It's Finally Fall

This weather makes me want to knit sweaters, hats, scarfs in preparation of the winter that is approaching.

Fall is my favorite time of year. The morning air is crisp and the leaves crunch under your feet. The smell of burning wood just sweeps those childhood memories back and it puts a smile on my face.

It is officially fall, but the last two days it's be unseasonable HOT. It irritates me to think I'm getting jipped out of my fall weather. It's not suppose to be 88 degrees outside!! It's suppose to be 72. I want my 72 G** Damn it!!



The Kauni Magic Shawl is growing at a tremendous rate. One row takes approximately 40 min and I like to think of my self as a fast knitter, yet this shawl is super slow right now.

My Every Way Wrap is done and blocked. I need buttons and a shawl pin to wear it like I want. It's been a great item to toss over my shoulders when taking Miss Mac to the bus stop in the mornings. I am now on the hunt and I think getting one of these shawl sticks just might do the trick.

Is your knitting mojo picking up because of the cooler weather? Do you have any projects in mind?

Is The Doctor In?

For some time now I've been having an itch. NO! Not the kind you need ointment for or even the one that requires you to put on that ridiculous open ended gown. There really is no flattering way to wear it, is there.

Anywhoooo, getting off track. I'm talking about that little tickle that calls on you. I've been feeling the spinning itch. I haven't spun in over a year and it's quite sad really. I love it.

Why did you stop?, you ask. Well it's kind of a lame reason. I don't have a proper chair. I know your all What?? but my issue was with the long bouts of time spent in one position at the wheel. The couch was too soft with no support. Dinning room chair was too hard which dug into my thigh after an hour of sitting. I ultimately stopped spinning because I just couldn't get enough done and be comfortable doing it. Kinda defeats the purpose of that zen like zone you go into when spinning.

Over the holiday weekend I couldn't take it any longer. I pulled out my Lendrum and dusted him off. Once I had all my supplies needed I then thought the easiest chair to move into the living room would be the computer chair. The casters make moving it easy enough and then I thought, Hey the seat is adjustable. I raised it up as high as it would go and would you believe I spun practically all weekend long.



This was my first attempts. Of what I'm not sure. I was just happy to be back at the wheel again. It turned out to be more fingering to DK weight which results in a thick and thin feel.



I then wanted to test myself on trying a thicker weight yarn. I was trying to correct the consistency and not have a thick and thin, but didn't feel my grove until I was practically done with last of my single.

For now this method of taking small amounts to get comfortable with the techniques and methods is helping. Ultimately I'd love to spin up enough for a sweater, but I still need more practice at the wheel before I head down that road.

Testing Fate

The past two times that I blogged an update on the Every Way Wrap, I noticed a mistake. I would proudly take pictures and be amazed that it's coming along so quickly. Then while I review my posts I notice a wrongly crossed cable. Not far down really, just 4-6 rows, but enough to set me back 2 days.

I had these thoughts that I wasn't going to blog about this damn thing until I was done. I'm cursed. Or at least the wrap is cursed. Well, this is no way to blog a knitting life, so I'm living on the edge and testing fate.



The wrap has grown some since my last update... 20 inches to be exact. I've checked and rechecked my cables and things seem to be okay.

Do you want to see it all stretched out...



There you go. That's 47 inches of Every Way Wrap goody-ness. It has reached the annoying stage where it's bulky and a bit cumbersome. It wont be too long now. The full length will be 59 inches and 7 inches of that will be ribbing. I'm hoping to get more completed this holiday weekend. My Labor Day will be a Labor of Love. Cookie and Kisses!

FO: French Press Felted Slippers

Pattern: French Press Felted Slippers by Melynda Bernardi

Yarn: 2 skein Cascade 220 Wool in Lime Green

Needles: US 15 circular needle

Started: August 13, 2010

Finished: August 15, 2010

This project was on and off the needles so fast I didn't have time to do any work-in-progress posts. I started the project out of hopes to have something to wear to the Friday Night Pajama Party at Stitches Midwest. The PJ's you see in the photo are my newly acquired awesome Peace Frog pajamas that I got special just for the occasion. I didn't win a prize for wacky pj's but that's okay;)

While in the market on Friday I also lucked out and found the perfect buttons to go with the slippers, phew!



Overall I loved the quickness of the pattern and it was easy to follow. I did however run into a few hiccups that would make me do adjustments for future pairs.

I would go up a size on my next pair. On average I wear a 7.5 - 8 shoe, so I figured going with the 7-8 pattern size would work. Yet, when I started the felting process the wool wasn't reacting like I hoped. The overall fabric was still showing the lines from the rows and the seam was not coming together. I think if I doubled yarn for seaming that would take care of that issue. Ultimately I ended up reinforcing the seam edge for stability.

During the felting I kept putting it in for longer and longer hoping it would fix its self and the lines would go away… but I had to stop because they were becoming way to small.

Also the top flap should have different sizes instead of being one size for all slippers. The finished piece was a bit small or perhaps I have wide feet?

Falling Down at the Kauni Booth

We arrived at Stitches Midwest early Friday morning and were able to get checked-in first thing. We then made our way down to the market for which I had no plans besides buying buttons for a particular project. Discovering that the Ruhama's booth had Kauni yarn was just magical.

Yeah, it's crunchy yarn, but I kinda dig it. It's rustic and the colors, OH-MY-GOD, the colors!! So when I saw the Oakland Shawl hanging as a display I knew that I had Fallen and fallen hard.



The one that smacked me silly was the golden brown orange yummy one. I was then hitting a brick wall. What other color to mix it with. That is when a lovey lady attending the booth came over and helped me. She showed me this trick to seeing visually if the colors would give me the look I wanted. They have sample swatches that show off the full spectrum of colors. It's a little hard to see all the depth these balls have. You take the sample strip and start twisting it with another sample. Before long your seeing the magic happen. The colors blend and pop and BAM. You've then picked your next color and are heading to the check out.



I was so excited to get going on this project that when I made my way by the Signature booth it sealed the deal. I cast-on that afternoon and was happy to bring something pretty easy to the Pajama Party that night in the hotel lobby.

Side note: Vodka Fresca's in pineapple and coconut drinking glasses is killer fun!