Knitting in the Sun.

It is a sunshiny day today. So pleasant, that the little one and I tromped around the yard and did a few less than pleasant chores... and had a blast doing it!

Now I am knitting in the sun. How nice, I could sit here at my warm sunny window all day.



I am knitting my first pair of socks for myself as a part of the "Never have I ever...." Knit-A-Long with the "Watcha Swatchin Podcast". (I really enjoy Emily's little mini podcasts!)

These socks are 3 things I have never done:

1. Knit socks for myself
2. Knit an afterthought heel
3. Use self-striping yarn



I am SO loving this Knit Picks Felici Sportweight (which they are sadly discontinuing... so if you want some you better hurry! They will still have the fingering weight.). Believe it or not, this is the "Sunny Day" colorway - how perfect.



I have been busy with lots of other knitting as well... hopefully I will have a chance to post about those projects soon :) Have a happy sunny day!

Powering through, the Mordor Shawl

As my pile of works in progress continues to grow, I decided it was time to finish something. In order for me to complete a project I dedicate 85% of my totally knitting time every day to that object... otherwise they never get finished.



Last week I focused my attentions on the Mordor Shawl, a lovely pattern and a beautiful finished shawl. I love that it is long and narrow... almost like a scarf. I still need to block it to get more of a crescent shape.

I made some minor modifications, such as doubling the contrast color band before the ruffle border, but don't ask me how exactly how I worked it all out... it was a figure it out as I go kind of thing.



The orange is Berroco Vintage DK in Pumpkin (pumpkin spice?) and the multi is Lorna's Laces Sportmate in the November '12 Rusty Bucket colorway. Love love love these colors. I knit most of this while catching up on Downton Abbey, and the purples and grays of the Lorna's Laces looked so much like the beautiful gowns of the Grantham sisters.


(Hey! look! It's the Dinosaur Train, lol.)

One 2013 project down, many more to go.

I Can Spin! (a little bit)

I fell into the Knit Picks trap.  I needed to buy one thing. One little ball of yarn, but shipping doubled the cost of my purchase... and Knit Picks offers free shipping with a $50 purchase, so... I loaded up my cart. And, I got spinning stuff - yay!

I never thought I would want to learn to spin, mainly because I was such a SLOW knitter that I though spinning would just slow that process down even more. However, now... I think I am a pretty fast knitter... and the idea of making my own yarn is fun. The process itself is what I am interested in right now, and that is a good thing because this is slow going.


This is my Knit Picks Turkish drop spindle, I am using it as a low whirl, and the fiber is Wool of the Andes in  "Salsa Heather". I can't really review them for quality as I have never spun any fiber or used any other spindle, but they seem to work pretty good for my beginner purposes. I found the Knit Picks spinning videos on You Tube very helpful.


Are you a spinner? Any tips?