The Land of Wool and Honey

Ten on Tuesday

For as much as I love shopping brick-and-mortar stores, I love, love LOVE shopping online.  It's like magic.  I press a few keys, wait a few excruciating days and stuff--glorious stuff--shows up on my doorstep.  Thanks again to Carole, the mastermind behind Ten on Tuesday: the topic this week is 10 Favorite Places  for Online Shopping.

1.  Etsy.  Um, is there anyplace else to shop?  I can't really remember what life was like before this magical marketplace.  Almost everything I need/want/desire, I purchase here if I can A.) think about it ahead of time or B.) afford it.  I found the shop's logo designer, my web designer, my lip balm purveyor and suppliers for all kinds of packaging here.  When it's not Fiber Festival Season, I buy 98.9% of my spinning fiber here.  I'm constantly trolling Etsy for the newest and best gift ideas--it's wonderful.  What have I bought recently?  Baker's twine, solid perfume and a set of matryoshka that is currently my most prized possession.  Seriously.

2.  eBay.  Yeah, you're right--it is kind of the devil, but when you're looking for wooden serving utensils (I was), children's wooden hangers (I am) or gigantic lots of vintage mother-of-pearl buttons (I always will be), it's the place to go.

3.  Vendors.  Tons of my vendors have websites with wholesale login options, especially convenient for those of us are too busy with customers to do office work during normal hours (that's a good thing!).  Also, I find it to be awfully convenient to order patterns while I'm wide awake in the middle of the night.  You'd be  surprised at how easily you can rationalize practically any purchase at 3:45 a.m.  ("Four hundred dollars worth of patterns from this brand new vendor?  Why not?")

4.  Amazon.  Again, I know.  It's kind of sacrilege.  I always try to buy my books and music first from my local bookstore.  But if it's a new knitting book that's just hit the press or music that I just. Have. To. Buy.  you can't go wrong with this place.  (Often, wholesale prices aren't much better!)  Recent purchases?  The soundtrack for Friday Night Lights and Simon Sinek's amazing book.

5.  USPS.  If you've got to ship, you might as well buy your postage online.  (Again, at 3:45 a.m.)  Plus, you can place an order for, say, 200 Medium Priority Flat Rate boxes, and they'll deliver them to your local post office, free of charge.  Sa-weet!

6.  J. Crew.  Everything they do, I love.  Nobody does swimwear better.  Nobody returns swimwear 6 times in a row better, either.  One day, I'll wear nothing but J. Crew cashmere.  One day.

7.  Ravelry, stash for trade or sell.  One man's trash and all that.  And yes, I have begged someone to sell me theirBrideflight Studios roving.  I'll admit it.

8.  Vosges Chocolate.  My heaven would have an everlasting supply of Naga truffles at the foot of my bed--thanks for asking!  I'm planning on surprising my dad with this for Christmas.  I think he'll go ape. 

9.  The Loopy Ewe.  Sure, I sell yarn, but I can't possibly sell it all.  Sheri and her elves are crazy fast, super friendly and they always include a little gift and handwritten note.  I may or may not have a package currently in transit.  (A Thanksgiving weekend treat to myself, naturally.)

10.  Sweet Petula.  The scents that Cory concocts are nothing short of olfactory art.  I almost always have a bar of Olive Oil soap in the shower and a travel candle burning in the kitchen.  I've given her soaps for weddings, birthdays and holidays and I don't plan to stop any time soon.  Exquisite.

Between online shopping excursions, however, I knit:

More on the freakishly large Christmas stockings later.  I've got shopping to do.

Busy Bee

I am happy to report that the patient is doing splendidly.  Turns out, when you're 30, hernia surgery is a breeze.

I am happier still to report that I finished two projects on Tuesday.  A monumental day, indeed--a successful surgery and two more shop samples ready for action.  Whee!

 

 

Pattern: "Honey Cowl" by Ann Maria for Madeline Tosh.

Started: Saturday, March 27th, 2010.

Finished: Tuesday, March 30h, 2010.

Yarn: Madeline Tosh DK in color Carmen--exactly one skein.

Needles: US 7 Addi Turbos--24" circular.

Size: Short version.  A future shop sample for Inish Knits. 

Modifications: None.

Can I just say how much I love this pattern?  (Oh wait, this is my blog.  I can say whatever I want.  Right.)  Can you see the honeycomb texture made by all those sl1 wyf's?  Can you imagine snuggling up with this cozy, squishy superwash yarn during a chilly September high school football game?

I thought so. 

And for all those baby bees in your life....

 

 An Inish Knits pattern coming soon!

And as though I needed a present for being such a productive worker bee knitter, look at what I found on my desk on Wednesday morning:

 

A felt pincushion I've had my eye on since the beginning of Time.  I love it, Cindy!  Another exquisite gift from a friend with exquisite taste.  (I have stumbled upon many fabulous Etsyians because of you and for that, I'm not sure if I should thank you or punch you.) 

Coming soon--more buzz.

Less Talk, More Wool

Experimented with color in January.

 

"Razor Love"

 

"Almond Blossom"

 

"Montezuma"

Up next?  Yarn.

 

That is all.

Wallowing-in-My-Own-Filth Friday

Holy deadlines, Batman.  This week has been-- how you say?--a bit much.  And this is the death and destruction a week like mine leaves in its wake:

 

Yes.  According to the calendar on the wall, we are still experiencing the month of April.  Thanks for pointing that out.

 

 

Can you say "biohazard"?

Oy.  Thankfully, in this case, I have something to show for my week.  (Well, besides cracked, stained fingernails, dark circles where my eyes should be and a raging addiction to caffeine.)

Dyeing:

 

Drying:

 

Spinning:

 

 

And a bit of sewing, too:

 

TGIF?  Yeah, I can dig it.

p.s.  As the ultimate treat to myself for a week of work well done, I am heading tomorrow to the Northern Michigan Lamb and Wool Fest.  Will you? 

p.p.s.  In the spirit of Friday randomness, just thought I'd pass on this week's factoid.  Laura Nyro was nominated (posthumously, of course) for an induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  Finally!

 

 

Happiness Is...

 A package first thing on a Monday morning!

 

Inside this box is five pounds of exquisite paper artistry from a very talented lady.  Foldover product labels, business cards, desktop stationery, stickers and thank-you cards--for my other shop.   

 

And just in time, too!

 

I have been spinning like a maniac preparing for My First Fiber Festival.  Dyeing, too.   

 

Inspired by this:

 

This:

 

Inspired by:

 

And this one:

 

By this:

(A little Monet never hurt anybody, no?)

Please say you'll come!  Both my sister and I will be there, along with some of Michigan's finest fiber peeps.  Mark your calendar for Friday, October 9th from 5 to 8 p.m. and Saturday, October 10th from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m for the 2009 Fiber Festival at the Old Art Building in Leland.  

p.s. 

Happy Blogiversary

Thank you, my lovely readers; it's been two years together!  Although I didn't knit 50 pairs of socks in 2008, nor finish Tour de Fleece 2008 (or 2009--whoops!) and while I'm still trying to get  that sugar demon off my back, the things I have finished (here, here and here, among a multitude of others) are quite fabulous, if I do say so myself.  I love all of your comments and have been meaning to respond back to each of them.  I think I'll get right on that.

Thanks for listening reading.  I'm so very happy to say this is just the beginning.

Epic

And so it begins. 

 

On Sunday morning, I began the sweater I have been dreaming about for the past six months: My First Handspun Sweater.

I started out the voyage with eight handpainted rovings, totalling approximately 34 ounces.  (I'm not even going to tell you where I bought them.  I imagine you can guess.)  I split each of them in half, along their entire length(s).  And I split them again and again, until I had eight very long strips of bright green wool--to preserve all of the colors throughout  each roving.  Similar, but each quite different, the goal here is to mesh and meld all the unique colors within the eight rovings into one seamless, badass sweater.

I've spun almost eight ounces of singles thus far.  I'm shooting for a 2-ply worsted weight.  The sweater I have in mind is the very basic, very mindless Knitting Pure and Simple Top Down Cardigan, although I would prefer to knit this at 18 sts per 4 inches vs. the pattern's 16.  (Easy enough to modify, no?) 

These singles will be resting on the bobbins for the rest of the evening, as well as tomorrow, and I plan on plying them Thursday morning.  I don't have enough bobbins to spin all the singles before I have one long plying session, and let's be honest--I don't have the patience, either.  

Before the week's end, this lovely green stuff will be the beginnings of a sweater.

***Also.  About dropping the ball last week: I joined Facebook and Twitter.  My apologies.   

Zombies Love Yarn

At least this zombie does. 

No words.  Just pictures. 

 

 

 

Long week.  Details tomorrow. 

Still love yarn.

Dy(e)ing For Spring

They say that the best way to beat the winter blues is to switch it up.  Whip up a new recipe, drive a different route home from work,  take a class to master a new technique or start a new workout regime.

Although I have been craving the samosas at NJ's, and am seriously considering taking up a new instrument, (the banjo?  bass guitar? cello?)  I figured I'd take a break from the knitting doldrums and spend a little time hovering over the dyepots.

   

"Pink Grapefruit."

 

"Hummingbird."

Some mini silk rovings I had lying around--the two of these have been added to my Etsy shop.  Take a peek! 

I'll be adding other lovelies this week; I have six Merino rovings in fantastically intense colors that will make their debut tomorrow or Friday, once they're dry and braided.  Handspun, too.

Creation is a fabulous way to push off frustration, no?

Good Habits

I'm trying to exact a little willpower over here by blogging every day this work week, and just like everything else in life, doing what you're supposed to is hard.  You feel better after doing the deed (dieting, exercising, researching, cleaning the bathroom), but sometimes the thought of shoving a meat thermometer in my ear (c'mon, you gotta remember that SNL skit!) sounds a little more fun than actually strapping on those snowshoes.

Anyhoo.  Blogging.  Here I am.  Doing the deed. 

Since I have no knitting progress to share today, how about a trip down memory lane?  After shuffling through a few memory cards, I found the pictures of the Christmas handspun yarn and realized I never shared before today.  (This is also me making myself feel better about all those projects I say I'm going to finish but don't--I said I would spin this yarn in time for Christmas and dang it, I did.)

 

 

"Naggaroth", 2-ply Rambouillet wool.  Can't remember, but I think it's around 265 yds (?)--7 5/8 oz. total weight.  This was a very pleasant spin--the fiber was purchased from my friend Elizabeth's shop. 

Whew.  That does feel better.