to accept and enable!) was to find different types of wool and other animal fibers - but I'll have to tell you more about that when I post pictures of the loot! Instead of offering you a really long post, I have some more finished objects and spinning catch up to share, plus a picture of a 4-day-old baby goat that stole the show, so to speak.<br /><br />Before I took my trip to New Jersey in September, I spun up a 4 oz. braid of BFL in "Mahogany" from <a href="http://www.lisaknit.com/">Liza Souza</a>, and also 4 oz. of a merino-tencel blend from <a href="http://www.threewatersfarm.com/">Three Waters Farm</a>. I liked the results of these so much that they immediately turned into quick little projects! In fact, the merino-tencel finished drying on a clothes<br />hanger as I drove north, much to the amusement of my aunt and uncle. (Their amusement had a happy result that I'll get to share with you one day!)<br /><br />I turned the BFL into a scarf for Coffeeboy, using the <a href="http://www.yarnharlot.ca/blog/archives/2006/10/12/one_row_handspun_scarf.html">Yarn Harlot's one-row handspun scarf</a> pattern to make a very nice husband scarf. I think it makes a great manly scarf, with the vertical ribs balancing the stripes of color.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/27741849@N00/2976250941/" title="Handknit scarf BFL far by lazuli_knits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3180/2976250941_4ae0853493.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Handknit scarf BFL far" /></a><br /></div><br />Since the yarn excited me so much, I never even took a picture of the fiber or the finished skein!! However, I did take this close-up, which gives a sense of the yarn:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/27741849@N00/2976252973/" title="Handknit scarf BFL by lazuli_knits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3286/2976252973_4210df6f94_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="Handknit scarf BFL" /></a><br /></div><br />The yarn had fantastic give and sproingyness, and was just a joy to knit. I knit it all up into this scarf in a matter of days, and presented it to a hubby who is very happy to have a lighter-weight scarf (well, lighter than his bulky weight, wrap twice around the neck winter scarf).<br /><br />The merino-tencel turned into a short "My So-Called Scarf," using only about half of the finished skein. I don't even remember how long the whole skein ended up being! I started this one in New Jersey as well, and finished it in Charleston last weekend during our quick vacation, when the weather turned unexpectedly cold. I found myself eager to wear this scarf, so I cast it off with just enough for a short scarf held closed by cool wooden shawl pin I bought at SAFF last year. This was my second time spinning with this type of fiber, and I think it came out quite nicely, not perfectly even, but certainly better than my merino attempt! <br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/27741849@N00/2976244363/" title="Autumn Sunset scarf by lazuli_knits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3059/2976244363_c3da3bda13.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Autumn Sunset scarf" /></a> <br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/27741849@N00/2977113582/" title="Autumn sunset scarf 1 by lazuli_knits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3147/2977113582_fa5ec6b7ba_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="Autumn sunset scarf 1" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/27741849@N00/2976259835/" title="Autumn sunset fiber by lazuli_knits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3020/2976259835_8af187b541_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="Autumn sunset fiber" /></a><br /></div><br />As for SAFF, I had so much fun this year in terms of looking at fiber, introducing my friend to fiber and exploring the festival with her, that I didn't actually do too much of the other online knitter meetup stuff. I brought my wheel and planned to sit and spin, but that didn't happen - oh well, there will be other opportunities! - and ran into surprisingly few of the knitters I know who live in this area. I'm sure they all had as wonderful a time as I did, visiting with a baby goat and bringing home a bunch of loot. But more on that in a day or two! <div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/27741849@N00/2977101658/" title="Star the Pigmy Goat by lazuli_knits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3164/2977101658_f2de04c8b6_m.jpg" width="180" height="240" alt="Star the Pigmy Goat" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/27741849@N00/2976247915/" title="SAFF Sheep by lazuli_knits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3176/2976247915_4f8c429e19_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="SAFF Sheep" /></a><br /></div></div><div><br /></div><div>Now, if I'd brought the goat home, it would have been a really great kidnapping, wouldn't it have been! </div>Lazulihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05190270995311616124noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28900392.post-89920083127662518892008-10-13T21:02:00.005-04:002008-10-13T21:38:48.161-04:00Handspun catchup, part 1In the first of what promises to be several catch-up posts about what I've been up to, fiberwise, I give you a spontaneous cowl knit out of merino handspun. For some reason, the yarn didn't come out very even; I think I was too excited by the pretty colors to think too much about the spinning; plus, I'm still getting used to merino. I love knitting with it, but it's a bit slippery in the spinning. <div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/27741849@N00/2940274490/" title="Blue-merino by lazuli_knits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3208/2940274490_56b2c37bd0.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Blue-merino" /></a><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>I spun this out of approximately 2 oz. of variegated merino and 1.7 oz. of teal-blue fiber, and then plied them together. With the extra 0.3 ounce, I navajo-plied that and used it at the top and bottom of the cowl. </div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/27741849@N00/2939424119/" title="Handspun cowl by lazuli_knits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3151/2939424119_77cd3782ea_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="Handspun cowl" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/27741849@N00/2940277262/" title="Cowl over face by lazuli_knits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3145/2940277262_aae076a838_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="Cowl over face" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>You can see the more solid colors at the top on the left; on the right, you can see how the variegations in the handspun from the multicolored fiber created a striped effect despite the tweedy barberpoling. </div><div><br /></div><div>This weekend, my FIL was in town, and we took him up to the Blue Ridge Parkway to go hiking, where the temperatures would be cooler (high fifties to low sixties, farenheit) and the fall colors further along. We were not disappointed in our quest! I got to wear my new cowl and get it photographed for the blog, and I also had a chance to take many pictures of North Carolina's finest fall showing. </div><div><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/27741849@N00/2939436943/" title="Ivestor gap 5 by lazuli_knits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3162/2939436943_85cfd36c84.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Ivestor gap 5" /></a><br /></div></div><div><br /></div><div>It's funny, now that I've been here a year, I've started to really notice the differences between fall foliage here in Western North Carolina, and the foliage in New England and the northeast, which will always be for me the quintessential autumn tapestry. Last year, I was still determined to like it here, and wanted to see the best in the WNC's mountain display. This year, though, as I've come to realize that this place is yet another temporary place to live, I find myself really wanting to move back north, to somewhere with real winter, with autumns of maple and oak covering the hillsides, and a real crisp chill to the air, a chill that hasn't quite hit where I live now. Certainly, the mountains do often provide this idealized setting, making it a very pleasant reality, as this photo shows:<br /></div><div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/27741849@N00/2939443113/" title="Ivestor gap 2 by lazuli_knits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3004/2939443113_03353dcc4c.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Ivestor gap 2" /></a><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Despite glimpses like this, other scenes remind me that I'm not quite where I want to be. Fall is my all-around favorite season, so it's not surprising that I'm picky. When the mountains reveal scenes like this -- </div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/27741849@N00/2939438513/" title="Ivestor gap 4 by lazuli_knits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3269/2939438513_54579795e5.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Ivestor gap 4" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/27741849@N00/2939438513/" title="Ivestor gap 4 by lazuli_knits, on Flickr"><br /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>-- scenes that are admittedly very, very gorgeous--I can't help but also see how the shrubs and the land are just somehow different from the pictures in my mind. I am probably being overly picky in my fall foliage desires, and should try harder to be happy with the fall I have, not the nostalgic fall of my memories or my imagination. At least I have a fall to enjoy! But still - but still. As I go through the academic job search this year, I find myself checking out the potential for fall in the places to which I've applied, and I haven't limited myself to places where that idealized fall could be a reality again. Whether I ever get back to that kind of a place again, such as I enjoyed in relatively-rural New Jersey, in Boston, and in Western Massachusetts, I don't know, but I do know that I'd like that very, very much. </div></div>Lazulihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05190270995311616124noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28900392.post-89396282081030531182008-10-07T09:20:00.004-04:002008-10-07T17:57:23.423-04:00Bringing back the blog?<div style="text-align: left;">Hi folks, it's been a long time, hasn't it! My summer ended up being rather crazy-busy, and if dissertation summer camp didn't indicate a busy start, it only continued from there. I left my camera, too, all the way across the country at my brother's, and it's due to arrive back with me sometime this week, allowing for actual blog pictures. <br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Until the camera returns, I'll just give you a brief recap of what I've been up to: </div><div><ul><li>three weeks traveling for research<br /></li><li>two-and-a-half weeks traveling to visit family<br /></li><li>one room-painting project (our bedroom is now a nice yellow "butterfly-bush" color<br /></li><li>some hiking, but not quite enough<br /></li><li>bunches of fresh veggies from the garden and markets canned or preserved<br /></li><li>one week-plus visit to my academic home in New Jersey<br /></li><li>twelve years of microfilm read<br /></li><li>little bits of dissertation written, certainly not as much as I'd have liked to complete<br /></li><li>rather a lot of reflecting and getting myself back on track worked on<br /></li><li>one Foliage Shawl completed<br /></li><li>one pair of socks completed, plus another, one of which was way too short and needs some work<br /></li><li>one cowl out of handspun, one scarf for Coffeeboy out of handspun<br /></li><li>a bunch of light blue corriedale handspun completed after many months of very thin spinning<br /></li><li>several academic job applications sent off (and an appropriate number of anxious dreams to complement them)<br /></li></ul></div><div>I think that just about covers the most of it! <br /></div><div><br /></div><div>As for why I'm returning to the blog after a several-month absence, I have a few reasons. Chief among them is that I had started to lose track of my projects, and figured the blog would be a good way to get back on-track. I could also use Ravelry for that, but I haven't been good, lately, about updating there, either. In fact, once the camera returns, I'm not entirely sure if I'll blog or use Ravelry. </div><div><br /></div><div>I've usually blogged about either my fiber adventures, my academic life, or about Coffeeboy's and my adventures in things like cheesemaking, gardening, hiking, or other activities that attempt to get us closer to the source of things. Sometimes I fear that the blog spent too much time on academics, and not enough on fiber. So many of you are so reflective about your pieces, about your process, about your choices or the ways you change a pattern, that my fiber-blogging always felt so matter-of-fact by comparison. "Here's an FO! Yes, it looks just like the picture. No, I didn't wildly change the pattern. I like how its [insert 'blue' or 'autumn colored' here]. I wish the sleeves weren't quite as tight as they are, but I'll try to block it and see how it goes." So you see, it doesn't exactly make for exciting blog fodder. And on a purportedly fiber-focused blog, too much ruminating over the minutiae of the dissertation or the job search just might bore many of you. </div><div><br /></div><div>Maybe that's precisely the point - no, not to bore you - rather, maybe the blog reflects the place fiber has in my life. It adds color and texture and warmth, it adds some challenge but is primarily there for relaxation and enjoyment. Especially of late, the dissertation has been challenging enough to work on from what still feels like nearly the middle of nowhere. If I'm working harder on that (or on other stuff that's taking up mental or emotional space), I want the knitting and spinning to play a different, more relaxed role. I almost think that in order for it to be relaxing, I sometimes need it also to be private, which means I don't need the extra effort of blogging about it. I guess this is what happens when an introvert tries to blog. </div><div><br /></div><div>Then, there are those friends who don't particularly care for all the fiber-stuff, and would rather hear about my life than about knitting and spinning - but since to my mind this is still, among other things, a blog about knitting "between the lines" of everything else going on in my life, the fiber will still play a role -- and I expect I'll also still write about schoolwork, hiking, or those other activities that Coffeeboy and I've taken to calling the activities of "amateur homesteading." </div><div><br /></div><div>If you're here for the fiber or here for a general idea of what I've been up to in other areas, I imagine you'll still find both. </div><div><br /></div><div>So, with that, I'll leave you with a good-faith gesture, a picture or two of "socks on a train," my handspun socks that I worked on while Coffeeboy and I chugged our way from Colorado to California this summer: </div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/27741849@N00/2921891220/" title="A sock in a dining car by lazuli_knits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2310/2921891220_64b6494ff8_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="A sock in a dining car" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/27741849@N00/2921045711/" title="Scenery and a sock by lazuli_knits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2289/2921045711_c0430243eb_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="Scenery and a sock" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/27741849@N00/2921044199/" title="Obligatory train wine-and-cheese by lazuli_knits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3231/2921044199_f717f0676a_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="Obligatory train wine-and-cheese" /></a><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>And finally, the supposedly finished socks, made of handspun BFL, too! Don't they look cute there on that train seat? </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/27741849@N00/2921893294/" title="Finished socks by lazuli_knits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3132/2921893294_46199bdb7e_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="Finished socks" /></a><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Of course, in my eagerness to finish them while still on the train, the second sock ended up being 1/2 inch too short... a month later and I have yet to undo the kitchener and actually finish it, but now that it's [Sock]tober, I might as well! </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Lazulihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05190270995311616124noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28900392.post-66445020146609951112008-06-16T22:34:00.002-04:002008-06-16T22:38:54.154-04:00Dissertation Summer CampI haven't been to summer camp in many, many years, but that's all I can think of to compare with what I'm doing now. I'm in Chicago, staying at the International House in a dorm room. A real dorm room, with a twin bed, a desk, a small bookcase, a small dresser, and some kind of wardrobe to hang clothes in. All in all it looks like a smaller version of my dorm room senior year of college (except this mirror was taken from a fun-house, and my mirror in college, as far as I can recall, didn't make my face look like the face in Edvard Munch's "The Scream.")<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); "><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3255/2586191068_9148a4da97_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="Dorm room" /></span><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">(Image taken with my computer's camera)</span></div><br />There are other things that make it feel like summer camp. For example, I'm here for two weeks - so often a classic campy amount of time. I just got here yesterday and I don't know anyone except a friend from school who happens to be here too. I don't know my way around either this dorm facility or the streets outside (but I'm learning as fast as my directionally challenged self can). I'm still figuring out where to eat and what the best routes are to get from here to there.<br /><br />And I'm spending at least eight hours a day working intensively on something. When I was a kid, this something was French horn playing. At music camps I learned I could actually play for many, many hours in a day (and my lip got really, really good.) This time, of course, I'm hanging out in an archive all day, doing dissertation research. (I brought a hoard of knitting with me, and plan to knit while listening to audiobooks after hours, but haven't gotten to it yet). It feels so similar because there's that same sense of focus and purpose, the sense of having come to this place in order to pursue a particular goal.<br /><br />In this case, that goal apparently involves having my research interrupted by the cutest of all animals, cats. The papers I'm working with are owned by a seminary, and stored in a separate building other than the library. This building houses a few students, a few offices, a bunch of manuscript archives, and best of all, two cats! I was delighted when the librarian told me not to be alarmed if a cat wandered into the room where they'd set me up to research - and indeed, a cat came trooping along and even, after I'd put away my papers for the day, plopped down next to the box I'd been perusing, and posed for my computer's camera.*<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); "><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3161/2586191086_7d77b931de_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="Archives cat" /><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span></span><br /></div><br />Every archive, it seems, has its pluses and minuses, and this one, so far, seems good for the entertainment value. It's sort of amusing to be in a dorm again (especially since there's a very definite time limit on my stay), and totally incongruous that I get to research with cats (not something I'd ever expect to see again). Even if it's weird and lonely to sit here in a dorm room with the unfamiliar noises of a city I hardly know, it's strangely comforting to think that just a few walls over, someone else is going through a similar set of feelings, just as if all us grad students were once again enthusiastic and scared little kids at summer camp.<br /><br />----<br />*Normally I'd be concerned about allergens in close proximity to precious historical materials, but I'm really careful, and believe me, if that box hadn't been closed, the cat wouldn't have been on the table!Lazulihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05190270995311616124noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28900392.post-72466895522613094152008-06-06T22:17:00.003-04:002008-06-06T22:30:50.871-04:00All my (book)-bags are packedYup, that's right, all my books are packed and I'm ready to go.<br /> <div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/27741849@N00/2557636552/" title="Book-bags by lazuli_knits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3085/2557636552_a1eb6af0c8_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="Book-bags" /></a><br /></div><br /><div>Except, that is, for two books that I'm <i>pretty sure</i> I returned in April. I really hope the library just failed to scan them in and they're happily on the shelves! <br /></div><div><br /></div><div>My school, in a fit of brilliance for their retention of books, but not for anything else like my sanity, my saving of gas, or a useful way to spend my time, requires all books checked out for the year-long period be renewed <i>in person. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; ">Yup, all however-many bags of them. Minus whichever two bags I'm returning, to lighten the return trip load, you know! </span></i></div><div><br /></div><div>Tomorrow, I drive north all day with all the books, for Part II of my very busy June. Our quick trip to the midwest was a lot of fun, and passed quickly. I didn't get much knitting done, but I did get some dissertation work done. I met a whole bunch of Coffeeboy's extended family - second cousins neither of us knew existed, giant family pictures, and way, way too much good, tasty food. In the car we listened to <u>The Time Traveler's Wife</u>, which was a really great book (and a fun one to listen to, too!)</div><div><br /></div><div>The world seems suffused in heat. Asheville currently is beating out Miami by about 15 degrees, and it's not much better up in the mid-Atlantic, either. Here's to staying cool this weekend, or enjoying the heat, whichever you prefer!</div>Lazulihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05190270995311616124noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28900392.post-74067362931083538462008-05-27T23:02:00.001-04:002008-05-27T23:06:36.000-04:00Lilac yarn and mountain laurelLast week, I finished my lilac yarn, but I haven't had a chance to let it dry / take pictures / upload them until today, when I'll share them with you!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); "><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2378/2530169144_3742727d05.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Lilac puddle" /></span><br /></div><br />I'm really happy with how this yarn came out. It's somewhere between a fingering and sport weight, 350 yards, a merino-tencel blend. Look at that tencel shine!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/27741849@N00/2530167564/" title="Lilac in sunshine 1 by lazuli_knits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3163/2530167564_a8f9b76b96_m.jpg" width="240" height="165" alt="Lilac in sunshine 1" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/27741849@N00/2530172262/" title="Lilac skein by lazuli_knits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3293/2530172262_45142cb96f_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="Lilac skein" /></a><br /></div><br />I'm very happy with how it came out, as you can imagine! There seems to be a clump of blue and a clump of pink/lilac, and then other colors, green, grey, and violet, in between. I'm looking forward to making a nice scarf out of it for next year's spring - maybe Palette or Lace Ribbon (knitty spring 2007 and 2008 respectively).<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/27741849@N00/2529353605/" title="Lilac blues by lazuli_knits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2372/2529353605_6972fce414_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="Lilac blues" /></a> <br /></div><br />Coffeeboy and I also took another hike this past weekend, and we saw some mountain laurel blooming (no rhododendrons, yet!)<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); "><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2054/2530162478_3c63ff4022.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Laurel blossoms" /></span><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">(This one is by Coffeeboy himself, lover of macro-flower-photos!)<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>It's been amazing to watch spring and then summer come out in the mountains. This weekend at a juncture between trails, we stopped for a few minutes and listened to the birds chirp, and to the wind rustling the trees. It reminded me of when I was a kid, living in the suburbs, hanging out at my friend's house. There I'd listen to the wind in her pine trees and think of hiking and camping in the Sierra Nevada mountains (we lived in CA when I was a kid). It was lovely just to take a moment to hear the wind in the trees.<br /><br />Tomorrow, we're headed out of town, to go visit Coffeeboy's family in Chicago and Milwaukee for a family event. We're driving - still cheaper than flying, especially where we're coming from and since we're going to more than one city - so we've downloaded some books to listen to, and I'm debating whether or not knitting will make me carsick! Sometimes it does, sometimes not. I'll definitely have a range of projects to choose from, though!<br /><br />When I get back, my busy month of June will already have started. I'll spend a few days renew books at my home library; much of that time will be spent traveling, also. Then, a few days after that, for the last half of June, I'm off to Chicago (again!) for two weeks to do a whole lotta research. If any of you live in or near the Windy City, let me know of some good fiber haunts to check out!Lazulihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05190270995311616124noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28900392.post-53301581720183352792008-05-19T19:16:00.004-04:002008-05-19T19:33:12.328-04:00Fibers of springtimeLately, my knitting and spinning has all been geared around the weather: a mohair sweater perfect for those ever-fewer still-cool mornings, or a braid of roving aptly named "Lilac" by the lovely folks at <a href="http://www.threewatersfarm.com/" target="_blank">Three Waters Farm.</a> (I bought some of their Lavendar-Oatmeal Goat's Milk Soap at SAFF last year, and it is di<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">vine</span>! Come to think of it, I knit <a href="http://knittingbetween.blogspot.com/2007/08/real-live-finished-objects.html" target="_blank">a stole/shawl for my mom</a> out of their merino in that same colorway!) Here is what it looks like, however, in roving and unplied singles of a merino-tencel blend (purchased at <a href="http://www.yarnsetc.com/" target="_blank">Yarns Etc. in Carrboro</a>):<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/27741849@N00/2506325143/" title="Lilac roving by lazuli_knits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2072/2506325143_a55de04523_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="Lilac roving" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/27741849@N00/2507155118/" title="Lilac singles by lazuli_knits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2357/2507155118_45d4a4a7cf_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="Lilac singles" /></a><br /></div><br />I've also been trying to knit the trees and sky and trails that I've been hiking on these last few weekends. It seems every time I get out into the woods, I start thinking of knitting a stole to wear when I'm inside a cold, air-conditioned library thinking about being outside in those woods. I finally screwed up my courage this weekend to learn a new cast on (a basic provisional cast on) and start the stole, ideas for which have been roaming around in my mind these last few weeks.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(85, 26, 139); "><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3134/2507154158_15519d78ab.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Pisgah stole too small" /></span><br /></div><br />While I like how it's going so far, unblocked it is only 14" wide. I don't think blocking will quite get this to a respectable 18-plus inches for a stole, so off to the frog pond it'll head shortly - unless a bunch of you tell me that it's likely to grow that much. Knowing how I tend to block lace (which is usually not as vigorously as is likely possible, due to lack of blocking wires and frustration with many tiny poky pins), even if it's technically possible, I doubt it'll work for me, so I expect that before too long, it's froggie-frog we go!Lazulihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05190270995311616124noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28900392.post-67884910791510585932008-05-15T22:00:00.003-04:002008-05-15T22:23:48.586-04:00Spring sweaterAs promised, here's my latest FO, the mohair sweater! After several amusing modifications, I can finally put it out there on the 'net! Although for some reason, I felt like making this a faceless post; not sure why. This way you can see that the neck edge is rolled (using where I picked up stitches to stop the roll), the sleeves roll, too (except there's ribbing to stop the roll), and the waist edge is crochet. A bit schizophrenic, and there are some funky pooling issues in places I'd rather them not to be, but other than that, it's not bad for a cozy, lightweight spring sweater! <br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); "><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3048/2496269938_87d0c45d07.jpg" width="500" height="396" alt="Mohair raglan sweater FO" /></span><br /></div><br />First, you see, I had to redo the bind off on the collar. You should have seen me trying to pull it over my head at the knitting group meeting. You could see a little bit of blond poking out the top, but that was about it! Several women kindly suggested that I bind off more loosely (<span style="font-style:italic;">more</span> loosely?), which worked well. Then, of course, there was the rolled hem. Now, I have several sweaters with rolled edges, all machine-made, store-bought, and their rolled edges don't seem to add bulk where it doesn't belong, so I was foolishly unworried about the plan to knit myself a rolled edge. What a mistake that was, even after blocking!! This meant that on a Tuesday evening listening to election coverage on the TV, I found myself crocheting the bottom edge of the sweater. Yes, listening to the TV because I couldn't not look at the little hook at the end of a stick.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">The Stats:</span><br />Pattern: The raglan pattern in The Knitter's Handy Book of Sweater Patterns<br />Yarn: Brooks Farm Primero, about 1.5 hanks<br />Time; Ravelry tells me it took about a month and a half or so<br />Needles: size 5 for the body<br /><br />I've been doing a lot of dissertation work - most of it inside, in the study, all previous posts and photos to the contrary - and have actually been making progress. Well, at least, the progress of a quote strung together here and there with another quote plus a possibly off-topic analysis of a few photographs, all added up to make a few really long sections scattered over several MS Word documents... and it's starting to feel like a chapter draft is taking shape in my mind, even though I can easily see many more pages of typing before it gets printed out in something resembling a coherent document on a date with a red pen. (Or pencil or blue pen - it depends what's lying around). Given that May is about half over and I haven't had any drafts to show since January, like the funky pooling on the sweater, I'll take what I can get! I'd like to have an actual draft-to-show-the-advisor by early June, which is when I'll be driving all my books to my home school so they can be renewed. In person. All several shelves of them. Given that Coffeeboy and I'll be gone for a week or so in late May, this just might be a dubious goal. But one can always hope for the best, right?Lazulihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05190270995311616124noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28900392.post-51425903369611165692008-05-12T23:47:00.003-04:002008-05-13T00:04:26.597-04:00Weekend surprisesThis past weekend, my MIL was in town. We had two surprises: one was a very small fiber festival at the <a href="http://www.southernhighlandguild.org/" target="_blank">Southern Highland Craft Guild</a> off the Blue Ridge Parkway, and the other was a gorgeous hike full of spring color and amazing wildflowers.<br /><br />The fiber festival was, as I said, small, but a lot of fun. We watched an expert sheep-shearing (my basis for calling it expert was how well the shearer handled the sheep, holding it between his legs, moving its legs around his in order to expose the parts to shear next, the whole fleece coming off as a unit), I watched spinners and thought of my wheel, and we observed several other interesting crafts - basketweaving, weaving, making pretty felt-covered boxes, tapestry weaving, beaded jewelry, doll-making, and much more! I didn't have my camera, though, so I couldn't get any pictures. (There also wasn't very much for sale, so my wallet was in little danger!)<br /><br />I did have my camera for our hike, which turned, unexpectedly, into a wildflower hike of sorts after I saw the pink lady slippers. I remember looking for these flowers when I was a wee kid in the woods of Massachusetts; I remember my parents telling me, during our last spring in the state, that they were very rare and that one was lucky to see them, but so far as I recall, I didn't find them that year. This year I did, and I was amazed by their beauty, and by the beauty of the other flowers we saw in a scant two hours of hiking.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/27741849@N00/2487849105/" title="Small white ones by lazuli_knits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3073/2487849105_5321cfb3e5_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="Small white ones" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/27741849@N00/2487850631/" title="Pink lady slippers by lazuli_knits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2262/2487850631_acb4ebb670_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="Pink lady slippers" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/27741849@N00/2487849105/" title="Small white ones by lazuli_knits, on Flickr"><br /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/27741849@N00/2488667524/" title="Hanging bells by lazuli_knits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3273/2488667524_b62ba92069_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="Hanging bells" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/27741849@N00/2487853251/" title="Green trail by lazuli_knits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3142/2487853251_3ece47a21c_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="Green trail" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/27741849@N00/2488667524/" title="Hanging bells by lazuli_knits, on Flickr"><br /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/27741849@N00/2488670028/" title="Mini-daisies by lazuli_knits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2382/2488670028_5724a67fd2_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="Mini-daisies" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/27741849@N00/2488671426/" title="Jack-in-the-pulpit by lazuli_knits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2335/2488671426_617669a511_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="Jack-in-the-pulpit" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/27741849@N00/2488670028/" title="Mini-daisies by lazuli_knits, on Flickr"><br /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/27741849@N00/2487857137/" title="May Apple blossoms by lazuli_knits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3005/2487857137_1f8b39bf14_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="May Apple blossoms" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/27741849@N00/2487858227/" title="Cranesbill geraniums by lazuli_knits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2018/2487858227_babaa31c58_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="Cranesbill geraniums" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/27741849@N00/2487857137/" title="May Apple blossoms by lazuli_knits, on Flickr"><br /></a></div><br />As you can see, I didn't know the names of several. "Mini-daisies" and "hanging bells" are far from technical names, and I'd love to know what they really are, if anyone knows! You can see bigger images over in Flickr.<br /><br />I am constantly struck how beautiful it is here. My MIL kept remarking on how many different shades of green there were (she lives in Colorado), and it's true, springtime really is alive with greens, in so many more ways than one.<br /><br />I've finally managed to get a picture of my latest sweater FO, so I hope to show that to you soon in the upcoming days!Lazulihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05190270995311616124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28900392.post-80034012174960789202008-05-09T14:13:00.004-04:002008-05-09T14:31:41.819-04:00This isn't so badYou know, I know I've not always been the happiest about being so far from my home institution, but right now, life in the mountains has its advantages: <div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/27741849@N00/2478129831/" title="patio dissertating by lazuli_knits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3268/2478129831_3d249d0e26_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="patio dissertating" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/27741849@N00/2478942014/" title="backyard view by lazuli_knits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2410/2478942014_aed8b2e963_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="backyard view" /></a><br /></div><br /></div><div>Such as dissertating on one's back patio, with mountains in the distance and the springtime sounds of birds, wind, and a stream nearby. The folks I'm writing about appreciated the "restorative powers of the pastoral," and I have to say, I agree with them. This really is a great way to dissertate. Lovely smells and sounds, a cup of coffee, my computer's screen easily visible in the shade, wireless internet. </div><div><br /></div><div>I'm not sure it'll be quite so pleasant in the summer when it's hotter, but in the shade and springtime, it's really, really great! I'm also not sure this is the best place to churn out the pages. That would probably be upstairs in my office, or 45 minutes north of here in the library at UNC-Asheville, where on Wednesday I churned out seven whole pages in the course of an afternoon's burst of productivity.</div><div><br /></div><div>Today Coffeeboy and I purchased tickets for several concerts at our local summertime classical music festival, the Brevard Music Center. We stepped inside the shed and it reminded me of nowhere so much as Tanglewood, where I spent one of the best summers of my life. To have music in the mountains that I can go to all summer (all summer, that is, except the several weeks I'll be away at archives!) is yet some more icing on the cake. </div><div><br /></div><div>I promised I'd show you a WIP and an FO. I haven't had a chance to get the FO photographed yet, so we're just going to go with the WIP, Tailored Scallops, my current leading-love in the fiber world. It's Malabrigo, it's blue, and it's feather-and-fan - - how better can it get than that? </div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/27741849@N00/2478942972/" title="Tailored Scallops back by lazuli_knits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2051/2478942972_411d73a8c1.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Tailored Scallops back" /></a></div><br />My MIL is in town this weekend (she needed to come to the area on business) so we're looking forward to getting out with her into the nice springtime. I hear the rhododendrons, which grow the size of trees along the streams of mountain coves, are starting to bloom, something we've been waiting for months to see. Lazulihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05190270995311616124noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28900392.post-50976872407518322422008-05-05T10:13:00.002-04:002008-05-05T10:26:13.290-04:00Green weekend<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">"Some weekends are grey, some weekends are mean, this one had plants, and so was green." <br /></span><br />Coffeeboy and I spent this past weekend getting the garden, in various permutations, going. When we moved here, we didn't think we'd garden much. After all, we don't own the land outside our condo, but we figured we could put in a few plants, just a few. Then the college where Coffeeboy works started a community garden and we got a 4x20 plot of land to use. Now it looks like we'll be gardening more food than ever!<br /><br />First, of course, was the very exciting <a href="http://ashevilleherbfestival.com/">Asheville Herb Festival</a>. We'd had a poster on our fridge about this for the past month, and knew we wanted to go there to stock up on our favorite flavorings. I was hoping to score some soap and maybe some interesting lavendar products, but we ended up with only an hour at the festival, barely enough time to scope out the growing (as opposed to turned-into-products) herbs we wanted.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); "><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2031/2467988940_601a95958d_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="Herbs" /></span><br /></div><br />As you can see, we had quite a loot! In addition to chives and lemon thyme which we picked up at a small local plant sale, at the herb festival we found, as you can see above, plenty more to flavor our lives with. <br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/27741849@N00/2467987640/" title="DSCN4604 by lazuli_knits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3115/2467987640_ee5fec1eef_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="DSCN4604" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/27741849@N00/2467985866/" title="DSCN4602 by lazuli_knits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2267/2467985866_8f5098ae08_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="DSCN4602" /></a><br /></div><br /><br />The festival itself was tons of fun, with dozens of herb vendors, colorful signs, and interesting varieties. After the festival, Coffeboy and I headed to Asheville where we had a beer at <a href="http://www.jackofthewood.com/">Jack of the Wood Pub</a> followed by a lovely dinner at the all-vegetarian/vegan restaurant <a href="http://www.laughingseed.com/">The Laughing Seed</a>. Of course, it wouldn't be a spring night in Asheville without a drumming session going on in Pritchard Circle, so we stopped to watch young hippies and old hippies groovin' together to what's always a really amazing impromptu performance, and of course, to watch the tourists watching the action, too. I didn't have my camera then, so I couldn't take pictures (oh well!). <br /><br /><div>Saturday afternoon we planted the herbs in their containers: </div><div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); "><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2261/2467990058_df39e8ff56_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="Herb plantings" /></span><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">In order from the back, the plants are: <br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Back row</span>: chocolate mint, placeholder plant, spearmint<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Middle row</span>: chamomile, a petunia, lemon balm<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Front row</span>: thyme, sage, oregano, lemon thyme<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Round container on left</span>: lavendar<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Middle round containe</span>r: cilantro, parsley<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Round container on right</span>: regular basil, cinnamon/Thai basil, chives<br /></div><br />We'd decided to plant the herbs in containers so as to have more room in the ground for vegetables - and because I liked the idea of framing our little back patio area with herbs. This, to me, seemed like just the thing to do with such a little patio: make it smell really, really, great, and be useful, too!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); "><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2396/2467167471_f3099d0c6e_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="Herb garden" /></span><br /></div><br />Yesterday, we planted our veggie garden. We put in several varieties of tomatoes, saving two for the community garden and planting five by our house, to the right of the air conditioning unit. To the left, we planted four peppers, green and purple bell, and left of that, four Japanese eggplants. As you can see, there's still a lot of room to grow where the black anti-weed cover is. We're going to put in beets, spinach, and parsnips there, and also some of those over at the college garden.</div><div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); "><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3159/2467991328_2bcdbd9800_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="Home garden 2008" /></span><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">(You can see the plants better in the bigger images at Flickr!)</span></div></div><div><br />Finally, just because they're cute, pictures of the cats: Juniper (the Sock-Lord, apparently, who loves handknit socks as well as her daddy's smelly, just-gardened-in socks as well) and Magellan (curled up on my desk chair):<div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/27741849@N00/2467984432/" title="June with handknit socks by lazuli_knits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2266/2467984432_4b9f9bc210_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="June with handknit socks" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/27741849@N00/2467994158/" title="June with white sock by lazuli_knits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3008/2467994158_2ebc8f86f8_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="June with white sock" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/27741849@N00/2467995590/" title="Magellan by lazuli_knits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2294/2467995590_e88f7e2724_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="Magellan" /></a><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">In the next post, I promise I'll have some fibery goodness - a finished object, and a new sweater-in-progress made of the to-die-for Malabrigo! </div></div></div>Lazulihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05190270995311616124noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28900392.post-65417238607109222242008-04-28T14:54:00.002-04:002008-04-28T15:53:38.391-04:00Weekend bind-offYesterday I actually bound off the mohair sweater! I tried it on, too, and was very happy with the fit. Now all I need to do is add the neckband, sew up the armhole seams, weave in a few ends, block it, and it'll be done! Excellent!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); "><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2014/2449963234_e2589662e6.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Mohair sweater bound off" /></span><br /></div><br />I also acquired some new yarn to work with that I'm excited by for two different reasons.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/27741849@N00/2449960526/" title="peaches n creme yarn by lazuli_knits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3256/2449960526_bb7190dfd8_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="peaches n creme yarn" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/27741849@N00/2449135767/" title="Malabrigo yarn by lazuli_knits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2148/2449135767_1b21c7a5d9_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="Malabrigo yarn" /></a><br /></div><br />The dishcloth yarn excites me because it's dishcloth yarn in pretty colors, and was inexpensive. The Malabrigo on the right, there, well, that's my first ever Malabrigo purchase, and I can't wait to start using it! The color is just gorgeous, "indigo." I'm hoping it'll work out gauge-wise for the <a href="http://www.interweave.com/knit/books/Lace_Style/LSp60-61.pdf" target="_blank">Tailored Scallops</a> sweater, but I think it might be a hair too thin. We'll see. As soon as I get that mohair sweater blocking, I'm going to turn to the Malabrigo Scallops!Lazulihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05190270995311616124noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28900392.post-26925741644598180012008-04-24T19:51:00.004-04:002008-04-24T20:06:07.182-04:00Earth Day DishclothWell, folks, I'm behind, as usual. Behind, that is, on the dishcloth craze. Right about when dishcloths came "in" a couple of years back (remember the <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/ballband-dishcloth" target="_blank">Mason-Dixon Ball Band dishcloths</a>[Ravelry-only link], anyone?), I ignored them. After all, I'd recently switched to sponges, and all dishcloths did was get smelly in the sink, just like they'd done when I was a kid. (Yes, they did get washed, but the smell left a stronger mental impression!)<br /><br />But a couple of days ago, Earth Day caught up with me and I thought to myself, I should really get back in the habit of using dishcloths, rather than so many paper towels! I mean, I'm not that bad; I do try to use the sponge, but sometimes I just want the convenience of a paper towel... but still, I should try, shouldn't I?<br /><br />Yes, we recycle and watch the temperature of our house and buy cars that get good gas mileage - but couldn't I be better about this one little item? Maybe if I had my own handmade dishcloths I'd use them, I thought, so out came the cotton and the needles...<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); "><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3002/2439954520_790a32dec3_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="Brand new dishcloth" /></span><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/27741849@N00/2439954520/" title="Brand new dishcloth by lazuli_knits, on Flickr"><br /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/27741849@N00/2439954520/" title="Brand new dishcloth by lazuli_knits, on Flickr"></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/27741849@N00/2439954520/" title="Brand new dishcloth by lazuli_knits, on Flickr"><br /></a>...with this result. </div><br />Coffeeboy swore he wouldn't use it, that he couldn't subject anything I'd knit with to such treatment as scrubbing dirty sinks and counters. Besides, he'd grown up with sponges, not "those cloths" as he used to call them back when I was using cloths, not sponges, so I expect there was some resistance to the dishcloth funk. But knit one I did, use it to wipe the counter I did, and now, boy doesn't our sink look too pretty for its own good? <br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); "><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3063/2439131005_3c4b529f33_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="Dutiful dishcloth" /></span><br /></div><br />There are other ideas I'm finding equally inspiring - many of them, to give honor where it's due - mentioned on <a href="http://zarzuelaknitsandcrochets.com/blog/?p=402" target="_blank">Zarzuela's Earth Day post.</a> There I was introduced to the <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/groups/greencraft" target="_blank">Greencraft group</a> on Ravelry - if you're on Ravelry, you should definitely check this group out! It's fascinating what people are doing, the little ways they are getting back in touch with the world!Lazulihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05190270995311616124noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28900392.post-35209596441285648942008-04-21T09:37:00.005-04:002008-04-21T20:46:45.686-04:00Yarnovers and PassoversI bet you thought that I was preparing last week for an actual Passover seder, not passing yarn through itself? Well, in the end we had a little of both:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/27741849@N00/2428845121/" title="seder 2008 by lazuli_knits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2306/2428845121_87e118d7cd.jpg" alt="seder 2008" height="375" width="500" /></a><br /></div><br />Also this weekend, a visiting friend was winding some yarn on my swift. I noticed she was taking a really long time to wind yarn, which, granted, takes a while when you bring several skeins, but still... I went upstairs and found scenes that looked a bit like this:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/27741849@N00/2428846247/" title="cat's yarn cradle by lazuli_knits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2077/2428846247_305c7dff9b_m.jpg" alt="cat's yarn cradle" height="180" width="240" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/27741849@N00/2431326082/" title="crazy CTH by lazuli_knits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3055/2431326082_752e97eda1_m.jpg" alt="crazy CTH" height="180" width="240" /></a><br /></div><br />It was like a game of cat's cradle sprung into existence on the swift. Twice every turn, the yarn caught in a loop and we had to thread the growing ball of yarn through the loop, or the loops, as the case may be. Sometimes things got really, really messy. Eventually we finished, and miraculously the yarn eventually also stopped being caught in its own loops, but wow, was that not one of the more messed-up skeins I've ever encountered!<br /><br />Meanwhile, I'm looking forward to getting back to the wheel and to the mohair sweater, for which I'm rapidly running out of cool days to wear it!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/27741849@N00/2428848729/" title="Mohair raglan WIP by lazuli_knits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2327/2428848729_6c4af3b727.jpg" alt="Mohair raglan WIP" height="375" width="500" /></a><br /></div><br />I haven't blogged this one yet because it's all stockinette. However, now that it's starting to look like a sweater, I decided to take a picture. I'm hopeful that I can control the roll on the bottom there. Silly me. Rolled hems and mohair sweaters do seem to go together in my mind, but who was I not to do something to stop the roll? Oops! Oh well, I will just have to hope that the powers of the iron are enough!Lazulihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05190270995311616124noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28900392.post-91880840607485089232008-04-16T13:32:00.002-04:002008-04-16T13:40:17.424-04:00Navajo ply!Last night I needed to clear a few singles off a bobbin. A few weeks ago, I'd spun up a little bit of this juicy merino fiber from Lorna's Laces that I got for the holidays. I thought I'd give reputedly slippery merino a test-run. As I recall, it wasn't too bad. It was, however, a while ago.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/27741849@N00/2418406239/" title="Summer berry singles by lazuli_knits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3038/2418406239_716b64cffa_m.jpg" alt="Summer berry singles" height="180" width="240" /></a><br /></div><br />Then I was left with very little on the bobbin, but I didn't want to spin the rest of it then. So I set it aside, and last night, I navajo plied it. See?<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/27741849@N00/2419224396/" title="First attempt to Navajo Ply by lazuli_knits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2075/2419224396_9e4e9c9c81_m.jpg" alt="First attempt to Navajo Ply" height="180" width="240" /></a><br /></div><br />This new type of plying was a bit tricky. Since I'm a lefty, I tried doing it with my left hand, but I kept needing to use my right to help pull the single through the loop. Eventually I was getting my left index finger to take care of the pulling through the loop, while the right did something with the twist. I saw what hadn't been clear on the on-line video, that somehow the creation of the loops gives you a three-ply. Pretty cool! I'm not an engineer, I can't explain how it works, just that it did!<br /><br />What I got was something like this:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/27741849@N00/2418407811/" title="Navajo plied yarn by lazuli_knits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3252/2418407811_17a4fc0ed9.jpg" alt="Navajo plied yarn" height="375" width="500" /></a><br /></div><br />I have a few questions about navajo plying for you more experienced spinners: Do you see that purple strand on top, on the right side? Right there you can see where the two loops interlock. Why is that? Is that normal for navajo plying, to see where the loops are?<br /><br />I had another question, which is how the heck do you finish it? When I was done I had an awkward floppy loop that didn't quite twist and ply up nicely.<br /><br />Also, why is it called "navajo" plying?<br /><br />Here is the little skein-let, only a few yards long, all twisted up.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/27741849@N00/2419226718/" title="Navajo ply mini-skein by lazuli_knits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2283/2419226718_29d120d87d.jpg" alt="Navajo ply mini-skein" height="375" width="500" /></a><br /></div><br />I think it looks pretty good for a first attempt. Of course, that's probably half the dye job on the fiber - hard to go wrong with such gorgeous colors!! They remind me of summer berries. I don't remember what the official colorway name is, but these sure do speak to me of berries.<br /><br />Last week I went to a conference at my home institution, a conference I've been planning for the last year or so. It went really well - great papers, interesting people, good networking. The conference involved people working on topics very similar to my dissertation, so it provided a lot of excellent food for thought and really has me actually thinking about the diss with excitement for the first time in about a month. I came home and scanned 16 pages of notes so I'd have electronic copies of what I wrote down. I've never actually scanned in notes before, but it seemed to make a certain amount of sense. Add them to the e-file for the conference, and I'll always be able to find them. The paper notes - who knows?<br /><br />Of course, I can't really capitalize on that excitement because now that I'm home, I'm preparing the house for Passover & the arrival of guests this weekend! (Granted, since the Judaism represented here is Reform, the housecleaning isn't as, um, thorough, as it could be, but there's still plenty to do!) I'm going to try to put in some time on the diss this afternoon and tomorrow, but I still have to clean the house and go grocery shopping, so it's looking like the diss will have to wait till next week!Lazulihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05190270995311616124noreply@blogger.com1