Another FO

Finished spinning, plying and skeining (using a niddy-noddy; a first for me!) the BeeMiceElf Falkland during today's Tour. I'm really pleased with how the yarn turned out, all 248 yards of it. It was too dark by the time I was done to get photos of the finished yarn - this is the pre-plyed singles - so I'll post those tomorrow. Hmmmmm, what to spin next . . . .

Wanna vote? My Day 8 pictures are here; I don't think Ginny has one posted today. Just click the 'love' button to vote for your favs (as many as you want).

Touring Along

I started my next Tour de Fleece project yesterday and man oh man, is this stuff nice. This is BeeMiceElf's Falkland in the colorway 'Finale'. (*Voting info below . . . )I've never tried fiber from BeeMiceElf before (BeMySelf - get it?), but I guarantee this won't be my last purchase. I love both her beautiful colors and that she stocks different fibers, not just Merino, which I don't enjoy spinning.

The first 2 of the 4 ounces I bought is now lace-weight singles. I'm planning to Navajo-ply this once it's all spun. Maybe tomorrow night?

With apologies for the crummy cellphone photo - AJ insisted on sitting on my lap tonight when I really wanted to spin. So after she got herself settled, I started spinning again - and she stayed put. Dick grabbed the first camera he could find, which unfortunately didn't have a flash. AJ doesn't do this very often, but when she wants on my lap, she wants on there NOW.

*If you are on Ravelry, and are so inclined, my buddy Ginny (dogmommy4) and I (epspins) would really appreciate your votes. Go here and look for the topic titled "Day 7 (or whatever day it is) - VOTE NOW". For Day 7, you can see/vote for Ginny here and for me here.

Vote by clicking the 'love' button at the bottom of each message. You can vote for as many people/pictures/favorites as you like. To change your vote, just re-click the 'love' button. The top 2 vote collectors each day win fibery PRIZES! Thanks!

FOs!

The Pineapple Shawl is done, blocked, and ready for her photo shoot. The original pattern was for a place mat using size 10 thread and a steel hook. My idea was to use DK weight yarn - Dalegarn Svale, a cotton and silk blend that just happened to be in my stash - with a large hook - US size "I" - and add two repeats of the pineapple motif along each side to increase the length. I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out. The top edge folds down to become a shawl collar, the cotton/silk blend makes it the perfect weight for a summer wrap, and it can also be used as a cover for your legs when the breeze comes up in the evening as you're reclining poolside. All in all, not a bad little project.

I also finished spinning the 4 ounce mystery roving, then plied and set the twist. It's about 230 yards of woolly goodness at close to a DK weight. This is the thinnest I've consistently spun through an entire roving. Navajo-plying gave me a chance to use the new lazy kate Dick made me. Isn't it gorgeous? The base is maple, the top 40-year old walnut. And it works beautifully. My old kate, that came with my Lendrum, was too light-weight and tended to slide toward me every time I pulled on the yarn. This one stays right where I put it and it also evens out the tension on the singles so they don't break as easily, especially when spun very thin. Love my new toy.

Life Outside Le Tour

Finished the Pineapple Shawl during the first hour of tour watching; it still needs to be blocked, which I plan to do either later tonight or tomorrow morning. Spun more of the mystery fiber, Emerald Isle, for the last hours of Team Time Trial. Lance Armstrong is truly amazing. He's 37, for heaven's sake, and still showing everyone on the pro bike tour how it's done. I have about a third of the original 4 ounces yet to spin. The colors are growing on me but I'm still ready to have it done and move on to something else.

As a slightly belated birthday present, Dick and I took Marie to see Spamalot tonight at the LA Music Center. We had a picnic dinner on the terrace to start - sushi and wine coolers for them; sandwich from Corner Bakery and diet coke for me - while watching the dancing water fountain. I hadn't realized when I ordered the tickets that this was opening night, so we got a bit of high-energy bonus from the cast. The show was great, very funny in a way only Monty Python can do, and the theatre was packed. Definitely a must-see for musical theatre lovers.

le Tour - Day 3

A construction crew cut a fiber optic cable near our house this morning (oopsie!) so we've had no phone or Internet service all.day. Dick was very tired of my checking - and complaining - every 5 minutes or so for 13+ hours.

But lack of innernets did give me time for other things - like working on the Pineapple Shawl, which is down to the last 2 rows. I don't think I needed to worry about it being too small. Now I'm afraid it will be too big once I get it blocked. AJ helped me stretch it out for the photo shoot. Silly cat loves having her picture taken.

Half the Emerald Isle roving is spun, with the rest ready to go tomorrow. The teal really tones down the lime green in the singles. I'm hoping to have this spun and plied by Thursday so I can take it to show my spinning group. Still not crazy about the colorway, but I'm glad to be busting the stash.

Ewwwww, lime green.

Does this color make my butt look big?

And lastly - 'Red Skies at Night', 3 skeins of handspun mohair, wool and glitz. D.O.N.E.

Tour de Fleece

And we're off and running for another round of le Tour de Fleece which runs from Saturday, July 4 through Sunday, July 26. Dick and I don't watch many sporting events but we're both hooked on the Tour de France. (weird, I know.) We record the 3-hour version of the show every morning, then watch it in the late afternoon or early evening while I spin.

My goals for this year's Tour are to spin every day, to spin from stash (stash-busting is good, especially when the stash is as big as mine), and to find something to do with all the finished yarn I'm going to produce.
I got off to a slow start on Saturday due to all the holiday activities but I still managed to finish spinning the last of the Spinderella batt "Red Skies At Night" that's been in the stash since 2006.Tonight I Navajo-plied the singles, then got the yarn skeined and soaking. Counting the first two skeins I finished last week, I have 600+ yards of 3-ply yarn, probably a DK or light worsted weight. I'm thinking crocheted shawl for this? Or other suggestions??

Still in stash-busting mode, I started this 4-ounce roving that I bought several years ago (2006 or 2007 maybe?) I think it's BFL but the label doesn't say and I don't remember. The colorway is "Emerald Isle". It's not my usual colors - it's much more Melinda's style than mine - but I like how the colors are blending in the singles. I'm spinning it very thin, aiming for a fingering-weight 3-ply yarn. I'm hoping to finish this tomorrow and move on to the stash-enhancers that will be arriving by mail on Tuesday. (you can see them here and here. Yeah, I know - I'm supposed to be busting the stash. . . . . )

Happy Firecracker Day!

July 4th is probably my favorite holiday after Christmas and Thanksgiving. Dick and I have a pretty set pattern for the day. Ventura's Street Fair, where we peruse all the hand-crafted items and sample the food. We met up with Matt and company for a bit, just long enough to watch Naia get her arm painted and for Leia to get her first ride on PopPop's shoulders. Then home to drop off our treasures and get a short nap (hey, we're retired!) before moving over to Matt's house for a bbq and hanging out with the baby grands. Since the city moved its holiday display to Cam High, we don't need to drive anywhere to get our fireworks fix. We just take some chairs across the street where the view's a bit better and wait for the show to begin. I used my new camera to take pictures tonight and I'm not overly happy with the results. Of the 89 shots I took, these are all that are even close to usable. Gotta figure out the different modes before next year's display. Happy Independence Day!

This and That

Randomness to start the holiday weekend:

1) In an attempt - mostly vain - to keep Leia away from the stairs and corralled in one room, Dick erected blockades in doors and hallways. Did they work? Heck, no. Leia made one attempt to climb over, one attempt to go around, and when neither worked she just bulldozed her way through. Dick kept adding more and more stuff, including a couple of spinning wheels. Leia thought it was great fun. 2) AJ says, "is she gone yet?" 3) I started yet another shawl project. Saw this doily picture in a book and thought dang, that would look great as a shawl if I just . . . . a couple of tweeks later, like bigger yarn, bigger hook, and more pineapples down the sides, I've got this - It's stash yarn - Dalegarn's Svale (cotton & silk blend; feels wonderful and makes a great summer wrap) - and so far I'm loving the pattern. This is row 10 of 20, so I think it's going to be plenty big. If not, I'll just adjust the border to get what I want. 'Have hook, will conquer.'

4) A friend's husband recently passed away and the knitting group at my LYS got together to make a comfort blanket for her. I contributed three squares - where the arrows are in the photo - but only took pix of one. It's "On The Road Again" by Jessica Gil but I think of it as a friendship circle. Yarn is Araucania's Nature Wool in orange. Loved the yarn and the pattern.

5) Happy 4th of July to those of us in the 'states' - and happy start of the Tour de France, too! Haven't decided what my Tour project is going to be this year but I'm leaning toward spinning. We'll see . . . the Tour doesn't start until tomorrow morning, so what's the rush. Right?