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Hooray! My swap partner received her “Twilight End Swap” package! And it would appear that she really liked it! So head on over to stitchnsnitch’s blog to check it out. And since it is a secret no more, gauntlet blogging may commence!
Here is what I knitted up for her…
Surprisingly, they ended up much nicer than I thought that they would. And I admit that I was getting a little worried about them as they took longer to knit than I anticipated and I was wondering if I would get them completed in time. But I loved the yarn… ShibuiKnits Sock in Mulberry. And the lacy cuff was so pretty…
I’m really pleased that she liked these. And that they fit! I had started a pair of these for myself, but they have been sitting in the UFO stack for a couple of months now. I’m thinking that I need to finish mine now.
I just made my version of Zuppa Tuscona (or however you spell it) soup for dinner. And YUM. I’m going to need to make this again. Like, all winter long. And it was so easy. And it has kale. I never get to eat kale. Kale is definitely an under-appreciated leafy green.
So, I have no progress photos to share today. Everything that I’m working on is either for a swap or a gift. Posting photos prior to the giving will spoil surprises, and that would make me sad. But, my Twilight End Swap package is ready to go! I finished everything up this afternoon. BUT, I don’t have any packing tape. I just realized this and I have no time to run out and get any tonight, as I have commitments. Ah well. I’ll figure it out. I just hope that my partner likes what I’ve made for her. I think that she will. When I found out who I had, I immediately knew what I wanted to make for her. It took me a little longer to make than I thought that it would, but at least I made my goal of getting the package to her by Halloween. I’ll post a photo after she receives it.
OH! The jewel cormo of doom is officially done. I finished plying the remaining bobbins this afternoon. It looks rather lovely, actually… I’m a bit surprised by that. But on to other spinning projects. I actually have 4 spinning projects going, all of which are for others. But they’re all going well, so that’s a good thing. I figure that if I spend every free moment working on my spinning and knitting projects for others, I will meet my deadlines with plenty of time to spare. I like that thought.
Okay, back to the spindle…
The finished lace ribbon scarf went to her new home today. She is going to be loved.
And because I want a lace ribbon scarf of my very own (I’m ridiculously selfish!) I started one earlier this week. I’m using the gorgeous Forsaken yarn from miss julie’s shiny shop. This yarn is so perfect for this scarf (and miss julie is quite fabulous, by the way…)!
Don’t you just want to eat this up? nomnomnom… I do! I’m not adjusting the pattern at all this time around. For the first scarf, I omitted one of the repeats for a skinnier scarf. But this time around I’m going all the way. Actually, I was thinking about doing another after I finish the Forsaken version, and actually adding repeats to make more of a stole. But, it will be awhile before I get to that. I still have 2 swaps, christmas gifts, and the spinning of some fiber for Lew to work on now. Must. Keep. Focused.
Speaking of spinning, my spinning is suffering due to all of the knitting that I have on my plate right now. Part of me wants to focus on spinning only tomorrow, but the practical side of me is calculating how much I can accomplish on the supersecretninja project. I’m at the halfway point. My goal is to really give it all of my attention this week and get it done so that I can get it sent out by the end of October. I’m sure that she thinks I’ve forgotten her, which is absolutely not the case. I really think that she’ll like it. At least, I hope that she does. I’d post pictures, but I don’t want to spoil it for her in case she may be reading… even though she doesn’t know that I’m her secret swap partner. So, pics as soon as they have been sent and received.
I came home this evening to shiny new stitchmarkers from Sparkle by Skyefaire.
Her stitch markers are gorgeous. Yay for really good mail! Etsy is going to bankrupt me. There are so many items that I want to buy… Here. Go check out these two Etsy sellers too, because they are very groovy. Just don’t buy the things that I am saving up for! KikiBowns has awesome bags! I want one. Badly. And Butterfly Girl Designs has sucked me in to her spindling cosmos. Gorgeous spindles. Gorgeous batts.
So, yeah. Check all of them out. The holidays are just around the corner…
This weekend has been a bit of a blur.
In non-fiber news, yesterday was the annual Battle of Mississinewa re-enactment. It’s actually a really cool event. This was my second year of attendance and I really enjoyed it.
There are muskets and cannons and militiamen on horsebacks and really ugly out-of-period fences to protect you from the pretend fire. The gunpowder leaves an odd scent in the air and clouds your sight with foggy smoke. Oh, and the cannons will render you temporarily deaf. After the battle, there’s the merchants’ village with so much wonderful food (frybread, chicken and noodles, corn on the cob, pork chops, brats, apple cider, kettle corn… just to name a few options) and vendors selling everything from silver jewelry, to handspun yarn, to hides and muskets.
And because they are all about authenticity, they even gave you a dead person hanging from the tree over the river.
I’m thinking that was meant to be a warning for the river pirates.
BUT
on to the fiber…
The lace ribbon scarf is blocked.
And a new lace ribbon scarf has been started. But this one is going to be for me.
And True Blood is tonight. All is right with the world.
Blocking the viral lace ribbon scarf tonight.
To the person who invented blocking wires, you are my hero. I’d give you a cupcake if I only knew who you were. The thought not having blocking wires, of pinning this scarf out makes me ill… which may explain why it’s taken me several months after I finished knitting it to take the time to block it. Actually, I’m only blocking it because it’s a gift and I’m going to have to send it on it’s way soon… and because Coco is borrowing my blocking wires this weekend. ”Oops.” I realized on my way home tonight. If I don’t block it tonight, then I’ll have to pin it out. Basically, I had no choice.
Blocking blows.
See, I’m a process knitter. I want to work with the fiber. I want to comb it and spin it and then knit it up. I like it in my hands. Once I finish a project, it goes to the rubbermaid bin of purgatory. It’s kind of like the Island of Lost Toys, really. Only warmer. But nothing really becomes of my projects unless I give them as gifts. Well, except for the socks. I adore my socks. But, I guess I’ve always been like this… even back in the days of the clay. I only still have like… maybe 2 clay objects that I’ve made in over 13 years of working with it. I make things. Then I send them into the world.
I hope they’re happy out in the world.
So, there is a new member to friday night knitting, and she’s awesome. She’s a lot of fun, hilarious, and most importantly, she’s not afraid of us (we normally scare people away…) (And for the record, I miss you Amy!!!). Plus, she has awesome taste in music, which always scores points with me. Well, this last friday, she brought me the best surprise ever: a planner made from an actual Depeche Mode’s Some Great Reward album cover. No, really. It’s awesome. Awesome in ways that can only be described as awesomeness. The actual day planner pages are for 2006. But, I don’t care. Because it’s awesome. And I’m still totally going to use them.
Why, is that a promotional copy stamp in the corner? Why, yes. Yes it is. It’s from a freakin’ promo copy.
Are those liner notes for page dividers? Hells yeah, they are.
And looky, looky! It’s the back!
Yes, the album cover is tattered. But let’s face it folks, it was released in 1984 or something. And really, we must remember “It doesn’t matter if this all shatters. Nothing lasts forever.” Well said, Martin. Well said.
In fibery things news…
I’ve finally plied a full bobbin of the Cormo of Doom.
Honestly, it doesn’t look half bad now that it’s off the bobbin. In fact, the colors kind of make me happy in a cool jewel-toned kind of way. However, it still doesn’t make up for the hell I’ve been through while trying to spin it. And no, I’m still not done. I still have another bobbin’s worth or so left to ply. If I didn’t dread it so much, maybe I could sit down and just churn it out. But the thought of doing so makes me sick to my stomach. Oh, and I’ll measure the yardage and wpi’s as soon as I get through the rest of the singles (so, sometime next year, I’d imagine).
And the supersecretninja project is underway… here’s a little peek:
10:00 pm Edit:
Since I had an open bobbin, I decided to ply my spindle spun Macabre fiber.
This turned out way better than I thought that it would. I’m kinda crushing on this, really. I’m so glad that I had purchased a 2nd batt of this. This is approx. 196 yards, sport to dk weight… probably more sport. I’ll figure that out better once it’s been soaked and properly thwacked. It was spun on my 1.1 oz BGD picasso jasper top whorl spindle. I plied it on my ashford kiwi (wheel plying is so much easier… no matter how boring it is). It’s good to have a spinning project finished finally. Now, there are only 5 spinning projects going. But I can’t worry about them right now… must work on supersecretninja project. It is my life now.
