Wednesday Wanderings: October 15, 2014

Here's what's new at the zoo:

I started a project with some amazing yarn from a tactile perspective - it's 70% Merino, 20% cashmere and 10% nylon (it is a sock yarn, after all!). This was the third monthly installment of a three-part yarn club from Simply Socks Yarn Company and I have to say all three have been nice - but this one takes the cake. That cashmere is yummy. I am not completely certain of the colors on me, but I'm willing to give it a try. I know I can pull the green off, but the gold? Hmm. 

I'm knitting a shawl (the pattern calls it a "shawlette" - a term my father found rather funny) called Pendulum, a rather simple pattern, to show off the yarn itself. And, it's my first foray into short rows. I try to assign myself projects that give me something new to learn - I may end up with an odd assortment of items, but I'm learning in the process which is part of the goal.

(photo clickable to embiggen)

Fiber Fusion NW is this coming weekend, I've set a budget for shopping, and I can almost bet I'm going to blow it. Aagh! This from the woman who has 90+ items (yarns and fibers) in her stash, and those are just the ones I've logged into Ravelry. Hopefully I can at least keep myself from buying something just like something I already have - I do seem to buy the same colors over and over.

Lacemakers of Puget Sound are having their lace day on October 25, from 1 - 4 at the Kent Commons. I am not a member, but I'm thinking about it, and Joe is out of town that weekend so I may wander down and see what's up. Rumor has it that the speaker at the event is good, and she is speaking on Elizabethan costuming which I think would be fascinating. I have two bobbin lace pillows - the type for making lace, not pillows with lace decoration! - which have seen basically no use in umpteen years (just like all the other equipment around here!) and I'm thinking of dusting them off and giving it a shot. Unlike some people I have no grand ambitions in this direction, but it'd be nice to be able to make my own edgings for reenactment garments, for example. Those of you who know me well know that I am not a "lacy" person by nature, so I'm not sure how much use I'd make of handmade lace in my everyday wardrobe.

What's new in your zoo?

Wednesday Wanderings: October 1, 2014

A few bits of fluff about what's been going on around here:

1. I am a couple feet into the "project" on the rigid heddle loom. I say "project" because, well, it's not really meant to be anything, just a learning experience. And that it has been. I've already made so many mistakes that I sometimes think I should just yank it off and start something else. The only thing that stops me is wondering how many other mistakes I can get over with while weaving away on this non-project project. If you know what I mean.

Please Don't Look at This Picture

2. I've gotten pretty involved with Knitted Knockers. I have helped facilitate connections between the organization and the NwRSA, both my local chapter of the spinning guild as well as the guild board. I've gotten room for KK to have an informational table at the NwRSA St. Distaff's Day gathering on January 3, 2015, which will potentially give them exposure to some 300 or so knitters - exposure I understand they greatly need as they are in need of knitters to contribute to keep up with demand. I've met people from businesses and other guilds who are working on this cause. And in between all of my glad-handing and smooth talking, and emailing and phone calling, I've actually managed to knit a knocker. (That phrasing makes me laugh every single time. I know. I'm easily amused.)

3. My fringe twister is here, and It Is So Cool. I know it looks vaguely like some sort of medieval torture instrument, but it is a lifesaver for me, Ms. Chronic Tendonitis which I am afraid is trending toward arthritis. This leads to...

4. My third prayer shawl for the Consoling Grace Ministry at our church will be done as soon as - you guessed it - I put the fringe on it. Which I need to do before next Tuesday, when the reboot meeting for the ministry will occur. I am very curious to see how this goes and what it ends up being, and I have hope for it being a meaningful and helpful thing to those in our parish who've lost a loved one.

5. We (I say "we," but it's mostly been Joe) are nearly done with finishing the top of the island that serves as a stand-up work table. I am anxious for "us" to get this done, as the room is pretty much unusable while it's in process, and I'm beginning to get a little twitch in my left eyelid when I go in there to try to retrieve something. I think I vaguely fear that, the room having just come out of almost 16 years of chaos, entropy will strike yet again and I'll lose all my progress. Did I say anything about logic applying here? No, I didn't think so.

And that's a brief cross-section of my life right now. Stay tuned for more! I can hear it coming already!