Spinning Show & Tell: Old News

My contribution to the Age of Brass and Steam SAL/KAL has gotten about ten stitches worth of attention since it's beginning burst of progress. I've been knitting other things, which you'll know if you were here yesterday. But I also have a WIP on the wheel, which was began back in August but still isn't finished.

My sister bought these two braids for me from Little Libellule on the condition that I would spin and knit for her a shawlette out of the more neutral of the two braids we selected. This bargain suited me fine, because I got two gorgeous braids of hand dyed Falkland wool and I even got to keep one of them. I immediately began spinning the yarn for her shawl, and two months later I'm still only half way done. 

I think the main reason for this is that I'm spinning it extremely fine. I'm spinning it extremely fine in the hopes that I will get a light fingering or fingering weight yarn, though if I managed finer than that I wouldn't complain. I also don't dedicate as much time to spinning as I do to knitting. 

I'm hoping to finish the yarn sometime soon- before my sister's patience wears thin. Thankfully, by not updating her on the progress of the yarn, I think she has forgotten it's existence, and perhaps I will surprise her one day in mid December with a lovely drapey shawl knit from gloriously thin handspun. (That plan is pretty much dashed now because she reads this blog.) 

Thanks for stopping by, and stay tuned for progress on this spinning project, whose end is not quite in sight. Be sure to check out Crafts from the Cwtch for more spinning tales. 

I Couldn't Wait

I mentioned in my last post that I'd stupidly started a pair of socks with less than three months to go until Christmas. I haven't gotten a lot done on them, because starting a selfish project doesn't necessarily mean I've been neglecting the selfless ones.

I started these socks on a whim because I was feeling entirely uninspired to knit any of my seemingly endless WIPs. I'm following the pattern Pin Striped Socks, which I discovered from watching the Must Stash Podcast, which I highly recommend. The only changes I'm making to the pattern are to knit the cuff for 2 inches in 1x1 ribbing and to knit the socks two-at-a-time on one circ. I've knit a few pairs of socks toe-up 2aat, but this is the first time doing them cuff down.

The yarn is Knitpicks Felici in the colorway 'Building Blocks.' This colorway is about to sell out and the last few balls are greatly reduced in price, which is the sole (no pun intended) reason I bought them. Despite the colors being reminiscent of Bob the Builder, I quite like them and look forward to seeing the finished socks.

See you tomorrow for a spinning update- though, in the light of these socks, my Age of Brass and Steam shawl hasn't been getting much love!

FO Friday: A Couple Weeks Late

I've been delighted with my Pogona shawl since I finished it almost two weeks ago. Every time I look at it, every time I wrap it around my shoulders, I'm reminded just how amazing it is. Most of this amazingness is due to Stephen West  and Tosh Mo Light (colorway earl gray), but I'd say about 12% of it is my talent (subtle Avengers reference? Maybe not so subtle? See what I did there?). 

Overall, I enjoyed knitting this as much as I enjoy having it in my hands (I suppose technically it was in my hands the entire time I was knitting it, but you know what I mean), but the 600+ stitches per row near the end were a bit trying. The stitches were so bunched up on the needle I couldn't really see what it was going to look like, and the yarn gave me trouble in a few places. I think this was more because of how I wound the ball than the actual yarn, and I would happily buy another skein. I also want to try some other Madeleinetosh yarns, after I sample I skein or two of Malabrigo of course. 

That's it for me. In other news, I finished Peter Pan today instead of yesterday because yesterday was super busy for me and I had no time to knit or listen to anything, and I also started a pair of socks today which was probably not the wisest thing to do with Christmas 88 days away. I'll be blogging about those two topics on Wednesday... if I can wait that long! 

Thanks for stopping by! I'm linking with Tami's Amis today. 

WIPs & Books: Hexipuffs and Neverland

KNITTING: The Beekeeper's Quilt by Tiny Owl Knit
YARN: Various scraps
READING: Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie 

My Beekeeper's Quilt hasn't been getting as much attention as it wants, of late. I've been too busy knitting bigger and better things. But when you look at a big pile of over 160 hexipuffs lying on the floor, that seems pretty big. The hexipuffs themselves, unfortunately, are small and slightly boring, which is why they've become occasional TV knitting and little else. This is why I've only completed 14 out of the 30 I had planned for September, and with less than a week of the month remaining, it doesn't look like I'll be knitting many more. 

One of the things I been watched while I knit hexipuffs is the 2003 Peter Pan, which I hadn't seen for years. Having completely adored it when I was an under ten, I was surprised to love it even more this time. Possibly this is because I also recently watched Finding Neverland, which has become one of my favorite films and gave me a new appreciation for J.M. Barrie's creation.

Anyway, watching Peter Pan inspired me to read the book, and when I happened upon the audio book instead I took my chance to listen to it. I only started it yesterday and already I'm almost done- I hope to finish it tomorrow if not tonight. I'm enjoying it quite a lot, though at the beginning Peter frequently got on my nerves. Also, one thing I love about the movie is how important they seem to make Tinker Bell's revival to Peter, and in the book I almost missed that part it went by so quickly. I grant you, this could have been because I was doing Algebra at the time and the book only received half of my attention.

That's all for me tonight! Thank you for stopping by, and check out Tami's Amis for more WIP posts! 

Spinning Show & Tell: Just in time for fall

Since knitting became my main hobby, the fall and winter seasons have become my favorite, for the sole reason that I can actually wear the multitude of things that I knit. That's not to say I don't wear my cozy wool sweaters in July- after all, what else is air conditioning for?

The day after the start of autumn, a Spin-along/Knit-along was started by A Yarn Loving Mama in which participants will be spinning the yarn and knitting Age of Brass and Steam by Orange Flower. I made a last minute decision to join, because I've had my eye on the pattern for a long time and I needed something to knit with my TdF Alpaca. While this yarn was spun before the SAL/KAL began, I've received permission from AYLM herself to include myself in the spinning and knitting parts.

I started yesterday evening, and I already feel like I've made tons of progress:

I've never done a shawl in anything but fingering weight, and the sport weight/ DK weight seems to be going much faster! I think the 100% alpaca squishiness of this yarn is making me knit quicker, too. While the KAL goes on indefinitely, I think I should be able to finish in just a few days. 

In other spinning news, I have another handspun project that I see being cast on in the near future- a bit of selfish knitting to tide me over while I'm working on Christmas knits. The pattern is Capucine  and I plan on making a stripy festive one out of these two yarns:

Both were dyed and spun by me, and each is a little over 100 yards. I'm hoping I have enough to add full-sized tassels! 

Thanks for stopping by! I'm linking with the lovely Sarah at Crafts from the Cwtch today. 

What's Up?

How did the entire week go by without me blogging once? Truth is I've been busy- busier than I like! Between school, writing, and trying to get as much knitting done as possible, I've been continuing to neglect this poor old blog. But, to quote Batman's dad, "Why do we fall? So we can learn to pick ourselves up." (Another thing I've been doing while not blogging is watching Batman, which is why that phrase comes so easily to mind.)

Today's blog post deserves only one subject, though in fairness it is quite a big subject:

I'm knitting Pogona by Stephen West- I bought the yarn, Tosh Mo Light, at the DFW Fiber Fest this past April. The colorway is Earl Gray, but it reminds me of Rivendell from Lord of the Rings. I love the pattern- it's my first Stephen West pattern, but I see myself knitting many more in the future! 

This project was recently on a quick time out because the other night while watching Foyle's War (I do love my British TV shows) with my sister, a huge knot came out of my ball of yarn, quickly followed by another one. I spent most of the episode trying to untangle yarn! (And that's saying something, as these episodes are a good hour and a half long.) But it's all been sorted out now and I'm making good progress again. 

That being said, I just picked up a pair of socks that desperately need to be finished, so Pogona may not be getting as much attention as it wants in the next week or two! And, to add in another distraction, a box full of yarn for Christmas knitting (after all, the holidays are less than four months away!) is coming in the mail tomorrow. I keep telling myself that getting started on Christmas knitting now will mean I'll be done well before Christmas and I'll have a stress free December, but honestly I think Christmas knitting will make the time come more quickly! Then again, speaking as a kid at heart, that's not necessarily a bad thing...

FO Friday: Oh Wait, it's Sunday

Wow! I have a great many lame excuses for my three week long hiatus. To name a few, my sister left for college two weeks ago, I've been spending plenty of time nurturing a newfound love of the Disney Musical Newsies and the music found within it (I'd say this mild obsession has started to tone down a bit, but considering I'm listening to Seize the Day as I type, I know that's not really true), and I started high school a week ago (I'm homeschooled, so high school isn't all that big a deal, but it is an awful lot harder than what I was doing in the past few years).

Though I haven't found time to blog, I have found plenty of time to knit, and I have a few new projects to show you. Tonight, I present a pair of fingerless mitts that I finished just the other day.

Though it took me a few weeks total to knit these Owlie Mitts, the time actually spent knitting them was pretty short. The pattern, Owl Wrist Warmers, had been on my mental to-do list since well before last Christmas, but I've only now gotten around to knitting them. They were easy while the color work kept them exciting, and they've inspired me to do more colorwork projects (such as Bláithín by Kate Davies. Just kidding, I think steeks are a little more than I can handle with Christmas just around the corner). 

For these mitts, I used Knitpicks Palette in Alfalfa for the main color, and random scraps of other yarn for the contrasting colors. As I'm not in possession of US2 DPNs, I used US1s and tried to knit loosely- I wasn't too concerned about gauge with a project like this. Because of this, the mitts were slightly different in size when I finished them, but blocking sorted this out, and helped to straighten out some of the imperfect color work. 

That's all I have to say about that! For those of you who had given this blog up for dead, I hope you will come running back screaming about miracles, and if you happen to be new, please know that it is extremely abnormal for me to go on long breaks like this! I'll be back tomorrow (hopefully) with more stories of my adventures while on blogging break! 

AlgernonKnits Giveaway Winner!

The time has come to select the winner of my very first giveaway! Is anybody else as excited as I am?

And the truly random number generator says...

Congratulations MEESHELLE! I'm contacting you for your contact information now!

Thanks for playing everybody, and stick around for future giveaways! Don't forget to check out my (now open) shop, AlgernonKnits! 

WIPs & Books: Lots of Both!

KNITTING: Simply Summer Socks by Liz Pankratz
Beekeeper's Quilt by Tiny Owl Knits
Mr Fox Stole My Heart & Mini Fox by Tiny Owl Knits
YARN: Knitpicks Comfy Fingering in 'Peapod' and 'Hollyberry' (socks)
Knitpicks Full Circle Bulky in 'Mocha' (Mr Fox)
Various mini skeins and sock weight leftovers (hexipuffs)
READING: Beowulf, translated by Seamus Heaney
The Reluctant Assassin (W.A.R.P #1), by Eoin Colfer
LISTENING: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams
My Ántonia, by Willa Cather

Wow! That's quite a busy week, isn't it? So much to cover! Let's start with the knitting stuff.

Upon request, I'm knitting a pair of Simply Summer Socks each for my sister-in-law and her daughter/my friend. I just started the first pair yesterday, and got the majority of what I've thus far completed finished while watching the BBC production of David Copperfield this afternoon. (A word or two about the movie- it's not a great adaption of a great book, and I would have gotten very little out of it had I not recently read the book. Despite it having a multitude of actors who I have seen in the various British shows and movies I watch, few were truly memorable, the exception being Sir Ian McKellen, whose portrayal of Mr Creakle is absolutely stunning.) I'm doing green heel and toe contrasts for the red socks, and right now I can't decide if the color combination is reminding me more of Christmas or strawberries. 

As there is a KAL for the Mr Fox Stole My Heart & Mini Fox going on in the Tiny Owl Knits group on Ravelry right now, I'm taking the chance to knit a Mr Fox. I knit a Mini Fox a while back, but never did get around to knitting the full sized thing. Upon hearing of the KAL, I managed to find some yarn in my stash... of finished objects that I never, ever use. I ripped back the Instant Gratification Scarf that I knit but have only worn once on a very, very cold day. As I don't think a Mr Fox would find much love in my own wardrobe either, I'm going to gift him to somebody- I won't say who, though, because the recipient may read this blog and I don't want her to find out! 

As for my Beekeeper's Quilt, I've been much more productive this month than I was last month. In July, I knit 3 hexipuffs, but this month I'm aiming for a higher goal- one a day. So far I'm doing quite well, and have completed a total of seven and a half. 

I've been reading a lot this week, as well- firstly, Beowulf, which I have to read for school this year but I'm getting a head start on. The copy I'm using has both the English translation and the original Old English, and while I can't make heads or tails out of the latter it's interesting to compare the two. So far I'm enjoying it much more than I have any other book I've read for school, and I look forward to studying it in the coming year.

I'm also reading Eoin Colfer's new book, The Reluctant Assassin. I only got it today and I've only read a few chapters, but it's already enjoyable and has the same delightful humor as his other books. I have yet to see if it will live up to the standards set by Artemis Fowl, though.

In terms of audio books, I listened to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams, a few days ago and thoroughly enjoyed it. I read about half of it a few years ago, but never finished it- having done so now, I can't think what stopped me in the past. I also started My Ántonia last night, but I've only listened to the beginning of it and haven't had time to form an opinion of it yet.

Sorry for this novel of a post! But, at long last, it is finished. I'm linking with Tami's Amis today!

P.s. Be sure to enter my Etsy shop giveaway here!

Spinning Show & Tell: Finally, some Productivity

In the past few days, I've finally picked up some spinning projects. I haven't done much spinning since the Tour de Fleece, but I think I'm back in gear now.

I have two braids coming from Etsy in the next few days. I'm going to spin one of them to knit a shawlette for my sister, and as she's paying for them I can't afford to make a mistake with the yarn weight I decided to practice spinning a fingering weight on the same fiber I didn't finish spinning a couple of weeks ago. I successfully spun about 15 grams of fiber into and 83 yard mini skein of 2-ply fingering weight, which I promptly knit into a hexipuff.

I also have been working on a second spinning project, this one on the drop spindle. Remember that fiber I dyed a few weeks ago? Well, I found out why it was difficult to spin... Unfortunately, I managed to felt it just slightly when I dyed it, which made it almost impossible to spin- on the wheel, that is. However, on the drop spindle it's much easier. I'm able to draft more slowly, and I'm getting a somewhat consistent and quite fine single. 

I love the colors- there's a lot of red and pink, with splashes of green and grey. It reminds me a lot of the 2012 Doctor Who Christmas Special, The Snowmen, with the red and grey of Clara's outfits and the general greenness of Madam Vastra. I still need a colorway name, though- any suggestions would be welcome! 

That's all the spinning for me this week- I'll have more next week! I'm linking with Crafts from the Cwtch today. 

P.S. Don't forget to enter my giveaway here!