Purlewe Knits

I took a ball from the stash yesterday!  The alpaca I spun for my dad.  I did a gauge swatch with it yesterday and I hope to get started on his hat today.  He picked out an ear-flap hat from Interweave knits, Winter 05 edition.  My alpaca is a little scratchy, more so than the raw fiber, I’m not sure why.  I hope he wears it anyway.

I’ve also finished one of hubby’s slippers (to be felted).  He reminds me almost daily that they aren’t finished.  I don’t enjoy working on them, but I know I should … he toes are poking out of the old ones.  He picked the colors.  They are the colors of his favorite NFL team, the Broncos.  On some projects I have a really hard time knitting for someone else, this is one of them. 

Here’s a picture of the hand-painted sock yarn my parents got me.  I’m not sure color on the two darker ones, they didn’t come with ball bands.  The lighter ones are Lilac Desert and Soft Jazz.  I’m really looking forward to working with these. 

And here’s a picture of the progress I’m making on my Friday Harbor Socks, from Nancy Bush’s Knitting on the Road.  I was at an impasse with them yesterday.  I made the cuff longer than the pattern called for so I wasn’t exactly sure how to proceed with the foot and when to start the final chart, I’m clearly not going to have the called for 7 pattern repeats.  Then it hit me, they are my socks and I can do what I want, so last night I did.  I started traveling down the foot.  If all goes well I might have one finished today.

This part is all about baking …  

The reason the FH sock isn’t finished today and I haven’t started Dad’s hat yet is rye bread.  I love, LOVE good rye bread.  My mom is a bread baking master and so I decided when she was here to have her teach me how to make bread.  We didn’t get to it, so yesterday, all on my own, I decided to dive into making my first yeast bread.  It was really time consuming, but I’m happy to report that things are looking up and I should be baking it this afternoon.  Yep, that’s right, I started about 20 hours ago and it still isn’t in the oven.  My first mistake was thinking that my large mixing bowl was big enough to be used for bread.  (It isn’t and I’m shopping for a new bread bowl, if you know of a good store please send me a link.  http://www.cooking.com/ is the best source I’ve found so far.) Half way though adding the liquid ingredients I gave up trying to mix in the bowl, with every turn I was picking bits of flour and dough off the counter, and I dumped it on the counter and proceeded to finish adding the ingredients there.  I think this first bowl mistake contributed to my second mistake, I didn’t knead enough.  Rye dough is thick, tough stuff and by the time I had the ingredients mixed my hands were already a little tired, so I think, looking back that I only kneaded for 7-8 minutes, when I was supposed to do 15-20.  I left it to rise and nothing much happened in the almost 2 hours I gave it.  On consultation with my mom, poor mom I probably called her 7 times yesterday, I kneaded it for 15 minutes (using a timer this time) and put it in the fridge to sit.  I let it sit over night and it rose!  The yeast lives!  This morning I’ve punched it down, kneaded a little and now am waiting on the second rising – this could be the account of a bad horror film – (scary music in the back ground, while the camera pans a darkened kitchen) the bread just kept rising, no amount of punching or kneading could keep it down!  O ah ha ha ha! 

I’m going to spin while I wait. 

Happy New Year’s Eve!  Please be safe out there!

I’ve decided on my new year’s resolution.  I don’t really like resolutions made on new year’s I think they are destined to fail.  Why make January one special (unless of course it is your birthday)?  Why pick some arbitrary day to start something new and different?  Is that arbitrary day going to make you succeed in whatever it is you want to do differently?  You should pick a day that has meaning to you.  The more meaningful the day, the more likely you are to succeed.  I think (obviously – my blog).  Why not make a resolution on the solstice? It makes more sense to me, it is more of a point of change, beginning or more light (or dark – depending on your end of the planet), and it gives you 2 opportunities to start over a year!  Who couldn’t use an extra opportunity a year to do something different (or over)?

What is my destined to fail, arbitrary day’s resolution … stash diet.  That’s it.  My stash must go on a diet.  I have been knitting about 3 years now (about).  This has been my most productive year and it has also, obviously, been the stash’s year to take some on (weight, that is).  I had to clean the fiber room, it has gone in just the last 6 months from being referred to as the guest bedroom to the fiber room, for my parents visit.  I knew I had a bit of a mess in there, but when I had a hard time cramming everything into the closet (the nice big roomy closet), it hit me (or was that my kniddy knoddy falling from the top of the pile) that there might be an issue. 

So I decided a diet it was, at least for the stash.  The stash can’t exercise and eat right, which is the effort that hubby and I have been trying to make.  (my arbitrary goal date for my weight is the end of Sept – I’ll have to let you know how that goes)

My stash diet started on Thursday.  Why Thursday?  Because I bought yarn on Wednesday.  So I have successfully gone 2 days without purchasing fiber!  This is a start!  I’m going to approach it like an AA group would.  2 days!  The first step!  I can do it!  Of course this doesn’t count the fiber I’ve ordered (and that still hasn’t shipped!! – even though I paid extra for expedited shipping – Grr!) and not received.  It also doesn’t include fiber given to me (please take note – come 6 months from now I might be begging). 

I’m not going to tell you how many balls (or lbs of fiber) are in the closet.  That is going to be part of the game, adding up the balls and spun fiber as the exit the closet (for a project – landslides don’t count!).  I’ll add a counter or something as soon as I get to the point of removal. 

And here’s why I think I can survive a stash diet … (1)Yesterday my folks gifted me with some yarn!  The went to Brown Sheep while out west visiting family for the holidays.  They got me 4 new colors of sock yarn (in hand painted – yumminess) and another color, Columbine, to make my niece some socks.  I’m going to photo the hand-painted instead of link to it, links would do it no justice (not sure my photos will either, but I’ll try).  They also got me yarn so I make my dad some felted slippers, boring grey, but it is the first time my dad has asked for something so I’ll enjoy knitting it for him.  (2) I have yarn on the way from Little Knits (did I mention I paid extra for shipping?  Extra 4 days ago and it still hasn’t shipped!!!).  I got some Schaefer, Anne and some Wool in the Wood Twin Twist two new to me yarns. (3) The baby alpaca I got for X-mas. 

So my erge to buy fiber is satiated right now, a stash diet seems like a good idea.  I have enough yarn/fiber, I do, seriously, I do, the closet says I do ….  I have enough for a while at least. 

Pictures?  I know, I need some, but right now it is dark and I am more successful with the camera using natural light.  I’ll done get some later, I mean it this time. 

My friend Candice modeling the Calorimetry from knitty.com I made.   

I’m pretty sure the yarn is crystal palace, monet.  It was stash yarn without a ball band.  Rare, but it does happen, that I throw something like a ball band away. 

I like it!!  And so does my mom.  I’ll soon be making her one out of the alpaca I spun her for X-mas. 

Calorimetry’s for all!

I have to apologize today, my pictures are dark … expensive camera and I have no clue how to use it, sometimes I get lucky … sometimes I don’t. 

I made myself this little head thing.  It’s a Calorimetry from knitty.com

It was fun and quick and I got to go button shopping for it.

this is some yarn I gave my mom for Christmas.  It is single ply and she is a weaver, I hear it is a good mix.  It was 300 yards, so she should at least get a warp out of it.  I’m not sure exactly what the fiber is, wool or some mystery breed. 

I started the Friday Harbor socks yesterday, I really like the pattern and how they are coming along.  I’m staying home to knit today, so I’ll photo that later when I’ve made some more progress. 

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday!!

I did some finishing this weekend.  It felt good!  I’ve got pictures too, but first I caught the dogs being cute this weekend.  You can tell that Kory, the big one, wasn’t  happy being photo-ed, but at least he didn’t run this time. 

 I finished the Crazy Pink Socks

 The Pea Pod Set is DONE! I delivered it today!

 And I finished spinning the alpaca I had wanted to get done for Christmas presents.  So I finished the spinning, but the knitting will have to wait.  At first, I’m not sure my dad will enjoy a hunk of yarn as much as he would a hat, but he’ll learn to love it.  I’ve actually decided to let him pick the pattern – that way I know he’ll be happy with it – and I’m off the hook for X-mas knitting!

 Odessa

 and Odessa with Sunshine for comparison.

I have 170 yards of Odessa and 130 yards of Sunshine.  That is about half a pound total of fiber, for what it is worth.  Sunshine is a little thinner and Odessa is a little evener.  I think I might be getting better at this spinning thing!

I’m going to go sleep now.  This lack of sunshine thing is really bringing me down.  All I want to do is sleep!  I’ve always wanted to migrate with the sun, or at least live somewhere that has more constant day length.  The days are getting longer now though!  WooHoo!  Bring on the sun!