First Snow 2016-2017

December 17, 2016July 12, 2017 / LDSVenus

This was 3 weekends ago. Yeah I’m a little late getting this in :P. We got about 3 1/3 inches over the weekend. We have had snow now every weekend since, about 2 1/2 to 4 inches each weekend. Tired of snow already, and tonight it is suppose to be -18 F ambient temp and with wind chills about -35. Is it spring yet?

Hand Dyed Polypay

I have not finished the socks I was working on (tho I am at the heel on the second sock) but I have to get started on this other project because it is a Christmas present and time waits for no man (or woman :P). I don’t think she reads my blogs but just in case I wont go into what it is but I dyed it to match the hat I made her last year. I will start working on this project tomorrow.

I hope everyone is staying warm and that you are well and happy. 🙂

1st Pair of Socks Done

September 8, 2016July 14, 2017 / LDSVenus

Yarn for 2nd Pair of Socks

YEA!!! My first pair of socks is done. There were matchy matchy until I got to the toe of the 2nd sock, they were the same length but two of the darker stripes were a bit longer on the second sock so the toes didnt get the dark tip like the other one. That is ok tho, I’m excited to have them finished :).

A family member put dibs on them and she was so excited to get them even tho they are to big for her lol. But they were just my practice pair because I had no one in mind when I made them, just wanted to see what size that needle size would make. She gave me another skein of sock yarn to make her another pair lol (see picture on the right.) Going down a needle size this next pair, and will change to a 2×2 rib cuff which I will make 2 inches long instead of one. This new yarn is dyed by The Lemonade Shop and the color is Bad Day, it’s sparkly and so pretty, I’m really excited to see how the colorway works up :).

My son has purchased 4 alpaca, one grey, one black, one fawn and one mahogany. They are so pretty, guess I can see a little bit of alpaca fiber in my life to spin this next spring. I have a light black Polypay fleece I need to skirt and get sent off to the fiber mill (my car has been a bit “me, me, me” lately so the things I usually do earlier in the year have had to be put off for car repairs, but when I get the brakes fixed I should be able to send it off next month), then the next month I have another alpaca fleece to send off to the fiber mill. So much fiber, so little time :).

1st Pair of Socks – 2nd Sock Closer to Done!

August 8, 2016July 14, 2017 / LDSVenus

Ok, I am finally getting closer to having that elusive 2nd sock done :P. I had to switch to double pointed needles for the heel flap and when I did I picked up a set of 2.25mm instead of 2.50mm and it absolutely made a difference, when I got the gusset finished it was quite a bit smaller making the sock shorter, so I had to go to the frog pond and “ripit” sigh. I have redone the heel flap in the correct needle size and will be picking up the sides of the heel flap and doing the gusset, then it’s all down hill from there with the foot and toe :).

I had Friday morning off from my reg duties and decided to so some errands. I went to go to a store I visit several times a year only to find it had moved, hmmm. I went next door and they told me where it was now located, and NICE, it was now closer to me. I was headed out of that store to go to the new area and as I got in my car a lady who was parked in front of me got out and came over to me. I thought, did she hit my car? what? She preceded to tell me that she just had to let me know what her 10 year old daughter had said. As I was walking out of the store, her daughter said “Mom she looks just like Elsa!!! Does she know she looks just like Elsa?” What a nice surprise! I told her to tell her daughter that she had just made my day :). I know, the picture on my blog is about 10 years old and since then I have quit coloring my hair (my hair started turning silver before I was 16) and I let it grow out (now to my waist and I keep it braided most of the time to keep it out of my way), so I guess my hair color and the fact that it was braided made me look like Elsa to her, what a great day that was :). I have had people ask me if I am Scandinavian because of my hair color, and actually just found out via dna that I am 17% Scandinavian :), the other part is from England/Scotland/Wales and Ireland. That accounts for my hair color (dark alburn) before all the silver 🙂 Sometimes one really good day can make up for a lot of otherwise harsh days. 🙂

Soon I plan on getting back to sewing some bags for my etsy shop. Summer happened with little ones :P.

Tour de Fleece 2016 Update

July 16, 2016July 14, 2017 / LDSVenus

Here is a picture of what I’ve accomplished so far on the first spool of singles. Spinning this rolag is a little different than spinning from roving, it doesn’t move quite as fluidly as I thought it would, and this combination of fiber did NOT want to be spun thin. After fighting with it and having the singles break on me a couple of times, I decided to spin it a little heavier and it has been behaving since. The colors are beautiful and I will be spinning this for a shawl.

We have had some really bad storms here in the last couple of weeks, I’m tired of rain and humidity 😛 It is suppose to be in the 90’s this coming week, and I just have to remind myself that I will miss this heat in the winter when it’s 30, 40 and 50 below zero and tons of ice and snow :P. Tho’ honestly I have been known to miss the piles of snow when it’s 90 outside as well, lol.

2 New Knot Bags & Knitting a New Hat

January 24, 2016July 15, 2017 / LDSVenus

Stress Zebra Knot Bag

I put these two bags in my Etsy shop. I’ve made the Stress Zebra Knot Bag before for a friend but this one is for my shop, it’s just so cute. Don’t we all feel like this sometimes? The alpaca design looked very good, but it’s a pain to sew out because of all the thread color changes, even tho some of the colors are the same. Still it’s a nice looking design.

This hat, Basia, is a very nice knit and the texture design is pleasant to look at. I’m making this for a special family member who requested a hat from me. She said she wanted lavender, so I ordered the Lilac Jacquard acid dye for 1 of the polypay skeins I still have (only about 4 more skeins tho, have thoroughly enjoyed knitting them :P). I love the way kettle dying comes out, instead of one solid color they are usually shaded, no complaints here :). You can also see on the hat the beautiful stitch marker I got from MekaMika on etsy.

The mega snow storm missed us except for a trace of snow. I won’t complain, I didn’t want 1 or 2 feet of snow :). I love the El Ninos that come every few years, they make for a much more pleasant winter here :).

Let It Snow Knot Bag

January 11, 2016July 15, 2017 / LDSVenus

This will probably be my last winter bag, tho I’ve been known to change my mind before :). I liked this embroidery because it has a swirl that looks like a winter wind swirling around some really pretty snowflakes :). We finally started getting snow this month. I’m ready for Spring already tho. 🙂

Time to get my eyes checked again, I think I need new glasses for close up work, sigh.

Still working on the comfort shawl, have about 1 & 1/3 skeins left to knit. I know, I know, knit faster :P.

New Embroidered Knot Bags and It’s Fridgid Tonight

January 9, 2016July 15, 2017 / LDSVenus

Knitting Keeps me from Unraveling Knot Bag Obsessed Knitter Knot Bag

I decided to do some sewing this week end after removing some seasonal knot bags out of my Etsy shop. I decided I needed to add some more embroidered knot bags. The bag on the left is one I am sending to a knitting podcaster for review. It will be a way to get some exposure for my bags :). After she has reviewed it, I will put a link on my blog to her podcast :). I have another one embroidered but not sewn up yet and two more to be embroidered. The embroidered bags take longer to make due to the embroidery so they are a little more expensive.

I’m working on a comfort shawl for a friend who lost her companion this week. Loss is so hard :(.

The weather here has finally hit WINTER, ugh. We are suppose to be around -4 tonight but we are having high winds and they said that would make the wind chill between -20 and -30. But at least it will only be for tonight and tomorrow morning, then the winds die down and we will warm up just a bit. We will have snow on Monday and Tuesday and then we will warm back up into the 20’s in the day and teens at night :). Is it Spring yet?

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2016 and New Year Knitting

January 1, 2016July 15, 2017 / LDSVenus

new-years-

I wish everyone a very Happy New Year filled with spiritual peace. May we look forward and not backward.

One more hat start

Yes, I’m knitting one more hat, was trying to get done before the New Year but alas it won’t be done until New Year’s day. This is some of the polypay yarn I had processed from the fleece that was given to me. I dyed it blue but some of the yarn didn’t take up the dye as well as other parts in the skein and there were some very light spots from where the skein was tied (even tho’ I loosened the ties quite a bit), but you know what, it makes it look like faded denim so I am not going to complain, I know the recipient will enjoy it :P.

I made a kn Socks by Ann Budd itting New Years resolution, I made other resolutions too, but if I share them and I don’t complete them I’d have to hunt you down and wipe your memory (like they do on Star Trek) so you are better off not knowing what they are :P. My knitting resolution is to knit some socks. Something I’ve wanted to do for a while now. I’ve gotten a step closer when I bought this book by Ann Budd, who is well known in the knitting community for sock construction, today at the 1/2 Price Book Store (I love that store!!). The other book I have ordered from Amazon is Knitting Rules! by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee aka in the knitting world as “the Yarn Harlot”. It has a sock pattern called sock recipe: a good plain sock. I have heard many people say this is their go to sock pattern. Then when I get the sock pattern I want I will get the needle size it calls for (because the needles I will get are Addi Turbo 12″ circular needles and are expensive so I need the pattern first to see if I need size 0’s, or 1’s, I’m not a big fan of double pointed needles) and begin my sock journey. 🙂

Large Winter Pinecone Knot Bag!

December 8, 2015 / LDSVenus

I have made a couple of these larger knot bags but had given them to some special friends.

This one I can put in my shop :). You can not see the sparkle on the fabric on the green boughs but it is stunningly beautiful. Looks like snow, I really wanted to keep this one for myself, but I have enough left to make a medium bag for me :). This one is large enough for sweaters and shawls for knitters.

Sometimes when you are really busy doing for family, as the mom you wonder if your children really appreciate all you do for them. I’m not saying that my children don’t appreciate the things I do, just as a mom you sometimes wonder because they are so busy with their own lives. Well, my daughter showed me just how much she appreciated all I am doing for her with a beautiful yellow Orchid, just because. It is so pretty, she even remembered my favorite color for flowers is yellow. How’s that for remembering :).

Well “The boys” finally won a game last night against an old rival, the Redskins. Was an exciting game even though I had taken an antihistamine and fell asleep before the end, so I found out this morning that they won. Hehe, I don’t generally fall asleep during a football game, but it happens :).