The Frog Pond Revisted.

Some of you may remember, back in February for the Ravelympics I knit the Shalom Cardigan by Meghan McFarlane.  I managed to finish it in 14 days!  Yes, it's a fast knit!  When I finished it and tried it on...I was really not happy with it.  Here is a picture of me in it right after I finished it. 

Now for you knitters, yes I sewed on the buttons and wove in all the ends.  I did not block it because I knew I didn't like the modifications I made.  Even back then I think I knew that the day would come where this cardigan would meet the frog pond but I held out.  I waited.  I tried it on several times, hoping that I would magically find a way to be comfortable in it.  The yoke bunched up when I wore it and I was uncomfortable. Anytime I made it out of the house with it on, it just magically came off very quickly.  So, I finally just bit the bullet and this past weekend, I pulled out the ends and the buttons and frogged it.  For you non-knitter out there, frogging means to rip out the knitting.  Because you rip, rip, rip...becomes frogging. 

In the end I am very happy I frogged it.  Having it in my sweater drawer taunting me with it's bad fit and poor decisions on modifications to the pattern on my part was just killing me. 

I have already soaked the yarn to remove all the kinks from it being knit and I completed knitting the yoke, separating for the sleeves, and am back on the body part.  I am happy knitting it again.  This is a great pattern.  I don't love how the pattern fits at the top that is why I am again making modifications but this time I am using someone else's modifications that have been tested and I like how they look.  Here's hoping they work because I will not knit this three times!

My other goal with this cardigan is to knit it faster than I did last time.  I think I can beat 14 days.  I'm already a third of the way through since Saturday.  I think I can, I tink I can.

To catch you up on my life, last week with Special K's sister and nephew in town it was very busy!!  They left on Friday but Friday night I had a baby shower for a friend, then Saturday I had a Pinellas Weavers Guild board meeting.  By Saturday afternoon, I really did not want to leave the house or do anything other than craft.  I had a long craft todo and only got about halfway through but that's OK. 

My summer tour spinning is going really well!! I have managed to spin every day for at least 10 minutes and am making lots of progress.   I think I will have almost 3 bobbins full of singles soon.

I hope everyone is having a great week.  Happy Knitting, Spinning, and Doggie lovin! :)

A new toy, and some fleecy goodness!!

This weekend was pretty crazy! Special K had a friend from home in town for the weekend so we stayed out late! I also had lots of things that I had to do...such as helping out with the Pinellas Weavers Guild Auction. Every other year we do an auction and the other years we have a sale. The auction was a lot of fun but the best part was that I got a loom for $12!!! I was so flipping excited! It's missing the heddles and I need a shuttle and a reed threader but otherwise I can't wait to get it working!!

Look how pretty it is after I wiped it down with some wool oil.
If you know what kind of loom this is or have any advice...PLEASE...do share! Thank you so much!
Also this weekend I managed to scour some of the black Corriedale fleece I have. I separated them into locks and scoured in lock formation because I plan to comb them. They came out so pretty!

Here are all the yummy fleecy goodness laying to dry!
Well..I hope everyone is doing great! I hope you enjoyed this drive by posting! ;)

Weekend update...spinning and weekend fun.

So...this weekend was JAM packed! I'm ready for a vacation from my week last week and this weekend..and I really doubt this week at work will be it. :)

First off...last week was so busy and stressful that all I wanted to do was crawl into bed and wake up in a month...but since that is not possible...this is what did happen this weekend.

Friday night was my friend Bambi's 30th birthday! She threw a slip n slide party. :) hehehe It was fun but I did NOT slip or slide. Special K and I stayed way too late...thanks to our friend Becky but that's ok. Becky is visiting from up north and we don't get to see her often so it was great catching up.

Saturday was an early day for me. I got up early and got my allergy shots and then Manda and I met at starbucks and then headed up to Safety Harbor for my guild's monthly spinning meet up. We only have 5 people but we had a great time. We hung out under this gazebo in the center of town and enjoyed the nice breeze.

I worked on the Ramboullet for my sister's shawl. I love how it's coming out!!
After that we headed over to Sheryl's and saw Levi..her son who is 2 months old. It was SO cute because I got to feed him and he's smiling now and just TOO cute. No pictures sorry! Will take some next sat. at his baptism. I'm going to be one of his god parents! I'm very honored and excited!

Saturday night, Special K and I headed over to Becky's parents house. Her dad is the pastor at our church and the person who married us. It was a great evening with good food and great company.

Today...was another day. :) Kenny let me sleep in and then we met up with our friend Phil and Katy for brunch because well...we kind of cancelled plans for Saturday night because Becky invited us over for dinner. :) They understood though and brunch was great!

Then we picked up a loveseat from Kenny's boss and unloaded that into the house and then we got ready for the wedding. I'll leave that for the next post since...this one is already long enough.

Well...hope everyone had a great weekend! I'll be back in about 5 minutes with the next post about my childhood friends wedding.

Fiber and Dogs!

This week has been a busy one and a sick one. I spent Tuesday at home sick, which started as allergies and has not progressed to chest congestion. I feel better though just have a cough. I also have been spinning a bunch on the citrus fiber and working on my Entrelac sock. Last night I cast on for a felted spinning wheel bag, which I should be done in the next hour and will felt and share picture. SUPER quick pattern and I'm knitting it out of handspun!


So, the fiber you ask, where does that come in. Well, today was our March Spinners and Weavers guild meeting and we had our annual sale. This year was a market and I got some great stuff. I got some beautiful Romney wool from a lady, whose daughter raises the sheep.
And then I picked up a flick comb for $1 and a cute little pin cushion. Also these two bobbin holders which were FREE! There was a lot of great stuff but this is what I settled on. I stayed under budget which is what I'm most proud of!!

Well..since I got home I have spent the last 3 hours rearranging my office/stash room, cleaning the house, and giving the dogs baths. I'm ready for some knitting, spinning, and watching some of my shows! Special K is fishing with a friends so he might be home soon but who knows. It's a really nice day so they may not want to come home for a while!!

I hope you are all well and here are some pictures of my pups to keep you going until the next post. They are just too cute!!
Happy Knitting and Spinning and Dog Loving!!

Spinning Meet-up and my first finished Entrelac Sock!

Today I went to my first Pinellas Weavers and Spinners Guild's monthly spinning meet-up and I had such a great time. I met a bunch of wonderful woman and learned that they are a wealth of knowledge!! Many of them are snow birds, however, they are here long enough so I hope to get to know them all better. During this meet-up, I was asked if I would like to be the Spinning Chair for our guild and I agreed! I'm not sure exactly when my duties will begin but I'll find out more at the next meeting, which is next Saturday. So far I know I will be in charge of organizing our meet-ups and if I want to submit spinning articles to our newsletter. They said I could do as much as I want with the chair position. I'm excited to meet more members and to get to know more of the spinners.

We meet the first Saturday of every month at a member's house. This week was at a nice woman named Judy's house. There was a pretty big turn out. Was great to see.
I brought my wheel and worked on my hand dyed domestic wool I showed you in the last post. I'm spinning it as thin as I can and I'm loving how it's turning out. Another Judy at our group, who sat next to me said that it looks very citrusey. And she's so right!
I really enjoyed the meet-up and I look forward to next weeks meeting, which I've volunteered to help set up for our Annual Market Sale which I hear is pretty awesome! I'm excited because I heard a woman at the meet-up say she was bringing some fleeces from her daughter's sheep. I'm going to look a those. I'm wanting to get my hands on a fleece soon so I can start spinning for a contest for Spin-off magazine. It's call All Wrapped up in Natural Fiber and you have to process your own fiber, spin it, and then knit up a scarf. If I can find a fleece I can afford then I am hoping to work on a project to send in.

On to Knitting! Yes, I have been knitting monogamously on my Entrelac socks. I bound off the cuff last night for the first one and quickly cast on the 2nd toe. I'm hoping to finish these this week before Sock Madness starts! I'm loving how they are coming out. There are a couple holes but that's ok. None too noticeable. I showed them off a the spinning meet-up for show and tell and got good comments. :)

Well, I'm off to knit a bit since I've spun most the day before we head to dinner with SK's step family. I hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Happy Spinning and Knitting!

PS...Abby's daddy gave her a bath today and she smells so good..and is clean so she gets lots of loving from me. She's been bringing in a lot of pollen and it hasn't been helping my breathing but I sure do love her. :)