DS#1 Surprise

I have a January birthday which I tend to celebrate from Christmas until the last possible second of January 31. The older I get, the more I like celebrating my birthday. DH doesn't really "buy" into this idea, no pun intended, but my DSx3 do. Thank Goodness! This year DS#1 asked me what I'd like for my birthday. I sent him a bunch of Etsy links for his consideration. This is what arrived on my doorstep earlier this week.

Didn't he do a great job? It's made by Burnt Mill Potters. He said his sweet GF helped a little, but still...I love it! Thank you Nick!

In knitting news, I've finished one mitten, minus the thumb. Yay!



Another spindle was also added to my collection. It really chases away the winter blues, don't you think? This one is called Celadon Pivott and is made by Tilt-a-whorl.


Now I'm putting the b'day celebrations on hold until next year!

Another Non-Snow

It's been another "non-snow event" for us here on the eastern slopes of the Blue Ridge. (insert whines here....grrrrr.) (edited to say that Janice, living 4 miles north of here DID get measurable snow! jealous!)



Rain, then sleet fell and was accompanied by a brief round of thunder and lightning, then just enough snow to whiten the pasture.

Dropping temps made it freeze up all hard and crunchy so there's no school today which has provided a chance to play with spindles (in between bouts of knitting).



I'll be spinning and knitting up a storm all day. Maybe I can help Mother Nature and spin up a snow storm of the measurable kind!

Darn It!

I need to learn how to darn. Two of my hand knit socks have, after years of steady service, developed holes. One might not be repairable, but I'm fairly certain the other is. After watching several darning technique YouTube videos, I think this is something I can at least try. But wait - I would need a darning egg or some sort. I've seen older ones at a local antique shop. I've heard reports that wooden eggs can be purchased at craft stores. I, however, was enticed by the beautiful wooden eggs turned by Phil Powell and for sale in his Etsy shop, Custom Wood Designs. This one is Osage Orange. Now upon closer inspection, I can see a crack in the dome of the egg. I've contacted the shop to see what's up with that... ;(

There's also been a small addition to my spindle family. This lovely little Golding Le Fleur in purpleheart was adopted from a Ravelry destash. It's a lovely little flower, don't you think? It's nesting atop Fiber Optics 50/50 SW merino/tencel in the Stormy Monday Blues #21 colorway.

Now I'm off to flip a coin to help me decide what to do first: 1. be responsible and take care of some paperwork 2. play with the newest family members 3. knit on my mittens

Maybe it will have to be best two out of three!

Room Reclaimed

Over Christmas, my knitting room is usually turned into Gift Central. The gifts wait there until it's time to be wrapped. Wrapping paper, bags, and boxes also collect there, as well as all of the scissors and tape in the house. Today, I decided it was time to reclaim my room. I also moved the big green chair back into the room, as my spinning chair was not very comfortable for knitting.

Now I'm working on storage/display for my spindles. I'm planning to hang a long shelf and put cup hooks underneath. I think these will look really nice hanging there.

In knitting news, I finished my first project of the year. It's a Flapotis made from Muensch Touch Me. I still have to wash it.

My second project of the year is on the needles: these cats mittens in Skinny Bugga! Gosh, I love that stuff more every time I knit with it. I can't decide whether to make both of the mittens the same, or to do the second one in opposite colors. What do you think? They'll be eye-catching no matter what!


Time to get back to my cozy little room - happy January knitting to you!

Farewell 2010

There it goes.....time.....speeding by. Did you see it? Did you notice 2010 evaporating at light speed? I did not. Suddenly, it's New Year's Eve again. As 2011 creeps closer, I find that I'm a little disappointed in my 2010 accomplishments. The old Knit-o-meter looks a little low on yardage. There are several long-term WIPs that are still residing in the ZZZZZ category over on Ravelry.

-for example!

My yarn room is absolutely obese, bulging at every seam. While this is not a real crisis, there is a little guilt involved in not knitting down my stash ...or at least visiting it a little more often. ;)
I'll not make New Year's resolutions, but I will make a list of 'hopes':
In 2011 , I hope to:

• have more quality time with family/friends
• laugh more
• knit more
• spin more
• keep running

...and I hope your 2011 is filled with the same....except that running part, unless you really want to!
Happy New Year!

Plurk Swap FO & Trades

Well, after months of nonproductive knitting, I finally finished something - a shawl for the Plurk Small Shawl Swap. This pattern is called Hamamelise and I knitted it in Skinny Bugga!, Orange Assassin Bug. I loved the pattern, and also the yarn. I hope my swap partner will love it, too.

In other knitting news, I managed to hit a Wollmeise update about three weeks ago and also managed to get not 1, not 2, but 3 skeins of the same lace. I knew I had 2 in my cart, but wasn't willing to sacrifice both by trying to delete & refresh. Ultimately, I ended up with 3 gorgeous skeins of My Old Blue Jeans. Fortunately, I managed to trade two of them. Here's one trade - Lace-Garn in Aquarius....it has some really beautiful color shifts.

The other trades, Frosch & Fruhling in 100%, are still in transit.

Now that I've been knitting again, my wrist cyst is acting up. I've put my brace back on for awhile. Sure do hope it's a temporary hurt because there's so much pretty yarn to knit!

Kid Hollow Farm Visit 2010

Today was a perfect fall day - see?



Several Plurk friends had gathered at Graves Mountain Lodge for their annual knitting weekend. Catspaw & I joined them on an excursion to Kid Hollow Farm for afternoon yarn fondling.

Here's Otto - guardian of the goats.....or mohair on the hoof.



Mohair before -


Mohair after -


- and here's a little knitting pr*on.....two gorgeous Shetland Pi shawls, as designed by WendyKnits.



...and one of them is the original! Love it!


Wish you were here!