The visit was a good one despite the triple-digit temperatures (seriously, 110F heat index?? on a regular basis?? In what world is that a comfortable??). It was, however, too short and a bit chaotic, and one of those which leaves one thinking of buying a lottery ticket or finding that elusive genie.

Aside from a tiny bit of shopping, a lot of visiting family, and an even greater amount of gasping for breath in impossible temperatures and humidity levels, I did a bit of spinning, some washing fleece (which I’ll show you later), and some knitting.

And believe it or not, I actually finished a few things.

First, the skein of Manos wool/silk which was gifted in the SP13 swap was just enough for a Flock Together cowl.

It’s an easy pattern, although I modified it a bit to add the increases toward the end. It threw the pattern off, but I can live with that. It’s a soft yarn and has good drape, and the cowl is cozy and soft. And yes, I’m rather intending it to be for me.

Second, remember these batts?

Which became this yarn?

Well, it became a Wavy Feathers Wimple (actually, a cowl).

I’m not a sock knitter, but cowls make easy travel knitting, and are small enough for knitting on the plane. The pattern is easy, and I used nearly all the yarn for this particular pattern, and I’m very pleased with how the yarn handled. The cowl is soft with a bit of a halo from the kid mohair, and a bit of shine and glitz from the minor fibers. And no, I’ve not yet decided whether it’ll stay with me or move on, but I have a hunch it’s destined for a gift.

On another front, I needed a spinner’s lap cloth and realized I couldn’t make it myself. For a long time, if someone asked me if I could sew, I used to answer that I could at least sew a straight line. HA! Let’s get real; that line is about as straight as a sidewinder snake’s track. It wasn’t rocket science to realize I couldn’t make something which would look halfway decent. So, I asked a very special gal at the folk’s church—one who is a serious quilter—if she’d do the job for me. I gave her the design and specs, and cannot say how pleased I am with what she did. Check this:

That back (or front, if you prefer) looks rather plain, but notice the middle section:

The pocket is exactly the right size to hold a small plastic cutting board which works beautifully for flick carding.

And the other side:

The bars are exactly 1″ deep, and the contrast colors will make measuring twist easier. Both sides allow you to see a dark fiber against a light background, and a light fiber against a dark background. I’ve broken it in and am just—as some folks on this side of the pond might say—chuffed.

First, I received the last SP13 package!  My SP turned out to be Lakeside at http://www.lakeside.twoday.net/ and was just a gem.  This last package was beautiful!

And I had to laugh; you’ve simply gotta love a bundle that includes yarn, chocolate, AND Jelly Bellies! The Folk Shawls book has been on my list, and I love the patterns. Were it not for the fact that there are 2 UFOs on the needles at the moment and they’re both lace, I’d have been casting on for yet another. But we’re talking about a slow knitter who can’t handle more than two works in progress at a time, so I suspect it had better wait a bit.

There’s a perfect pair of Adi Lace needles in exactly the right size for the Zephyr shawl which is on the needles now, and there’s a skein of Manos silk-blend singles that you need a closer look at:

Look at the shine, and the glow in those colors. And see the clever shawl pin? Is that not just lovely?

Seriously, it’s been a joy. It’s always difficult to choose gifts that match the recipient when you don’t really know the person, and much as a blog might say, it’s not the same as knowing the individual. But Lakeside really nailed things, and I couldn’t have asked for better. Thank you, sweetie.

Also in the mail recently was this terrific little bundle:

The fiber is Spælsau, and the loose batts are Angora blends. They were part of the Spinners Home fiber swap, and the sender was the gal behind the Ullgruven (http://www.ullgruven.no/) website. If you can’t read Norwegian, it doesn’t matter. Just click through the images, but especially look at the hand-felted animals. They are simply too cool, and are the siblings to the little sheep in the middle of all that bounty . . .

Is he just not too cool? She does awesome work, and I’m so impressed. Felting and needle felting is not something I’ve been interested in getting into, but I just absolutely love this little dude.

In the midst of everything, I threw these into the dyepot the other day.

The fleeces were in the grease, they were dyed with acid dyes, and I love them. There’s a 50/50 blend of Teeswater and a Rambouillet/Corriedale cross, both from Kate Lowder of Lower Colours Farm. One of the things I’ve been experimenting with has been blends, and I’ve learned a few things with this one. First, a 50/50 by weight does not mean a 50/50 by volume and therefore not a 50/50 by impact. The Teeswater is heavier than the Rambo/Corrie cross, so what you end up with is, in reality a much lower concentration. 50/50 of this blend actually gives something closer to 35/65 by effect—and the effect is B O U N C E. The fluff factor here is incredible, and that really shows up in the yarn. I span a few yards of a test skein at varying weights to see what would happen, and the squish is amazing. At laceweight and firmly spun, the yarn has a crisp definition while retaining its softness. Spun at a worsted weight and more softly, it’s fluffy and increasingly elastic, and the slight fuzzy halo is more noticeable.

There is something about the process of creating your own fibers that I’ve fallen in love with. It’s not merely the ability to control the creative process from start to finish, but the opportunity to experiment, learn, challenge, and use your own creativity that makes it so exciting—and so addictive.

Last, Ellen was sweet enough to give me a Creative Blogger award.

The rules say that you’re supposed to name 8 others, but I’ll be honest and say that I just can’t do that right now. There are a lot of folks who deserve such an award, but you’ll have to let me catch up on it later.

At the moment, I have a batch of student essays to evaluate and return, and my hope is that I can manage all that by tomorrow evening. If I can, then I’ll essentially have the next week off for a break, and to be honest, I could use that. So could you.

Academia’s publish or perish philosophy is a ticking time bomb for other folks than just me, but the difficulty is really figuring out how to juggle a full schedule with a writing one; they have a nasty tendency to not match.

On a purely positive note, this came in yesterday’s mail:

It’s a second swap package, and I love it.  Folk Vests is something I’ve had on my Amazon list for a while.  The patterns tend to be square, but I think most of them could be easily enough altered to give them a bit of a shape.  However, it’s the charts that are really really cool, and the book makes a perfect match for Folk Socks. And I find myself wanting the Bookworm Vest  . . .  How appropriate is that name??  Aside from the book, there’s a very very cool little blank book—which, mind you, DH thinks is the coolest thing since sliced bread because of the fabric covering and magnet clasp—another perfect postcard, some Milka chocolate (how many times do we see that huge purple cow on televised sports events??), and 3 impossibly soft skeins of Malabrigo laceweight yarn in a lovely earthy set of colors.   I’ve seen this yarn but never had the opportunity to use it, and it’s that roll-in-it-naked softness that you just absolutely can’t resist.  Now to find a perfect pattern . . . And by the way, who will it be for?  HA!  Foolish, foolish question.  Who do you think it’ll be for??

And yep, I do have some fiber pron for you later; the recipient just has to receive her package first.  As a hint:  I’ve been experimenting. 

Just one thing.  I’m trying to finish that silly Cobblestone which DH should have gotten last Christmas.

Part B: Have you finished?

ROFLMAO!!    ARE you kidding?  I’ve got about 5 inches (I think) left of the yoke, and those purl rows are driving me nuts!  Why do you think it’s still not finished?? Ok, that’s not the reason.  I’ve no idea what the reason is; after carding and spinning the yarn for it, you’d think I’d be in a hurry to get it off the needles so something else could go on!

No, seriously, it’ll be done.  Even before Christmas.

Thankfully, Christmas is next Thursday.  That gives me almost a week, right?

Not so long ago, I was bemoaning the need for things to laugh about.  Foolish, foolish me.

It’s been cold lately, and the little car (DH thought it was a super deal and couldn’t pass it by) I’ve been driving the last couple of months is . . . well, quirky.  It has a funky gear box that likes to make you go to first before you go to reverse. The interior light doesn’t come on when the door on the driver’s side opens, but it does for the passenger’s side.  When it gets cold, the passenger side door doesn’t like to stay shut unless you lock it.   DH has a tooth infection and went to the dentist.  Since the affected tooth was part of an earlier root canal and had been capped, they really want to save the tooth, so he’s being referred to a specialist.  Knowing he wouldn’t be able to chew good stuff, I stopped at the store to pick up something for soup.  Locked the car door with the key (there’s only one for both lock and ignition)—and then can’t get the key out.  And can’t open the door. Because something inside the lock is frozen into position. And since the cold is affecting the other door as well and the silly bugger won’t close properly unless you lock it is, well, locked, you’re locked out.  And of course your cell phone—you know, the one you’d use to call DH and beg him to bring you the spare key—is in the computer bag in the car because after all, you just thought you were going in for a minute.  And so you go into the shop, leaving the doggoned key hanging from the car door lock and would considering praying some kid will come along and steal the sucker if it weren’t for the fact that your laptop, schedule, credit cards, and cell phone is in that beast. But thankfully, a kind grocery fellow lends you his cell phone so you can call DH—who just sounds totally blank when you explain what’s happened.

Feeling bad though he is, he brings the spare key (which incidentally means you can get home), so you use it to open the other side, crawl with absolutely no dignity at all across two bucket seats and a stick shift, open the driver’s side door and just manage to not fall out the other side. The door opens, but the key still doesn’t come out. And so you use the spare to start the car and drive home, listening to the rhythmic beat of the key chain jangling merrily against the door just to remind you that it’s still there.

When you get home, you search the house for an extension cord and find that bless his heart, DH did something another relative might do and left the sucker plugged in on the back porch—which, incidentally, is now frozen under a couple feet of snow and your chances of getting it out before a thaw are nil to none. Abashedly, he finds you another cord, and you stretch it out the window to the car, hoping you don’t electrocute yourself along the way as the connection drags through the snow, and plug in a hair dryer to see if blowing some warm air into the lock might help . . . and of course it doesn’t. So you turn the car on and let it idle with the heat going full blast for about 20 minutes to see if that will loosen things up . . . and of course it doesn’t.

And at that point you decide the icicles and snow are just NOT your friend, turn off the car, close the door, close the passenger door, lock the passenger door since it doesn’t want to stay shut in the cold, give it all up as a bad job and leave it sit there to sulk all it wants to, with a forlorn hope the nasty little brute will wake up in a better temper tomorrow, but secretly knowing you’ll have to take it to someone else to get the key out of the lock.  And in those last several moments, you’re having to dodge Stalker Cat for fear that the beast will get in the house or decide to nail your foot for passing too closely.

The car has now sat in the garage with the key still in the lock for nearly a week; DH doesn’t believe in admitting defeat.

I’m one of those people who believe God has a wicked sense of humor.

On a spinning front, there was this . . .

Beaded Moonflower.  The color in the top shot is pretty correct.

Fiber: BFL from Spunky Eclectic in the “Moonflower” colorway.
Weight: 8 ounces, before beads.
Beads:  Yellow-core roccaille seed beads.
WPI / TPI: 10 / 8.
Yardage: 548 yards.

Amy’s fibers are always a delight to spin, and I’ve held onto this one since I decided to bead it, and couldn’t for the life of me find beads which matched the blues.  I finally decided to try a contrast; hence the yellow.  It’s not bad, but I screwed up a bit in one or two sections and there are a couple of long stretches without beads.  It’s another of those spin-when-you’re-too-tired-to-pay-attention mistakes, but it’ll work out ok.  In a knitted fabric, the beads will simply end up being very randomly placed.

And this . . .

Is one of Abby Franquemont’s batts in “Sunshine Soul.”  It’s some of the worst spinning I’ve done in a while, and that has absolutely nothing to do with Abby’s fiber.  THAT is purely wonderful, and I can cheerfully recommend it to anyone.  The problem was largely because it went through three different wheels over a long period of time, and with a complete lack of focus.  It’s a very low twist, thick-thin yarn which, despite simply awful spinning, is still a lovely, squishy yarn which would work up nicely into some sturdy mittens or hat(s).

I hate to give the stats here, but I sort of have to in the spirit of confession.
Fiber: “Sunshine Soul” from Franquemont Fibers.  35% superwash, 25% Romney, 30% Tussah.
Weight: 8 ounces.
WPI / TPI: VERY thick-thin, with very low twist.
Yardage: 363 yards.

And a bit of dyeing.  Remember the fake angora from here? It’s been hanging around for a bit while I decided what to do with it, but the icecicles from the previous week gave me some inspiration, and it seemed to me that a “cool” fiber needed a cool color, so it was dyed in a very pale ice blue.  The nylon absorbed the color fairly quickly and wanted more, so left the depths of the yarn in darker hues and the “higher” points a bit lighter—just like ice.  The yarn is heavy, cool, slightly silky, and very very soft.

And there were packages yesterday!  A bit of the remnants of the fiber which didn’t fit into the suitcase in August showed up, so the rest of Bruno is now safely tucked into the loft.

Then there was a care box from mom with goodies for Christmas baking.  Little essentials like unsweetened chocolate, Baker’s German Chocolate, and Baker’s flaked coconut.  And light brown sugar!  All things you cannot get here, and for which there’s no real Norwegian equivalent.  And doggone it, I only have two favorite cakes—New York-style cheesecake, and real German Chocolate—and I’ve gotta be able to make ONE of those this holiday season!

And last but far from least, there was a surprise package from my SP13 Secret Pal.

There’s cinnamon tea which has a wonderfully strong and enticing smell, a lovely postcard, some knitting music CD (which is just too cool!), and JELLY BELLY JELLY BEANS!  No, seriously, Jelly Bellies!  I have a sweet tooth, but there are only a few candies I truly fall for.  Homemade pralines, M&Ms, French-burnt peanuts, and Jelly Bellies.  What I want to know is how in the world she got hold of them since she’s on my side of the pond.  And, it’s just as well I don’t know.

DH might get one.

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?

I have a passion for soft fibers.  I like wool—get real; look where I’m living—but I love the soft wools, blends with silks and tencel, alpaca, angora, and so on.  Part of that is because I’m hypersensitive to wool, and part of it is just a hangover from that childhood soft blankie with the satin edging.  Seriously, it’s embarrassing to walk through a clothing or fabric store with me because I want to touch everything.  Yarn and fiber shops?  Forget it.  Touching is a given; it’s the law.  What I don’t like . . . That’s easy, too.  Aside from scratchy fibers, I have real trouble using cotton and synthetics; its lack of give is simply too hard on my hands.

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?

These:

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?

I grew up with crochet, but marriage to DH put me in the environment of lovely Nordic color knitting.  I didn’t have a chance to do much with it in the first several years, but once I started I was hooked.  Since crochet had become increasingly hard for my hands, knitting picked up the growing hobby hole.  That was  . . . five? . . . years ago.  I think of myself as an intermediate knitter, but the reality is that I’m just good at following directions.    As long as a pattern is clear and I have a stitch dictionary for stitches which may be new to me, I can do anything.  (How’s that for confidence?)

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?

There IS an Amazon wish list, but I’ll be honest and admit that it’s terribly outdated and I’ve no idea what’s on it any longer.  Give me a chance and I’ll work on updating it.

5. What’s your favorite scent?

I’m not a big perfume gal.  There are two that I wear, and they’re both spices.  I’m not big on fruit and food scents.  I like vanilla, and I love some of the soap scents from Goodies Unlimited.  Her lavender mixes and her Rosemary Lemon Silk are to die for, and I put them in with my fibers and yarns.

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?

Oh, laws.  Unfortunately, I do.  I don’t like licorice or coffee in any form, and I’m not partial to dark chocolate. I’m a sucker for Jelly Belly type jelly beans, and regular M&Ms.

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?

If you’ve not figured it out, spinning is an obsession.  Once upon a time I crochet, cross-stitch, painted, and made my own artwork via wood- and leather-burning.  The cross-stitch fell by the wayside when my hands became my living.  Crochet is now a rarity.  And lately I have to admit that I’ve done more spinning than knitting.  I’ve found I have a growing stash of handspun yarn—and I don’t think that’s a bad thing. 

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)

I’m eclectic.  I like blues and jazz, soft rock and pop, country western (not twang), some classical, and a host of other things.  I like things that are reflective or have up-beat, positive energy, and am in a search for good spinning music.  Got suggestions?

9. What’s your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can’t stand?

Actually, it depends on what I’m doing with it.  If it’s for me, I’m not keen on yellows and grass greens.  I bought a purple pullover tee not long ago, and it was the first purple thing I can remember ever buying.   I like colors that are rich and have depth and life to them.  If I’m working on something for someone else, then it doesn’t matter what I think about it, does it? 

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?

No beasties at the moment.  Just DH.  Does he count?

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?

The last time I wore a poncho was when I was about 10 years old.  I refuse to say how long ago that was.  It hasn’t exactly been a conscious decision, but all things considered, it’s probably just as well.  Shawls, scarves, hats, mittens, and gloves, however, are nearly a requirement for living here.

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?

Whatever I happen to be working on . . . unless it’s having trouble.    DH’s Cobblestone is on the needles at the moment, along with a Faroese shawl.  I’d just joined the sleeves to the body when I found that the body was actually about 3 inches too short.  I’ve since put the sleeves back on holders, and am working my way through those missing inches.  He MIGHT get it in time for Christmas.  Since he was supposed to get it last Christmas, I’d better get a move on, dont’cha think?  On the other hand, I don’t care for knitting socks.  Don’t ask me why; I really don’t know.

13. What are you knitting right now?

The Cobblestone and the shawl.   And I just remembered that I have a thrummed mitten needing a mate somewhere on the shelf . . .

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?

Of course. 

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?

I have a few straights, but I never use them.  All my knitting is done on circulars.  The type depends on what I’m knitting.  The Cobblestone is on an Addi; the shawl is on a Jenkins rosewood circular.  I don’t seem to do plastic.

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?

Yep.  Both.  A simple little Royal winder, but also a large Strauch winder, and an umbrella swift.  And I’m craving some sort of crank or treadle-operated skeiner for my spinning so I can move away from the niddy noddy.

17. How old is your oldest UFO?

Um, that would be both the shawl and the Cobblestone.   About a year or 18 months.  Hey, at least I’m consistent!

18. What is your favorite holiday? What winter holiday do you observe?

No favorite. I love Thanksgiving, but only when I’m home.  Being overseas makes it difficult, and somehow it loses too much here; I find myself simply feeling depressed and homesick if I observe the holiday. In truth, I’ve given up trying to celebrate it here.  I love Christmas as well, but here too that loses something in translation since church was such a large part of the celebration at home–and is not possible here.

19. Is there anything that you collect?

Other than fiber and fleece?  Not really.  And that’s probably A Very Good Thing.

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?

I subscribe to Interweave Knits and Spin-Off.  Other than that, I’m open to suggestions.  I’d love to find a shaped knitted vest pattern with a collar and zip front, and a few cables.  Suggestions?

21. Are there any new techniques you’d like to learn?

Everything.  I knit using the Continental method and don’t quite understand about the different cast-ons/bind-offs, intarsia, duplicate stitches, or knitting backwards.   But I’ve also not entirely fret about it since I know I can follow instructions.  I’ve just not necessarily needed to do those things.

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?

I’m not much of a sock knitter.  I can and have done them, but I don’t often wear them, perhaps because of the wool thing.  It’s recently dawned on me, though, that if I blended my own sock yarn using a soft superwash and silk or tencel blend, I could probably solve the problem . . .

23. When is your birthday?

January 4.

24. Are you on Ravelry? If so, what’s your ID?

Yes:  Trenchwork.  I’m also on Flickr as RJRS (http://www.flickr.com/photos/trenchwork/).

25.  Club membership:  Just Spunky Eclectic’s fiber club.

26.  Allergies:  smoke bothers me, and I can’t eat most nuts and raw fruits which have edible peels.

For SP:  I’m adding this post as a link on the sidebar if you need to find it again.