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I meant to post before I left but things got crazy so now of course I have all kinds of catching up to do. In any case, Chapter 24 of Anne of Green Gables was released before I left and I plan on recording another chapter soon.

I started the Kauni cardigan and am actually quite a bit farther than this now but here is the most recent picture:

That isn’t a great picture, the flash made the colors look much brighter than they actually are. The real thing is much more muted and gentler on the eyes. I’ll try to get a good picture later today. I started and ripped out a few times before I got the hem how I want it and the color combinations how I want them - just slightly offset. But now I’m just plugging right along.

I finished the first Embossed Leaves Sock:

I love it, I think it’s the prettiest thing I’ve ever knit. Here’s a closer look:

And the second one is in the works.

In the meantime I’ve been spinning and I’m hooked on it. Here is what I’m spinning now:

I’ll have pics of my first handspun finished and how this roving is going soon.

Vacation was nice. I listened to Harry Potter and loved it. Very well done in every way. Today is back to work and normal life which is nice too. You know it’s a good vacation when you enjoy every bit of it but you’re ready to come home when it’s over.

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Well, the blue tofutsies bounced back nicely after a trip through the washer and dryer but I will be going down a needle size in the future. Here is the finished Chunky Blanket!

I love it, it is so soft and colorful! I ended up getting each color used four times so it worked out well. It’s about 5.5 feet by 6.5 feet laid flat but if you hold it up or wrap it around you it stretches out a bit too. Here is Stephen holding it up:

And here is me all wrapped up in it:

Here is what I have left over. I’m envisioning a small felted bag:

I got this in the mail yesterday:

Yup, I have caved and decided to learn how to spin and I am loving it so far. Here is my first spindle full of uneven yarn:

It is a lovely bottle green color. I still need to skein it and set the twist and we’ll see how it turns out. Probably not great but I don’t expect much from my first hand spun yarn. I have a little bit of the roving left and now that I have a feel for the process I’m going to try to make some thinner and more consistent yarn with it. The drop spindle takes some getting used to. I’m not able to actually drop it yet, I have to spin it then pin it between my knees while I draft and pinch and let the twist run up the fiber, then repeat. I can tell this will be just as addictive as knitting, I’ve already bought some more roving off of eBay. I’d love to be able to spin my own sock yarn eventually.

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The chunky blanket is finished! No pictures yet, I need to weave in ends and wash it and I imagine it’ll take about three months to dry but then I’ll have pictures. I started a beautiful sock pattern called “Embossed Leaves” by Mona Schmidt in the book Favorite Socks. It starts out with a fancy cast 1×1 rib cast on and then you knit two rows before you join it in the round. I love the twisted rib but my pink Tofutsies yarn wasn’t cooperating. The color repeat is very short and the little bit of purplish that is in there kept pooling. I tried a number of different things with that yarn and eventually got frustrated and set it aside. I started over with some Panda Cotton, the color is Vanilla Cream (2303). I had to go down to size 0 needles (2mm) to get gauge but I think it is turning out just lovely:

I only did 12 rounds of ribbing instead of 18 because I was anxious to start the pattern. It’s so fun to watch the leaves grow and overlap and I love the colors.

I wore my blue tofutsies the other day and as the day went on they stretched and stretched out till they were pooled around my ankles. Obviously this has me concerned. I’m going to see how they do in the washer and dryer, hopefully that will help them bounce back. If not, I guess I know to adjust the gauge accordingly (which would solve my purple pooling problem) for future Tofutsies socks.

I have wound one of the skeins of Kauni and it is the hugest cake of yarn I have ever seen. Here it is with my cell phone perched on top to give you an idea of the scale:

Here it is with the unwound skein:

And look, it came with presents! Some tea and German gummy bears (they were yummy):

I’ll probably wind the other one today. I thought when I got this yarn I would want to leap right into this project but instead I find myself looking at it and savoring it and waiting till I have some unfinished things finished so I can really focus on it. I’m also working out in my head how much I want to stagger the colors and adjustments I might make to make it more like a jacket than a cardigan. We’ll be leaving for vacation in one week so that might be just the time to start this.

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All kinds of exciting things in the last day! (And a bit of vertigo but it was the direct result of an exciting thing and thus worth it).

Exciting thing #1: I started working again. Just a few hours in the afternoon and only doing cataloging and web page stuff so I’m in a quiet, controlled environment. It was great to be back and feel useful and it’s wonderful that the folks I work with are being so patient and accomodating.

Exciting thing #2: My Kauni yarn arrived! It is lovely indeed and I can’t wait to get started but I’m going to finish my Camo Raglan Sweater first.  I’ve made a rule for myself of one sweater on the needles at a time.

Exciting thing #3: Harry Potter! Stephen and I saw a sneak preview showing last night. My cousin won tickets but was unable to go so we got to use them. (Note to self to make him a Gryffindor scarf as a thank you gift.)  We were sitting way too close and it was a huge screen so I had to constantly move my head back and forth to try to see the whole thing (this plus salty popcorn led to vertigo by the time we got home but as mentioned previously, it was worth it) but man oh man was it great. They did a good job fitting a huge book into two hours of film. Of course there were some things that I was disappointed to see left out but that’s always the case. Y’all are going to love it.

Exciting thing #4: I got my Ravelry invite this morning. I literally squealed. I’ve just been adding projects so far and I won’t go on and on about it because I know many folks are still waiting. If you are already on and want to friend me, I’m “AnnieC”.

Exciting thing #5: Finished Tofutsies!

Here is the finished pair:

A closer look:

These are a real mish-mash of patterns and elements. I did toe-up socks for the first time using the eastern cast on method that is in the most recent issue of Interweave Knits.  I did a heel flap on the bottom of the heel since that is where I tend to wear my socks out the quickest.  And then I was bored with stockinette stitch so for the leg I did the “Welt Fantastic” chevron pattern from “Sensational Knitted Socks” by Charlene Schurch.  It goes nicely with the stripey colorway and I think I wouldn’t have wanted it on the foot anyway since it is a bit bulky with the purl rows.  They’re just a smidge baggy so for my next pair I’ll go down a needle size.  I’ve already cast on a pink/purple colorway of the Tofutsies and have picked out a lovely pattern for it.  More on that later.  I also had quite a bit of yarn left over from the Blue Tofutsies so I’ll probably get a pair of ankle socks out of that.

Exciting thing #6: The chunky blanket is nearing completion so look for finished pictures of that soon!

I think that’s all for now.

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Chunky blanket with each color used three times and a little more than half of the yarn used up in total:

From here on out it is going to take a bit more planning so I don’t run out of yarn before I’ve finished a panel. I may have to start doing narrower panels, I’m not quite sure yet. But it is already a bit bigger than 3×4 feet so it’ll be a nice big thing when all is said and done.

So, did you notice this badge in my sidebar?

PledgeBank is this nifty website brought to my attention by Hugh via Kara. The idea is “Tell the world ‘I’ll do it, but only if you’ll help me do it.’” Pretty smart, huh? Takes advantage of power in numbers and supporting others as they strive toward goals. You can also sign up to be notified of specific pledges in your area. So, I signed Hugh’s pledge and now that it has been successful and I have thought up my own good pledge to make. This was pretty much a no-brainer:

You choose how much and how often and if five people agree to join me, then I’ll commit to donating $10 a month. Now that Hugh’s pledge has been met, I’ll be putting mine in its place in the sidebar.

Speaking of Meniere’s, I saw my doctor last week and he had some interesting things to say. He thinks (and I hope) that the symptoms I’m experiencing now are compensation and adjustment. He said that if he was my inner ear and he was already sick in the first place and then he kept getting insulted and operated upon and poisoned time after time for years, he’d be pretty pissed off. Wouldn’t you? I certainly would. So it needs some time to cool off, settle down, and heal itself. Makes sense. Let the healing begin! In the meantime I’m easing back into work tiny bits at a time and that is satisfying and a relief. I enjoy my work and goodness knows I’m broke.

It’s been too darned hot here in StL to knit on my chunky blanket so I’ve been working on my Blue Tofutsies and I’m having all kinds of fun trying out new things with them. I’ll post pictures and explain soon. By the way, how did I only just find out yesterday that an online yarn store dedicated specifically to sock yarn not only exists but is based right here in St. Louis?! It’s The Loopy Ewe and someday when I have spending money I’m going to pay them a visit. It could be dangerous for me to enter a den of so much sock yarn but I’m already rationalizing the idea but telling myself that it would be downright silly to pay for shipping. Just ridiculous, really.

Stephen and I watched Pan’s Labyrinth last night and I thought it was exquisite. Half fairy tale, half historical film, a stunning story, wonderful acting, great special effects, and a soundtrack that just makes your heart ache or soar that much more in all the right places. It has its violent moments and it is quite dark but, somehow, overall I found it incredibly uplifting. I may watch it again, or at least some of the special features before I return it to the library. Note to self to look for the soundtrack.

Speaking of good stuff to watch, we’ve been working our way through Northern Exposure and I’m loving it! Just the right blend of comedy and drama plus a great Native-American element and some magic realism type stuff. The characters are so well written and acted.

Well, this has been a real mish-mash of stuff but there it is.

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