I put the spinning aside for a few days to work on a pair of socks. These are the September Sockamania Club socks. The pattern is called Hot Air Balloons. The yarn, unfortunately, doesn't really show of the pattern but it was a fun knit and I am glad I did them. The amazing part for me is that I started these on Sunday and finished them last night. That's 3 days to knit a pair of socks! I don't think I have ever knit a pair that fast before.



I know that there will be other knitting obligations coming up tomorrow but, for now, I think I am going to spin tonight. I finished the first bobbin of Louet merino/silk I've been working on. The second bobbin is going to take me at least two weeks to finish if not longer depending on how much spinning time I get in.



Saturday I spent the day up at Gemini Fibres for their spin in event. I had such a blast!! We were 6 people in all. 3 of the ladies had the Lendrum folding wheel, two of us had the Schacht Ladybug and one lady had the Louet Hatbox wheel. I've never seen this wheel before. It is as cute as can be but I don't think I would feel comfortable spinning on it with the orifice being so low down. After seeing it I can see where there wheel got its name. It really does look like a hatbox when it is packed away.



I didn't come home empty handed either but I wasn't as bad as I could have been. I bought some cotton punis, Ashford merino/silk fibre and another spindle. After I was done I thought that was it but I decided to get a new set of hand carders. I like the fact that the Schacht cotton carders are wider than the Louets and the teeth are closer together. The only thing I didn't like is that the carders are heavier than the Louet. I was also looking at the Clemes cotton carders but I didn't like the way they were finished off. The width and amount of teeth are identical to the Schacht but the Schacht looked like they were better made so I ended up bring them home. Now I have a bunch of cotton I have to card into punis when I have the time.



The charkha spinning is coming along slowly. I'm beginning to get the hang of one handed drafting. I just can't get it as fine as I'd like. I know that like everything else that will come with practice and time.

ETA: I can't believe I wrote this post over a week ago and never posted it.

Roller Coaster

I've been busy spinning a lot lately so not as much knitting has been going on. I finished the Bird's Nest Smoke Ring yesterday. I used Yummy by Fibranatura. I really like this because it is longer than the cowl I made and it can be used over the head to protect my ears when the really cold weather hits.

Saturday was World Wide Spin In Public Day. I brought my wheel to The Purple Purl and spun most of the day. The fibre is Louet merino/silk blend in glacial green. I have no idea why I bought the fibre because I'm really not a fan of green but for some reason it was calling me and I just had to buy it. I am really happy with the results so far.



Saturday was also the group photo for the February Lady KAL. The photo shoot was a blast. It was the perfect day for it because it was chilly in the park and I really needed the sweater.

Now for the roller coaster. I mentioned in my previous post that I made the finals in the "I Made It On My Schacht" contest. Well we had to mail the yarn to Schacht and it has to be there by tomorrow. I sent it FedEx because there was no way it was going to make it in time any other way. Wasn't I surprised when I tracked the package and it was in Stansted UK!!! Right now I don't have any idea if the package has left England or not. I was supposed to get a phone call with more information and I haven't received anything yet. I called back and was told one person in particular was handling my case. Chances are they are going to issue a new bill of lading so there must be a new tracking number and I don't have it. Hopefully I'll get more information tomorrow. I emailed Schacht and they said not to worry so at least on that end I'm ok. Now to hope the package actually gets there.

Finalist!!!!

OMG!!! I was just notified that I'm a finalist in the "I Made It On My Schacht" contest. This is the skein I entered. I only got my Ladybug at the end of July and the deadline for entering was September 1st. Lace takes a while to spin so this was what I managed to spin by the deadline once I got used to the wheel.

I don't really expect to win but I never thought I would make it this far. I am must amazed and so happy. I guess my spinning really is coming along. It feels like it took me forever to get here but I am very happy right now.

The good news as great after I got news from my brother that my dad was taken back to the hospital today. He has phneumonia again yet again. Not sure how long he will be in the hospital but all I can do is pray.

Messenger Inside

CreativeHands asked me to post pictures of the Jordana Paige Messenger bag when it was filled. Well there is room for way more stuff than I have in here right now but this will give you an idea of how much can actually fit in it. Tonight is Snb night and ideally I'd liked to get the buttons on my February Lady sweater so the large GoKnit camo bag has the FLS sweater in it along with the buttons, snaps and other things in it. The small purple GoKnit bag has the Bird's Nest Smoke Ring that I'm working on. I hope to get that finished by the end of the week and I'll post pictures once it's complete. There is a front pocket that just has a few things in it right now but as you can see there is plenty of room.

I am very pleased to say I think my spinning streak has continued. On Sunday I finished spinning the second bobbin of the purple corriedale fibre. I finished plying one bobbin yesterday morning and finished the second bobbin last night. I am not going to complain at all about the results. The Purple Purl had another bag of this fibre and I am seriously thinking of getting another bag. The spinning beings are being kind to me of late and I need to take advantage for as long as it lasts.

Speaking of The Purple Purl and spinning, they are having a twist and ply class beginning next month that I would like to take. Somehow I think that these recent results are just dumb luck because I am not a technical spinner. I did a pretty good job of trying to repeat the results I had with the brown corriedale but I think I can do better.

Now to get back to the pink BFL I was spinning. I transferred the small amount I already spun from the Woolee Winder bobbin to the fat core bobbin that comes with the lace kit for the Majacraft wheels. I did encounter 1 problem. I couldn't get the flyer to go onto the regular head I have. It did screw onto the high speed head so I switched them. That won't work for the Little Gem because the high speed head can only be used on the Suzie, Millie, or Rose wheels but not the Little Gem or Pioneer. I have an email out to Majacraft and The Black Lamb to find a solution.

Worries & Joys & KW

It's amazing how quickly things can change in life. You go along almost like a robot - work, shopping, home etc. Then suddenly something happens and it changes your entire perspective. That's what's been going on around here lately. As you might know from my last post, my MIL was in the hospital and for a while there it was touch and go. I'm pleased to say she came home from the hospital on Sunday. There are no words I can use to describe how great that was. If that wasn't enough, my oldest daughter gave birth to her 4th child on Friday as well. He was 6 lb. 1 oz. at birth and just look at that head of hair. He looks just like his brothers. I can't wait for my SIL to upload more pictures. Henny came home from the hospital today and both mom and baby are doing fine. Name to follow on Friday. That wasn't the only celebration on Friday. My 3rd son Usher's birthday was on the 11th as well. He just turned 27. He is thrilled to have a nephew with the same birthday as his. See, hang in there and you can get through life's curves no matter what. You just have to have faith and pray. I know there are more challenges to come but right now I am grateful for the happy times and I'll deal with the challenges when they get here.

Yesterday was the Kitchener Waterloo Knitter's Fair. I wasn't sure I was going to be able to make it but since I had the good news on Friday I decided to go. I only stayed about 2 hours and overall I think I was pretty well restrained. I had only planned on getting fibre and I was true to that to a certain extent because I didn't buy any yarn. I picked up the lace flyer kit for my Little Gem. It comes with 2 fat core bobbins and the fast whorl. I'm hoping that will help the pull on very fine singles. I also bought the stylus with 2 stylus bobbins. Laurie from The Black Lamb was at the fair so I had her bring my order there so I didn't have to worry about it being shipped. Now I have to finish the second bobbin of puple corriedale I'm working on and get it plied so I can play with my new toys.

What I did buy at the fair was this silver GoKnit Pouch. I've wanted it ever since I saw Amy come back with hers. Don't ask me why I was so crazy for it because I'm not sure. It looks similar to the bag the Little Gem comes in and I can't stand that bag. This I fell in love instantly. I bought it from the Shall We Knit booth.

This is the only fibre I got. It's Bombyx silk roving from The Rovin Spinner's. I would like to spin it on the charkha once I get a little better. I'm in love with the colours. Their two different colourways but they are both shades of purple so I figure I could use it to ply with some purple fibre I already have or some purple Rambouillet I should be getting in the next few weeks.

The Jordana Paige Knitter's Messenger bag I bought from Julie at The Needle Emporium. I had not expected her to have it because I didn't email her to remind her since I didn't decide to go until the last minute. Julie remembered it so I picked it up. I wasn't sure about the pink at first but I do like the pale shade of pink and I love the inside. It goes on forever like the Knitter's Satchel and I will be able to fit tons of stuff in it when I need to.
The first thing I bought were these buttons. They were the last thing I expected to get. I did not do buttonholes for my February Lady sweater therefore there was no need for buttons. Well these buttons had their own idea. I saw them at the Cabin Fever booth. It was the only card they had and they were just perfect for my February Lady sweater. So now I have to decide how I am going to put them on. I am first going to try sewing on the buttons and put snaps underneath. If I don't like the way that looks I get more yarn, crochet a border and do loops.

This Spinning Thing

Things have been pretty hectic in my life of late. My MIL had surgery on August 25th and it's been a very rough ride. I believe she is on the road back and we are all so very greatful. I tried knitting during my time at the hospital but I just couldn't. Instead I was spinning some green corriedale on 2 spindles and finished this corriedale on the wheel. I spun it on Lizbeth and I am so pleased with the results. This is the third batch of yarn that I am really happy with. I know they say that when you spin fine you can never go back. I thought I would try to see if I could spin thicker than the laceweight Ashford fibre I spun and this is the result. I think it's about 20 WPI, if I remember correctly. I don't have it anymore so I can't tell for sure. I know it's about 1000+ yards and it's about 200 grams. I think it's close to fingering weight.

DH also bought me this gorgeous Golding spindle. I've been lusting after it for quite some time and when I showed it to hubby I told him I wish someone would just buy it so I could stop lusting. Well he told me to go ahead and get it so I did. It came last week and, needless to say, it spins like a dream. The way the gold and red look when it's spinning is just something to behold. Yet another great tool from Golding Fiber Tools.

Tonight we're having an impromptu get together with some friends and I am looking forward to it. I took some time off on Saturday and drove up to Gemini. I came home with some fibre and another spindle. I need good lighting for that so you can see the lacewood properly. I also bought some cotton to play with on the charkha. I think I'm beginning to get the hang of that contraption. On Sunday I spent a few hours at The Purl and came home with some violet corriedale. I finished spinning half the fibre yesterday. It's amazing how much quicker you fill a bobbin when it's not thread. Now to get the second bobbin done and get it plied. I'm hoping for fingering weight about the same as the corriedale pictured above. By the weekend I should know if I'm still on a roll.