Spinning Love

NOW I GET IT.
My first attempt on some llama stuff my friend gave me to practice on:

Not much there but I'm still very proud of it! It's funny how much I screwed up but I'm still having a blast! I couldn't get my tension quite right the whole time, I over-twisted TONS, and I could hear Helen telling me to feed my yarn to the wheel because I tend to forget. But every now and then: -*~Magic Happened~*-.  Things just "flowed" for a few seconds here and there and I was in total love.  My end result is not nearly as neat and pretty as my friend Helen's, and I had to keep reminding myself that what she spun first for me with this stuff looked JUST FINE and it wasn't the WHEEL'S FAULT but rather my own shortcomings.

See:

Looks like I have a whole other animal here! I don't know if this is normal for many new spinners but from the DVD I got from Interweave Knits, she said it's not unusual for spinners to have bits and pieces they've had to remove all around their feet, so I didn't feel quite as bad once this pile built up. (I'm still learning pre-drafting too.)

This is the wheel my wonderful friend Helen let me borrow for the summer. It's a discontinued Ashford but she said it's similar to a Kiwi. It's got a harder treadle than the Ashford Traditional she let me borrow the last time, and it feels sluggish compared to the jet-speed of her Joy. But I'm just so grateful for the opportunity to even TRY it I'm over the moon! 

I'm thinking a "double treadle" is the way I'm going to go though. I just hope I can finally test one out one day to really determine that. My right leg is my "bad" leg, so balancing it out would be better for me in the long run (as well as starting and stopping the wheel). As it is, I only spend less than 10 minutes at a time on this one before I get tired. 

I have some pink merino waiting in the wings....that should be interesting!  

More Finished Knits

There's nothing like "marathon knitting" to get your wrist nice and sore, but for some crazy reason

when I got the flyer about "Teacher Appreciation Week" at my daughter's school last week I thought "Hey! I loved this pattern, I'll make her some of those mitts!" ---- In less than a week. 

I'm amazed at how fast a knitter I pretend I am.  I actually DID get them done by Friday (I totally lost Thursday as a knitting day due to a new medication knocking me out all day) but they still had to be washed and blocked before I could send them in to her.  So today was the day and my daughter said she really loved them! Score!

Pattern: Glacial Gauntlets of the Wolf
Yarn: Cherry Tree Hill SuperSock in Cherry Colorway
Red size 6 beads from a craft store - used size 11 crochet hook to apply them.
Mods: Again, only put beads on the top of the hand and omitted them from the top of the thumb.
Added about 10 more rows to the top for extended length on the hand/fingers.

I'm tempted to keep every pair I make of these, I must make my own soon.

I also forgot I had finished up these:

Just some basic plain stockinette socks for my Mom. When the yarn is this colorful I feel basic st st  really showcases the yarn better. That's my own "I'm getting old and too opinionated" point of view. (I have to try to get a better picture before I take them to her. It's hard to get all the pretty colors in this to come out on my camera.)

Yarn: Knit Picks Stroll in the "Make Believe" Colorway
64 st cast on
Size 1 needle (ML)
They came out a tad small, but my Mom's foot is only a women's size 5 so they'll fit her better than my
6 1/2 foot!

Last but not least:

The "Took Forever to Knit- Knitting Meeting Scarf".  Because when I'm at my meetings I blab so much I like something simple to work on.  K3P3 helps, but I STILL made a couple of boo-boos!

Yarn: Blue Heron Bulky Rayon Chenille in the Berry colorway
Size 6 needle
K3p3 cast on 27 (I think).
After washing and drying, this yarn is SCRUMPTIOUS and of course THIS IS MY COLOR!
And now, it's all ready for NEXT winter. Happy Happy.

I'll be heading off to CA to see family soon so I won't be blogging as much until I get back. I'll still
be checking my google reader to keep up with you gals' blogs so Happy Knitting and have a great start to the summer!!

Happy Mothers Day!

Wishing everyone a peaceful, happy day today. Hope it's filled with sunshine and lots of love. 

I plan to get some much needed rest because life has been quite hectic lately, and frankly, I'm having a tough time keeping pace with it. I did get spoiled with a great dinner at Olive Garden on Friday evening and trips to a couple of craft stores but I'm trying to be good so I can eventually get the spinning wheel of my dreams one day (if I ever figure out which one it is!).  Flowers, cards, and chocolate were my gifts today. My family knows how to make me happy (as long as my little one doesn't eat all my chocolate before me!) 

I can't be with my Mom today as she lives far away, but I'll be there soon to give her lots of love and presents in person! She's going to be going through treatments soon for a recurrent cancer, so I'm just glad I'm still blessed to have her in my life and that she's strong in her faith and courage. 

One day at a time.