Malabrigo and Moths

Just lovely. I get a good pattern from a friend (available online for free) that I think will make my mom a very nice Christmas present. She is the only member of my family I bother to knit for because she is the only one who appreciates and actually uses the stuff. So, I dig through the stash, find my Malabrigo yarn, purchased at the Kanawha City Yarn Company about a year ago and prepared to start winding it. Bear in mind I own neither a ball winder or a swift, so I have to wind by hand.

I immediately discovered the problem when I was left holding two frayed ends. I hoped it was an isolated problem and continued on. After the same thing happened three more times, I decided I needed to wait until the next day and go to the store.

At KCYC, after telling Sarah, the owner, about the problem, she set it up on her ball winder and swift and commenced winding. We then discovered that the
d#$% moths had done considerable damage. I lost probably about 3-5 yards from pieces too small to bother knotting and will have to splice about 8-10 times while working on these socks. My only consolation at this point is that it can't get much worse (I hope I didn't just jinx myself!!).

Busy, busy, busy!

Sorry for not posting for a few months, but I have been insanely busy with both work and school. I am working 40 hours and taking full time classes, so it has been a hectic few months. That, however, has not stopped me from knitting up a storm. I have several projects finished and a few still on the needles.

One of the projects still on the needles is the Spring Forward Sweater. I am about halfway done with the front, with the arm shaping coming up soon. I also cast on a cabled hat, but don't have any current pictures. I decided that my Flames socks should become fingerless mitts instead and still have a ton of the yarn left. Here is

what they look like:

Pretty nice, huh?

I am also working on another pair of socks. They are Kroy stripes in pastel colors. The toe of the first sock was a little wonky and I just finished the gusset decreases on the second sock.

Recently, one of the LYS went out of business. The owner was retiring to spend more time with her grandchildren. So I was able to score some very nice yarn at half off. I went a bit nuts on the Cherry Tree Hill and bought several skeins.

I lucked into two different kinds on yarn, CTH Silk and Merino DK and CTH Silky Kidd in the same colorway and knit a scarf with the two yarns held together. I chose garter stitch so the main focus would be on the yarn and not the pattern, but I was not bored at all! I am apparently easily amused by the color changes! It is finished, but I do not have a good picture, so this will have to do for now:

Pictures!

It is about time I posted some pictures of my knitting. I have recently finished a few items, made progress on one and am about to cast on another. So, here we go!

The first item is my Grass and Violets tank top. It turned out great, even if the pictures are a bit odd. There was no one to help take the pics, so they are of my reflection in a mirror at my parents.

As you can see, it turned out a little shorter than I had intended. Here is a nice close up.

I also finished my worsted weight socks. I had to redo the heel of the second one after developing a massive gap between needles during the instep decreases, but it was smooth sailing after that. I finished the second sock at the SnB and was going to wait until I got home to graft the toe, but the lovely Nadine offered to do it for me and did a great job. Thank you, Nadine and happy birthday!

Next up is my Spring Forward sweater. It has been going good. The stitch definition is showing up better, but I am having a little trouble with the decreases for the sleeves. Still, I am almost finished with the back.

Tonight, I am going to cast on for another pair of socks. I am going camping this week, and socks are a good travel project. Plus, the colorway is called 'Flames' and I find it delicious to be knitting flaming socks in front of a roaring campfire! The yarn is more of Cyndi Bolt's. This time it is 402 yards of superwash wool. I am thinking of doing a seed stitch instead of the stockinette stitch I usually do.

More Hours

Due to a change in the work schedule at Allevard Springs, I am now working 40 hours a week: a four-midnight shift on Tuesday and Wednesday, and my usual midnight to noon shifts on Saturday and Sunday. I can definitely use the money! Even though I am now living with my grandmother and am not paying rent, I still have bills to pay. A loan that I still have about a year and a half left to pay and two credit cards. However, I did decide to take both loans after all. I can use the excess to pay off my credit cards. They are both in-store cards, but they build up fast!

In knitting news, my tank top is finished! I have to take some good pictures and post them later. I have started working on the Spring Forward Sweater from Creative Magazine. I am not entirely happy with the yarn I chose. The Caron’s Simply Soft is not showing up the stitch definition very well. But, I am not going to frog; I am too far along and can live with it.

I am also working on a pair of basic boot socks in worsted weight yarn. I turned the heel of the first one on a bus and the second one in a movie theater before the show started.

School is going pretty good. I think having more than one class in the summer is a mistake, because you have so much coming at you at once. We have studies from the U.S. Civil War up the Cold War at present in just three and half weeks. I had my second test today and did okay (I hope). I am actually looking forward to the Fall semester starting.

A Load Off

As mentioned before, I am a History Major at Marshall University. I am hoping to get my BA in History in a few years and then receive my MA in Museum Studies. I have begun sounding out museums in the area to see what and who is hiring and their requirements for employment.

Well, a large step has now been taken. When I first started college, frankly, I was stupid and lost me financial aid eligibility. Now, I have finally gotten it straighted out and am back in good standing. I have offered a grant and two loans. The grant is automatic, but I will have to choose which of the loans I want. Getting them both is overkill. I don't need $6,000.

The tuition and fees will equal about $3,000. When I got online and saw the amount I was being offered, I immediately called my mom, even though it was 1:30 in the morning. Luckily, I get my night-owl tendency from her and she was still awake. So, as long as I don't screw up again, I should be good!

Long Time, No Post

Jeez, I did not realize how long it had been since I posted here. Therefore, I have a lot to post and will probably spread it across a few days. In fiber news (what else) I finished my Marsh socks at the end of April and will not be worrying about doing the rest.

I don't like knitting more than a few things at a time, and I currently have a tank top, a sweater, another pair of socks, and a hibernating dishcloth on the needles. At the moment, I am mainly knitting on the tank top. It is beautiful! It is 50% cotton and 50% rayon and is a very shimmery green and purple. See!












It was hand dyed by a local independent spinner, weaver and dyer named Cyndi. I mentioned in a previous post that I had put some yarn in layaway in December. Well this is it! I have over 1200 yards, which is a good thing, because it is a lighter weight yarn than the pattern calls for. I am knitting a plain stockinette stitch tank, mostly because this is the kind of yarn where a simple pattern is best.

In other fiber news, the first weekend of April was the River Cities Fiber Guild's annual retreat. I was unable to stay the full time due to work, but many others stayed all night. It was held at a local church camp, so there where plenty of beds. Several of my friends from the guild were there, as will as a few people I didn't know.

This is Cyndi, who dyed the lovely yarn above; Debbie, a very talented spinner;

Ellen, who gave samples of fleece for the goody bags. I helped her write the name of the place where she got them o (Wool Grower's in Columbus, Ohio) on the bags and she gave me several more that were extra.

This is Elaine (on the left) and Grace (on the right). Elaine was actually spinning a large fluffy synthetic fiber usually used for packing material. It was a pure white and she blended in some orange wool with a drum carder and it looked great!

This is Judy, one of the founding members of the guild. She is a absolutely adorable, sweet woman with a very quirky sense of humor

And this is Mitzi, one of the other founding members and Judy's daughter. They own several llamas and got started spinning because of that.

This is Nadine, who is a 'spinning prodigy' to use Grace's words on Ravelry. She has been spinning only about a year and her stuff is phenomenal!

This a Maria, a good friend and an excellent knitter, as shown by the entrelac shawl she is wearing.

Nancy, a very good spinner and knitter,

Sam, who is a very good knitter and is developing into an exceptional spinner as well (blame Nadine, she got her hooked).

Then there is Dana (on the right) and Trish (on the left). Dana has made some of the most intricate socks I have ever seem and Trish spins some of the best yarn. She taught me to Andean ply last year.

Finally, there were several people from a WV guild several hours away. They are the ones that convinced Mitzi and Judy to develop the guild here. I think there names were Linda, Linda, Lynda and Deb.

Ok, there is more to catch up on, but I think I will leave it until tomorrow. It is another pic heavy post.

Just a quick note to say

My Feb socks are done, and I have cast on my first sweater. More details in next post.