OK, we're midweek and I'm going to post my progress toward my goals and lessons learned. I really appreciate everyone's encouragement in this. I think it's at least worth a try but it's definitely not something you should use to beat yourself up over! I'm using it to try and remind myself what I'm wanting to accomplish so that I can always be working toward what I wanted to/needed to finish.

Goal 1 - Spin, ply, and wash the first 50 gram skein of Wendy's sock yarn
I've now spun 22 grams on the second spindle...3 more to go! Woo Hoo!!! I definitely feel good about being able to achieve this goal this week. Thursday, I will spin the last 3 grams and Friday, I will do the plying.

Goal 2 - Make sewing repairs on my nephew, Matt's, satin sheet
This one is just a matter of getting my serger out and taking 15 minutes to do the seams. I'll do this one on Saturday when I have more time.

Goal 3 - Knit 40 more rounds on my Fearless Fairisle for a total of 64 rounds
I've only knit 4 more rounds this week so am up to 28 rounds total...

I DEFINITELY set my goals too high for being able to knit an additional 40 rounds on this sweater this week! (40 rounds...*What* was I *thinking*!!!) I'm an engineer and I should know better! That would mean that I would have had to knit almost 6 rounds a day to achieve that goal. Well, even on my good nights, I wasn't knitting 6 rounds a day on this thing! I was knitting...maybe...2 to 3 rounds a night. Soooooooo, I'm going to be a big girl and modify my goal in the sidebar to have achieved an additional 20 rounds this week for a total of 44 rounds.

Goal 4 - Spin one 3 foot section of merino roving on my wheel for Kelly's aran yarn
This one is a matter of me getting the wheel out and spinning a section. I've timed myself and it takes me about an hour to spin one 3 foot section. I think I will try to spin at least the first half of this Friday night after Kelly has gone to bed and then finish it up on Saturday night. I just can't wheel spin when she's up and about...she can't resist the wheel!! (Hey, but I've already got her saying "Baaaaaa" when she see's a sheep and she already has several stuffed ones around so I hope I have a budding fiber artist on my hands!) In case you haven't caught it in the past, here's the swatch I did of my sample skein...


In fact, as I look over my sidebars again, I forgot to list my Dale Lake Placid sweater in my weekly goals. But, I'm not going to get myself sidetracked and try to add that one to the mix now. I'll just see if I can work it in next week, especially if I get that first skein of Wendy's sock yarn finished. That's a big milestone for me that I'm looking forward to passing! Until tomorrow...

I was able to spin a little bit more last night for Wendy's sock yarn. It's taking more and more of my willpower to not get my new Solaris spindles and start spinning up that Garden Ivy merino! And I still haven't tested out my new Swan spindle either! I've got some bids in on Ebay for some Running Moon Farm fiber, so if I win those bids, maybe I'll try the Swan out on those! (Shhhhh, don't tell Mike that I'm buying even more fiber to have to just pick up and move in a month! "You couldn't just wait until we get into the house?!", he would say teasingly, shaking his head. Don't worry, while he doesn't understand my obsession, he doesn't criticize it either!)

I'm really ready for this next month to be over. We close on our new house on Sept 12 and I am SO ready to be out of this apartment! We've only been here for 3 months but that 3 months is PLENTY! My spinning and knitting is helping to keep me focused on something positive rather than just waiting around for the next 4 weeks to pass twiddling my thumbs. Unfortunately, this week, I am having to do some work at night because I'm getting ready for a review next week and that's cutting into my fiber time! So, we'll see if I'm able to achieve my weekly fiber goals...I may have set them a bit too ambitiously , but I'll keep trying!

Yesterday was my first day with weekly goals in front of me rather than daily goals. I'm very pleased with how it worked out! Thanks for all the encouragement from everyone! I was able to move from one project to another as I felt like it and I believe that I enjoyed myself more than normal. I spun more on Wendy's sock yarn and have now spun 17 grams on the second spindle for a total of 42 grams. Only 8 more grams to go and I can ply and wash and the first 50 gram skein will be complete!

I also finished ripping back the round on my Fearless Fairisle where I made the color mistake and knitted that round back plus another one...so I've now knitted a total of 25 rounds above the ribbing. My first ounce of yellow is starting to get low, but I'm still on the first balls of all the colors. I'll post a picture tonight of my progress.

I just love looking at my Solaris spindles! What doesn't show up in the picture below is that the shafts are painted the same metallic colors as the whorls. I had specified the metallic amethyst color for the Sleepy Moon, but told Stacey to surprise me with a metallic color of her choice that would coordinate with the Sleepy Sun. I think she did terrific! The color she chose picks up some of the accent of the rays behind the sleepy sun and just makes it gleam! These spindles are just the right size to carry in your purse as they're only about 6 or 7 inches long. These spindles, along with the Bosworth and Tabachek mini's that are coming, are what I intend to use to spin up my 2.2 ounces of Garden Ivy merino (from Grafton Fibers) in a laceweight 2 ply yarn, which I intend to knit up into a lacy scarf.

In the new house, when we finish the basement, I will have a fiber room all to myself. I've been trying to decide how I want to display my spindles because I want them out in the open so that I can enjoy looking at them even if they're not being used at the moment. One thing I thought of is to have a half spherical base sitting on the table with holes drilled all around the top of the sphere...sort of like table flag holders if you know what I mean. Then I could just slide the spindles into the holes and they would be there waiting to be picked up and used! I just hate the thought of my spindles being hidden away in a bag or basket somewhere.

My new Solaris spindles (the 1 on the left and the 1 in the center) from Stacey Rothrock! Aren't they beautiful?!! The Solaris spindle on the right is the one I've had for a while that I purchased from The Woolery.

OK, I'm now back to my more fiberly pursuits. I got hardly NOTHING done fiber wise over the weekend, though. We had dog issues (don't ask...I have a 13 year old pekingnese...it's nothing serious, just frustrating ) and I had to get the past 3 months of Mike's expense reports compiled, printed, and copied. All in all, I think I spun 2 more lengths of Wendy's sock yarn and had to rip back 1 row on my Fearless Fairisle due to a color mistake. Here's hoping for a better week in fiber!

I've got some deadlines at work over the next week and a half so I may not be blogging as much as normal. I will probably be working at night from home some and not have as much time to spin or knit as I would like (although I'll definitely be picking up the spindles/needles during my breaks!) I'll still try to post at least a short entry every day and list my progress. I'm going to start posting my weekly goals rather than daily ones...it gives me more flexibility to deal with life's curve balls! My goals this week are:

1) Finish spinning the first 50 grams of Wendy's sock yarn and get it plied, washed, and skeined up.
2) Make sewing repairs on a satin sheet for my nephew.
3) Knit 40 more rounds on my Fearless Fairisle (a total of 64 rounds above the ribbing).
4) Spin one 3 foot section of merino roving on my wheel for Kelly's Aran yarn.

Wish me luck as I work toward these goals. Until tomorrow...

Rush RULES! The concert was absolutely FABULOUS!!! 3 hours of nothing but the 3 most talented rock musicians kicking you-know-what! No opening act...just Geddy, Alex, and Neil doing what they do best. I don't think there was a song they didn't play from their past 28 years (yes, their first album came out in 1974!) It was a great show and I had a great time! I went with my friend, D., from work (my husband and his wife both care nothing about Rush, so were happy to send us off together to see the show!) D. is a drummer/musician during his off hours so could give a unique perspective on certain aspects of the show and performance. Our seats were pretty much center stage in the upper pavilion...I would have liked to have been a little closer, but all in all, the seats weren't too bad!

Neil's drum solo was just outstanding. He is completely surrounded by his drum kit and it rotated around so he could play all of it during the solo. Alex changed guitars every song...D. and I estimated he was cycling through about 5 guitars or so. Geddy only used about 2 different bass guitars that we could tell, but of course had his keyboard handy as needed . He still had the voice we all know and loved and Alex also seemed to sing more backup than in the past...overall, it just seemed like they were extremely happy and comfortable on stage and having a good time in general (as was the audience!)

I think Rush is generally a group that you either "get" or "don't get". As you can tell, I definitely "get" them! OK, back to my normal dialog of fiberly endeavors...thanks for indulging my momentary lapse...

OK, I know that I've gotten a few new readers to my blog lately, so I will catch everyone up to the projects I'm currently working on.

Fearless Fairisle
The FF is a 2-color-per-round sweater designed by Wendy Johnson that uses a total of 7 colors and is knit in the round using steeks. It started as an idea on her blog's tag-board and has evolved into a Yahoo Group that is open to knitters of all levels. Wendy is an extremely prolific and talented knitter and if ever you need inspiration to get out of a slump, go check out her site of finished works! I'm using Jamieson and Smith's 2ply jumperweight yarn, which is a fingering weight yarn, on size US3 needles and am getting 8sts and 8rows per inch.

I knitted another 2 rounds on it last night. I'm now up to 24 rounds above the ribbing.

Wendy's Sock Yarn
In a trade with the aforementioned Wendy, I agreed to spin her 200 grams of fingering weight sock yarn for two 100 gram skeins of Opal sock yarn. What can I say? We're both sluts for sock yarn! I'm having a BLAST spinning this yarn up...I'm spindle spinning it up in the following color sequence: pink, purple, white, purple, pink, purple, white... In order to preserve the color sequence when plied, I am going to Navajo 3ply it. I'm hoping for somewhat of a naturally striping effect when it's knit up...much like the Opal and Regia ringel yarns. Here's what the sample looked like, except the real yarn will have longer lengths of color.


I spun the next 2 lengths of color last night. My plan is to finish up the second 25 grams so I can ply up the first 50 gram skein this weekend. BUT, I won't get any fiber work done tonight because.............

Something you didn't know about me.........

I'm a HUGE Rush fan (and have been for years) and I'M GOING TO SEE THEM IN CONCERT TONIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They are the greatest band ever! The last time I saw them was in 1988 so I'm VERY Excited!!! I Can Hardly Wait! OK...calm down....got to catch my breath....it'll be alright....how am I going to get any work done today....breathe...breathe...slowly....OK....that's better

OK, I've gone crazy with spindles lately. SOMEBODY STOP ME!!! I've now got a Bosworth mini and a Tabachek mini coming from The Bellwether along with 2 Tabachek nostepindes. I've also got 2 Solaris spindles coming from Stacy Rothrock plus placed an order for one of her flower spindles as well! OK, that's it! Enough for now!

Wendy's Sock Yarn Spinning Progress
I got 4 lengths of color spun last night on Wendy's sock yarn..totaling about 37 grams. I'll probably be ready to ply the first 50 grams this weekend! Woo Hoo!!!

Go See This Fabulous Spinning!
Speaking of spinning...Did everybody see Theresa's yarn she spun/is spinning from some Alpine Meadows roving from Bountiful? BEE-YOU-TEE-FULLL!! All you knitters out there, go give her some stitch pattern ideas about making a vest from this fabulous yarn she's spun!

OK, here you go...



You can see from left to right...Moutons du Mois spindle with Wendy's sock yarn, Alaskan spindle filled with the first 25 grams of Wendy's sock yarn, my nostepinde, and my Mongold Norge spindle (now discontinued, I think). (In case you've just joined my blog, I won a trade with Wendy Johnson and am spinning her 200 grams of sock yarn). I have a beautiful Solaris spindle by Stacey Rothrock which I'll take a picture of later this week. I really love that spindle...it's small enough to carry around in my purse and it's absolutely beautiful to look at and hold. I especially like her hook treatment.

On another note, I've now finished 21 rounds of my Fearless Fairisle and really feel like I'm in a good rhythm with it. I'm getting anxious to start spinning that Garden Ivy merino, but I think I really need to stay focused on Wendy's sock yarn. The pink roving is becoming my least favorite to spin right now...I think it is just me though. I'm predrafting it alot so that I don't have to fiddle with it too much while I spin it.

Spinning for a Project
Theresa had started a thread on the Spindlers group asking about spindling for a project. I don't like to spin just for the sake of it. I'm a knitter and I have to have an ultimate use in mind for the yarn that I'm spinning. I've never been daunted by the thought of using just a spindle to spin all the yarn for a large project such as an adult sized sweater (not that I have done that yet, though! ) I DO have a wheel and am currently spinning up 1 pound of merino fiber on that for yarn to knit an Aran sweater for my daughter, Kelly. But spindling is so portable that I feel like I get almost as much done spindling as I do wheel spinning. Typically, I can't get much wheel spinning done because of running around with/after Kelly. But my spindle can stay with me as I play with her and SOME spinning can take place every few minutes. So, I like to spin for a specific type/color/style of yarn with a specific knitted project in mind.

Spindling gives me such a connection with the fiber...more so than my wheel does. I LOVE the feel of the spindles and the singles on the spindles as I build the cop (the mass of thread around the shaft of the spindle). I think that's why I like top whorl spindles so much...it allows me to get the tactile sensation I like as I set the spindle into motion.

Isn't she a cutie???

Ahhhh, thanks to the spindle-enabler Theresa, I now have ordered 2 new laceweight spindles from The Bellwether. I ordered a mini Tabachek in a maple whorl/purpleheart shaft and a mini Bosworth in Bocote. I'm also trying to get a matching maple or purpleheart Tabachek mini nostepinde if they have it. Hopefully, in the next few days, I'll hear back from The Bellwether to see if it will be coming as well!

I'm also starting to think about doing some KoolAid dying . There's a great site I found here by Barbara M. Harris-Pruitt on doing this. She has color charts and all the instructions! I can see that I'm going to have to add some links into my sidebars to keep track of all this stuff.

I also would like to get a picture taken of my spindle collection so far. I'll try and do that tonight. I don't have near as many spindles as some people (you know who you are!) , but I can see that over the next few years, my collection WILL be growing. As I've said before, each spindle seems to take on it's own personality and character. Right now, I'm learning about my new Moutons du Mois spindle (shown on the right) while I'm spinning the next 25 grams of Wendy's sock yarn. It's a very stable spinner...the rim weighting design makes it a longer spinner. I'm not a spinner that particularly cares about fast spinning right now, but I do like long spinning spindles.

Maybe I'll try and start listing some of the characteristics of how each of my spindles spins. I know that it helped me to hear other people's opinions on using various spindles.

I knitted more on my Fearless Fairisle...

I've now knitted 19 rounds past the ribbing.

Also, for those who are interested, click here to see the new house. It's getting there and we close on September 12! I only spun 1 more length on Wendy's yarn...I'll take pix tonight and post for tomorrow.

It just seemed to be a knitting kind of weekend. I've now finished 16 rounds on the Fearless Fairisle. For some reason, it just seemed to flow through my hands effortlessly. I also sewed and cut the back neckline and armholes for my Dale Lake Placid. Not to say that I didn't get any spinning done, though.

I've now spun 25 grams of Wendy's sock yarn. I switched spindles because my Alaskan just felt like it was getting too heavy for my comfort. I'm now spinning on my Grafton MtM Navajo Churro spindle (the one on the right). Since I wanted to spin one continuous 50 gram ball, I left the end of the Alaskan spindles unspun and started on the MtM spindle following the intended color sequence. I intend to spin 25 grams on this spindle and then Navajo 3ply the 2 spindles (one after the other) into one continuous 50 gram ball. Here's what I will do...

I will wind off my Alaskan spindle singles onto my nostepinde. This means the end I left untwisted will be wound onto the noste first and plied last (since I will ply from the outside of the noste ball). Then I will start Navajo 3 plying that back onto the Alaskan spindle. Once I reach the end of that 25 grams, the end will be untwisted, waiting for the next color sequence. I will then wind off my MtM spindle singles onto the nostepinde, which puts the beginning of the singles on the outside of the noste and ready to connect to my 3ply in the right color sequence. Make sense?

I'll take pix tonight of my progress and post.

Got a little bit of everything worked on last night. I finally got the front opening and front neckline sewed and cut for the Dale Lake Placid. Wow...this one is really not that far from being finished! I don't know why, but I've dragged out finishing this sweater up. I knit like a banshee on it and got all the knitting done on it in a little over a month back in March and April, and then it just sat around waiting to be sewn and cut. We were in the process of getting the house ready to be shown and all and I think I packed it all away until the house sold. Then, of course, we were packing and moving into the apartment while the new house was being built. So anyway, I'm finally getting back around to it. Besides...who needs a Dale sweater in the middle of summer anyway??!!!

Speaking of the new house, the closing date is Sept. 13. It's coming along pretty nicely. The tile is in and grouted, the cabinets are going in, and the trimwork has been started. Brick and siding are up, roof's been on for some time, driveway's been poured, and it seems so close to being finished! Of course, that means we have to get organized to move again, but most of the stuff's been in storage anyway.

That Garden Ivy merino I got from Grafton is calling me...{{{ Tracy.....Tracy......come spin me.....ooooooooo }}} I must resist the call! Got too much other stuff to keep up with!

Have a nice weekend

Ahhhhhh, check out what came in the mail yesterday from Grafton Fibers!!
The spindle on the left is a tulipwood Swan weighing in at 1.4 ounces and the one on the right is the latest sheep spindle, the Navajo Churro.


And that's not all...Linda included 2 ounces of this GORGEOUS Garden Ivy Merino! I think I'm going to spin this up in a laceweight 2 ply and knit a scarf!


I'm SO into my spindle spinning right now. It's so relaxing and zen-like to me. Each spindle seems to take on it's own character. I seem to make a special connection with each one. Speaking of spinning...I've now spun about 17 grams of singles for Wendy's sock yarn. I also knit 1 more round on my Fearless Fairisle. Well, that's all for now...more maybe later.