Spinning The Day Away

Yesterday was the spin in at Gemini Fibres. The weather was perfect and the drive magnificent. Not to mention the great time I had spinning. As usual, I can't go up to Gemini and come home empty handed. I bought a little over 500 grams of white Shetland top. It is so soft. I can't wait to get started spinning. I might wait until I take the carding class but that will also depend on how long it takes for me to finish the spinning I've already started. The spinning I did yesterday at Gemini is the minty green bobbin. It's Fleece Artist merino roving I bought at Lettuce Knit a short while ago. I loved the colour so much and she had two of the same colour so I grabbed it. I am still having to treadle like mad to get the fine singles but that will all change soon when I get the fast whorl for Gem.

After the spin in I brought Maggie home. I spent a little time there and looked at all the scrumptious stuff she's been dyeing. They I saw this. Maggie said I could have it. She'd been spinning it and was tired of it so she gave it to me. I couldn't wait to spin it up so when I got home last night I pulled the green bobbin off the winder and put on a fresh one to spin it. This is the same fibre that Maggie dyed for me for my birthday. It is unbelievably soft and it is so easy to spin it practically spins itself. I am thinking of spinning up all the fibre she gave me and navajo ply it. I could use the practice. Then maybe I'll make a hat out of it. I'll see what I decide once I am done spinning.

Now for my review on this winder. First, I love the way it matches the wheel. When I got the winder for the Joy the winder looked like it was maple or something and it had just a clear finish. The winder definitely did NOT match the Joy. This match is much better. I love the way this winder works better than the other one did as well. I loved the other one but I always felt a bit of a jerk. I can't really explain it but I don't feel that jerk with this winder. I am guessing it is the different wheels and not the winder but I am really enjoying this winder. As you can see from the picture I got a regular orifice and not the delta orifice. I couldn't get used to the delta and decided it was best for me to get the regular one. I'm not sorry I made that decision either. Now to stop blogging and get back to spinning.

I Think I Give Up

Maybe if I give up waiting for the damned winder it will surprise me and show up? It hasn't arrived yet and if it hasn't gotten here by now there is a good chance it won't.

I was going to say that maybe if I gave up waiting for the package it would finally arrive and as I am typing the door opened and it was the postman with my winder!!!! I was so excited it finally arrived I didn't even mind having to pay the $21.22 in GST + handling fee. The handling fee is a pain in the butt, however, for the winder I will gladly pay it. Now I WILL have the winder for the spin in tomorrow. I am so excited I can't begin to tell you!!! Too bad hubby and I are going to do laundry by the in-laws this afternoon. I want to go home and spin.

Sherri, has you winder arrived yet? I know you said you ordered yours around the same time I ordered mine. Mine was shipped on September 5th. The customs slip is dated September 26th and it arrived this afternoon. If I order anything else from him I want to try and do it when I know I am going to be by my daughter. Maybe it will arrive within the US faster than here in Canada. Where are you located?

Pics to follow later tonight when I get the winder set up and going.

Slow Boat?

Yesterday was Halo 3 day. Lets go back to March when hubby asked me to pre-order Halo 3 Legendary Edition. Why pre-order since we don't own an Xbox 360? It's a collector's edition I'm told, and very limited so pre-order it I did. To make a very long story short, due to changes in the stores credit card company I was told I can't use the store card anymore and need to apply for another one. I didn't bother. Flash forward to last week and I realized I pre-ordered with said credit card that I was told is no longer good. Hubby said, no worries, I can just get the game from the store. In store pre-orders come with a hat and t-shirt that Joseph wanted so pre-order it he did. I try to cancel the order and the website won't let. No worries, I say, because I was told that I can't use my card anymore right? Wrong! Guess what showed up at the office yesterday? I received the ship email late yesterday morning and sure enough just before noon this HUGE box arrived. Now I have 2 Halo 3 Legendary Editions and no Xbox 360. Paul has to decide if he wants to sell it or if I will return it to the store this weekend.

I was hoping that yesterday might be my lucky day and my winder would finally arrive. No such luck. I know this has to go threw customs but how was this thing sent? Was it sent by slow boat? I paid $19 for shipping to Canada. You would think that meant something. If it doesn't arrive today I am going to email and see if there is a tracking number for the package.

My winder might not have arrived yesterday but the first of the stitch markers from my stitch marker exchange arrived. These are from Barb. One of the great things about this exchange is you get to see how other people make their markers and it gives you ideas. I just LOVE these markers. Thank you Barb!!!

Last night was Snb night and Maggie brought me some of her hand dyed yarn. You can find her shop here. I can't even express how much I love these colours. Unfortunately, the picture really doesn't do them justice at all. They look so much better in person. The colours, from top to bottom, Afternoon Tea, Bubble Gum, Hanging Basket, and Jellybean. The Afternoon Tea is her Seasocks and the rest are Superwash Merino yarn. Which colour to knit first? I have no idea yet. Now I want a colour made special for my SP Pal. I can't wait to see what she does.

Keep your fingers crossed that the winder arrives today. I'll update tonight.

Update:
The winder didn't arrive today either. I emailed and am waiting for a reply.

Socks & Bags

The Noughts & Crosses socks are off the needles. The fit is great and I just love the way they turned out. Knitted with Sock It To Me Collection Essentials 4 ply. 2 - 50 gram balls and 2mm needles. It is amazing to me just how quickly these socks knit up once I finished the foot. Knitting on the subway helped as well. You can get a lot of knitting done riding on the subway. I don't do it very often because I don't work in the downtown core but when I do ride the subway there's always knitting on the go.


Why was I on the subway today you might ask? I went to pick up my Lexie Barnes bag from Lettuce Knit. The print is Baja. Just look at the amount of storage in this bag. It can fit tons of wips. It can also double as a great carry on bag when I go traveling. I just love this bag.

Still Waiting

I'm still waiting for the Woolee Winder to make an appearance. I was sure I would have it for the spin in I'm going to up at Gemini Fibres next weekend. Now I am not so sure.

On the knitting front, not much has been going on either. I've been so mega tired lately I barely knit a few rounds before I start to conk out on the couch. I will get the second pink sock done this weekend no matter what!

Noughts & Crosses

September's Sockamania Sock is Noughts & Crosses. The pattern is supposed to be in two colours but I don't do the two colour knitting thing. I like the way the pattern looks so I decided to knit the socks with the pattern in purl sts instead of a different colour. I finished the first sock yesterday. Unfortunately, the picture doesn't show off the pattern as much as I would like but I am please enough with the outcome to go ahead and knit the second sock.

I also re-started the Campanula sock using the new Knit Picks Harmony needles I bought. I love these needles. They are amazing. I see a set of the Harmony needles in my future.

I'm still waiting for the Woolee Winder. I'm rather impatient about it. I just wish it would hurry up and get here already! Two more days left before the weekend so if it doesn't arrive by Friday I won't have it before Monday.

Stress & Harmony

Tuesdays this year are going to be a challenge. You see my son goes to a different school 1 day a week. This has been going on since grade 5 . He was tested in grade 4 and accepted into the gifted program. This year his gifted day is on Tuesday. It is going to be a pain every other Tuesday when I have my snb. The gifted school is blocks from where I go for my snb. I hate having to go back and forth there twice on the same day. On top of that. no matter what school he goes to, right now there is construction everywhere. The drive to gifted is longer than the drive to his home school. That makes it more stressful for me to drive there and get back to where I work before 9.

Today I received two orders in the mail that should help with my stress levels today. First I received my fibre order from Crown Mountain. The colourful fibre is Corriedale dyed pencil roving in Tibetan Dreams. The fibre on the left is a merino/tencel 30/70 blend in peacock. In the picture it looks a lot more gray than the actual colour.

Second, I got my Knit Picks Harmony needles. Of course I couldn't wait to try the needles. I have my Sockamania September sock with me so I quickly took the 2 mm needle and switched the regular Options needle to the Harmony. First impression, after knitting the cuff on the sock, I love these things. The join is as smooth as the regular Options and the cords are the same purple cords I've come to know and love. Why is it that Knit Picks can make such fantastic needles with joins that are smooth as silk and other companies haven't been able to do it? I know Addi had the bamboo but, to be honest, I never got around to trying them and they're no longer available. The Harmony needles are the answer to a prayer from someone that was going nuts trying to find sock bamboo needles to use with the Tofutsie yarn. (I tried the Crystal Palace and hated them.) I'm just finished with the first of my Sockamania socks and once this pair is finished I will re-knit my Campanula. I ended up ripping the entire sock, washed the yarn while on my PVC noddy and it is now in a centre pull ball waiting to be knit again.

I took a picture of the needles on top of the felted bag so you can get a better idea of how much the bag shrunk when it was felted. I used it today to carry the sock I was working on and it really is just the perfect size.

Before & After

The bag is done!! I can't even begin to express how pleased I am with the final result. I don't think the pictures can show just how well this bag felted. I was a little worried. I put the bag in the washer (top loading) with a pair of jeans and another pair of pants. I checked it about 8 minutes into the washing and it didn't look like it had felted at all. So, I changed the washing time to longer, added a t-shirt and shorts and just left it to finish the load. When I took the bag out I couldn't believe my eyes. It looks perfect! It is just right as a project bag. I'd have to say it felted to about half the original size. I have to get more yarn and make some more of these things.

No Title Today

This week I sent out all the markers for the stitch marker exchange. I had lots of fun making them and I hope that the recipients will like them. One of my partners wanted markers made with memory wire. The instructions can be found here. I've never made the markers with memory wire and it proved to be quite the challenge. I didn't realize the wire I bought would be so tough to bend as it was. Stringing the beads was also not that easy. I did finally manage to get them done and now I want to try and make a few for my daugther.

On the knitting front, I've been having some serious challenges with my back all week so I have not gotten much done. I have finished knitting the felted bag kit I bought last weekend. Now all I have to do is felt it.

I also finished the first of my Campanula socks but I made an error (stupid I won't embarrass myself by going into it) and I am going to rip back to the beginning of the cuff and knit it all over again. Once that's done I can get started on the second sock. I ordered some Knit Picks Harmony needles and I am hoping they will come soon so I can use them when I reknit the cuff.

I also should get the Woolee Winder for my Little Gem this week, I hope. I am anxiously awaiting it's arrival. I imagine I should have it by Friday at the latest. I will show pics once it arrives.

Great Minds Think Alike

I received my Hogwarts Sock Swap package today from Michelle aka Ms. Mandy Ravenclaw. I cracked up when I opened up the envelope. You see, I wanted to send Michelle a Harry Potter note card but I couldn't find any. I didn't want to hold up sending the package so I just wrote a little note and sent it off. Michelle said almost the same thing in her card. I sent Michelle the same exact needles she sent me. I sent her a Harry Potter bookmark! I love everything she sent. Look at the stitch markers, they spell Gryffindor. How cool is that?

I forgot to mention the most important thing. The socks are a perfect fit!! I just love them. I have to get a picture of them on my feet but this will have to do for now.

If that wasn't enough, I received a gift card from my Secret Pal for SP11 today. It's a gift certificate for Red Bird Knits! Now how did she know I love that website? I am going to have a fun time deciding what I want to order.

A Day At The Fair

Yesterday, for some reason, I had my days mixed up. When Paul got up I told him to go back to bed because it was Saturday. He just laughed and said it was already a short week and I wanted to make it shorter. Turns out it was a good thing it was Friday and not Saturday. I wasn't feeling at all well and if the Knitter's Fair had been yesterday I would have stayed home. Lucky for me it really was Friday. Honestly, whoever decided that women need to go through certain things on a monthly basis was CRUEL. Horrific and unbearable pain to go along with it is even more cruel. I don't think I have ever experience pain like I did yesterday. I finally caved and took some medicine. An hour after I took the pills I had no more pain. So why did I wait so long to take the stuff? I guess I kept hoping it would get better but instead it just got worse and worse.

Today was a totally different story. I woke up this morning bright and early and had cramping but not real pain. I could live with this. I met Kimberly just before 8 and off we went to Kitchener/Waterloo for the Knitter's Fair. You'd think after having driven to New York City more than once a one hour + drive would be a breeze. For some reason I always get nervous. I should not have fretted. The drive was a breeze. Of course it helped that I had company in the car.

First stop was at The Black Lamb. I brought my Little Gem II for Laurie to check out. The drive wheel seems to be wobbling and I wanted to ask her about it. Paul said it's the drive wheel and he was right. The drive wheel is warped so Laurie is going to order another one. I can still use the wheel the way it is as long as the drive band stays on. Great customer service. I also couldn't go to her booth and not buy fibre now could I? On the right is merino pencil roving. The colour is green and not yucky like the picture shows. On the left is a merino/bamboo mix. I just loved the colours and couldn't pass them up. Once I get the Woolee Winder I will attempt to spin the bamboo and see how it goes.

After The Black Lamb we headed off to Gemini Fibres. I spoke to Cheryl a while back looking for some lighter Forrester spindles. She brought back a few lighter weight spindles when she went to Mr. Forrester and I chose the one on the left. It's 13.79 grams and I just love the way it spins. The wood is Egyptian Olive.

I also bought this cotton kit. I want to learn how to spin cotton and when I asked Cheryl if she carried cotton fibre she had the kit you see on the right. It comes with a Tahkli spindle. Now I have to figure out how to use it. There is a flyer that came with the kit. I have to read it as soon as I have some free time.

After Gemini we just walked around. The place was getting a bit too crowded for my taste so I was just about ready to go home. I went out to the cafeteria area and had a wonderful conversation with someone from the Aurora Knitter's Guild. Then I decided I wanted to go back to the Cabin Fever booth. I couldn't pass up the kit on the left. It will make such a cute project bag.

The drive home seemed to go even quicker than the drive there. I am so glad I decided to drive. Now I can go to Port Hope without an hesitation because the distance is just about the same to go to Kitchener/Waterloo as it is to Port Hope - just in the opposite direction.

Hectic

I know I haven't posted in a while. Back to school has me in a tizzy. Joseph has an unexpected new teacher this year and he isn't happy about it at all. As he said, his old teacher was the teacher that every student in the school wants for a teacher. He moved to grade 5/6 from 7/8 because of personal reasons. Whereas the old teacher was fun and made learning fun, the new teacher seems to run her class like boot camp. Of course it is only day 3 so I am hoping things will get better.

On the knitting front, nothing has taken place since the weekend. I got the new pattern for the Sockamania Club. IF I knit this sock it is going to be changed. The pattern is "x" and "o". It's sort of fairisle with the X and O being done in a different colour. I DON'T do colour knitting. I can't stand it. I've tried it, it's not fun for me so I don't stress about it and just don't do it. So if I knit these socks I am going to do the chart in purl sts instead of fairisle. Now I just have to figure out a yarn that might show off the pattern if I do it that way.

On the spinning front, I've finished the first skein of yarn on the Little Gem. I just have to give it a bath. My Woolee Winder has been shipped and I should have that by the end of the month, for sure. I'm going to Kitchener/Waterloo on Saturday for the Knitter's Fair. I'm going to get the fast whorl for the Little Gem and look at some spindles and hopefully just unwind from a very hectic and stressful week.