Ami pets and Stash

As it was my friend Chelsey's birthday yesterday, I was under obligation to make her something.Her favorite animal is a monkey, her favorite color is blue, and I just so happened to have really fuzzy, soft yarn in that color. The result? An amigurimi monkey! And she really liked it. :3






A while ago I also made an ami panda for my sister. The eyelash yarn was a little difficult to start with, but eventually you get the hang of it. She LOVES pandas, and I couldn't help myself when I saw this pattern. The center picture is of the two animals hanging out on Victoria's computer, listening to music. They enjoyed it there before the monkey had to leave.



There was also a little bit of stash enhancement, totally against my new years resolution. I just learned I had an LYS so close to my home, but when I got there I learned that they were closing at the end of the month. All the yarn was 50% off. Obviously I couldn't resist the prices, and stashed a little. The orange and pink skeins are Fortissima Socka by Schoeller and Stahl. Solid colored sock yarn in bright spring colors was too good to pass up. I do believe I'm getting bored with some of the multicolored sock yarns out there. Those beautiful golden brown hanks are Berroco Ultra Alpaca Light, destined to be a mitten and hat combo. It's so incredibly soft, the thought of mittens was too good to pass up, especially if I get to go to the east coast for school.





Oh, and I just learned about artfire, a website similar to Etsy. If I'm ever going to sell my yarn, I'm pretty sure I'll make an account on there.

All for now....

Procrastinating

With so many scholarship deadlines coming up, I really should be completing them right now. Maybe I'll right one of those essays after I right this. Writing this is more fun.... :)

In the spirit of scholarship, this is the sweater I'll be submiting for my only fibery scholarship. Intricate cables, fitted sweater, nice neckline....I'm hoping it displays my knitting abilities enough to help me win.

I also finished the argyle scarf that I was making for my sister. She really likes it (I think :3), and it's perfect for when she goes to MIT. Now I know her neck won't be frostbitten. :D

There has also been a spinning marathon at my house. In the attempt to make as much yarn as possible for senior project, I have made my arm incredibly sore. However, I'm really happy with the results. I'm using one of the rovings I dyed in December. It's merino wool, dyed with Wilton's Cake Paste coloring. The yarn is turning out far prettier than I imagined. After I knit it and wash it, we'll see how well the dye sticks to the wool.

By the way, did you notice the spindle? Isn't it beautiful? I made it from a toy wheel and a dowel, and then my sister (same one in the photo in the scarf) painted it. It is even more beautiful in real life. She promised to paint me a few more as well. :3 Aren't I spoiled?

Birthday party tonight....watch yourself Chelsey Blue.... ; )

All for now....

Progress and Questions

WIP UPDATE:

From the first post I made, I'm here with an update on the knitting and crocheting I've been doing. The big blue socks I finished, and gave them to my grandpa for Christmas (see photo :]). I haven't touched the blanket in a long time, I believe it can be officially classified as a UFO. As for the Hermione scarf, I really wasn't liking how it was turning out and frogged it. I now have the recycled yarn planned for three other scarves, one I'm currently working on. Sorry, no picture yet. For those on Ravelry it is a free pattern called the Simple Argyle Scarf by Tricia Keffer. It's crochet and wonderfully simple. By the way, my Ravelry name is DestinysRose. Add me if you would like. :3

Additionally, there has been some serious spinning and plying on my part in the last three days. Of my spinning career, I have only made three skeins of usable yarn. Granted I've only made three and a half skeins my whole life, the first half being my practice first time skein. It didn't take me long to get the hang of it. :]

I'm pretty sure you can click to embiggen, but in case you don't feel like it I'll tell you what they are. The two skeins on the left are two-ply, 100% corriedale wool, lace weight yarn. There is about 350 yards total and I'm planning on dyeing them autumn leaf red to make the lace scarf in the fall issue of Spin-Off. Hopefully there is enough yardage. The skein on the right is three-ply, 70% corriedale wool 30% nylon, sock weight yarn. There is 177 yards, so I need to spin up at least one more skein in order to make socks. Victoria (my twin sister) is already in love with this yarn and wants the socks made from this.

To those out there who are reading this, I have two questions. The first is about Etsy. Now I've never ordered anything from that website, but the more yarn I spin and the more roving I dye, the more curious I am about starting my own shop.If any of you have good information or tips on starting my own shop, please leave a comment. The second question is about the Sheep Shed Studio. I've been eyeing their online store for some time now, and I really want to order the brown and black rovings. They are a wonderful price, but the website description makes me a little nervous about the state of the rovings. As a relatively new spinner, I have no equipment to straighten out a slightly matted or felty roving. If you have any experience, again please let me know! Thanks everyone!

Long Catchup Post....

So, wow, I just realized I have been ignoring this blog for some time now and it's time for an update. I have so much to share!

Life is so much more calm now with applications all finished, two week break and Science Bowl and Science Olympiad Regional competitions over with. Tokay won first place in both, and I'll be headed to Washington DC for National Science Bowl and Fresno for State Science Olympiad. In addition to this traveling, I will also be visiting MIT with my sister for CPW. I think I can officially say this is the best senior year any nerd could have.

I have also been doing a lot of fibery things since the last time I posted.

This is some nice stash enhancement from paradise fibers. I really fell in love with the idea of christmas socks. The yarn is beautiful, soft and sparkly. I can't wait to work with this.

Since I'm spinning yarn for my senior project, I dyed some wool roving around christmas time. That was a learning experience all right. Never dye any roving during winter, it takes FOREVER to dry. And the doggy really likes warm sheep smell, she wanted a bite of the roving really, really bad.

I've also spun a few hanks of yarn: two just need finishing, and two are in the spinning singles stage. I plan on finishing them, plus a few more during break for my project. Pictures will be available soon.

And finally, a book review!

The Joy of Sox

This is an absolutely amazing book of sock knitting. With its cheesy but oh so hilarious sexual inuendos and beautiful socks, it really is a must have pattern book for those who love sock knitting. I was very impressed. I've never liked a clothing book as much as I enjoy this one. At some point, I'm probably going to make every one of these socks, with the exception of maybe two of the 30+ patterns. It is also a very good book if you want to substitute handspun, handpainted yarn as the patterns use largely the same thing. I highly recommend it to everyone.

All for now...