The Eighth Dwarf

His name is Wheezy and I gave birth to him in August. On Friday, the heinous virus culminated with a diagnosis of RSV for the wee one. He's getting inhaler treatments, but he's doing great and we may have gotten through the worst of it without even knowing it.

Anyway, it was this diagnosis that made me almost not go to Spinner's Group on Friday night. After days of being home with sick people, though, sheer desperation (and the fact that I was taking Laura the loom I've had in my basement for too long) made me force myself to go. Didn't plan to spin, didn't even take a wheel with me.

It was a small group on Friday, three and a half, not counting me. (The "half" is Caroline's daughter Emily, and is a regular part of the group.) After talk of the loom and normal catchup talk, somehow talk turned to an orphan wheel that had been left at the shop with a note "Clemson Clemes Wheel / Free to a Good Home."

Curiousity got the best of me, particularly because Clemes & Clemes wheels seem to have a bit of a cult following. After taking off the ratty old stinky nasty wool on the bobbin and getting some help from Caroline about the wheel's double-drive tension, I got her going. Not a bad spin. So my home was good enough for the wheel, and it came home as a restoration project. My husband's face was priceless. But, as he always is when curious machinery is involved, he too was sucked in at some level of interest. I've been wiping and oiling and investigating and here's what I know so far, besides the fact that I seriously doubt it is a Clemes & Clemes

Look at this flyer. The eye bolts are clever, and almost Woolee-Winder-esque. They'll need new nuts to make sure they stay in place when I'm spinning (tension on the yarn pulls them towards me too fast and the yarn fills at the front faster than anywhere). But they're neat and old looking.

This wheel is sturdy, and I mean SOLID. I don't know what type of wood it is is made of, but it has held up well.

There are a few rough patches on the wheel, and some knicks on the knobs and over the Mother of All, but nothing a little sanding won't take care of.

The leather parts need some conditioning (the maiden has a leader thong-type assemble that the orifice slides into to hold the bobbin in place and it looks a little dry, as does the piece that attaches the footman to the wheel itself).

But above all, what I know more than anything is this: This wheel has POWER. It was obviously made for production! It may simply be that it's a double-drive wheel (my Traditional is single-drive and the Hitchiker has no drive), but this thing can twist. And the yarn it turned out was a respectable worsted that -- once I weigh it down to set the massive twist -- will be usable and strong.

It's a worthwhile addition to the spinning corner. Even though it makes my Traditional look downright dainty.

Behold: Fiber Arts

My apologies for the spotty blogging lately. It hasn't been for lack of content, but rather, lack of sleep, free time and original ideas.

You see, a few weeks ago I was going to write about nursing and what it means to be a nursing mother and how much time it takes and how good "nursing knitting" projects are hard to come by. But then Theresa published an eloquent post and I didn't think I could add anything to her already-perfect post. You see, she and I were pregnant together and had similarly complicated pregnancies and I like to think of her as my kindred spirit over in the Windy City. She's having a rough spot right now, so pop over and send her good thoughts.

And then I was going to write about how I felt about the blog, why I started it, etc., and then others started writing about the same theme. So I didn't do that, either.

But all the while, something miraculous was happening here at Chez Spinneas. You see, I was actually KNITTING.

I'm on the final stretch of the Southwestern Sock.

I cannot begin to tell you how much I love Fleece Artist sock yarn. It is a stash staple.

There has even been a little spinning.

Now neither of these projects are conducive to nursing, but I may have found some good projects. Firstly, a brioche rib scarf out of some ages-old homespun. Merino/tencel/silk blend spun on my Ashford knitted up with size 6 needles. It's coming along nicely.

And the ultimate nursing knitting: The Magic Market Bag -- a delightful pattern from Aran Auntie (who is also Auntie Nanny at my house). MMBs are addictive knits that spring forth from teeny, humble balls of Cascade Fixation. You size them by choosing what size needle you want to use. I've completed three so far and the fourth is nearly done. I've been playing a bit with handle size (if you go verbatim with the handle it's designed to stretch into a shoulder bag -- the version on the far right below has a shorter handle and is more of a "hang off your wrist" tote). The one in the middle is done verbatim, and the one on the left is in progress (translation: I haven't made major mods yet, but may be tempted once I get to the handle, which should be during our next nursing session). Here are three in their "natural" state, completed in "medium" size:

And here's one stuffed with balls of yarn to show the magic of the bag. This doesn't really even touch how much stretch this bag has. I deem it quite suitable for stash enhancement expeditions.

Now I'm going to make a plug here for the pattern. If you are looking for good nursing knitting, fast holiday knits or a speedy yarn-store tote, this pattern is for you. She's distributing it through Lovely Yarns in Baltimore, but hopefully it will arrive in other local yarn stores or on the web soon.

If you can't wait for it, shoot me an email and I'll connect you to the source :)

Ode to an Arachnid

"She never moved again. Next day, as the Ferris wheel was being taken apart and the race horses were being loaded into vans and the entertainers were packing up their belongings and driving away in their trailers, Charlotte died. The Fair Grounds were soon deserted. The sheds and buildings were empty and forlorn. The infield was littered with bottles and trash. Nobody, of the hundreds of people that had visited the Fair, knew that a grey spider had played the most important role of all. No one was with her when she died."

--Charlotte's Web (E.B. White)

For weeks, the bulk of the spinning around my house has been performed by a very large, particularly scary-looking spider that took up residence on our side porch. Each night at dusk, our Spider would come down from the eave and spin its web -- a large, beautiful web with lots of radii and tight concentric circles. It was absolutely fascinating to watch Spider spin -- and my husband, big boys and I would watch intently as it built a brand new web each night. With rhythmic grace, Spider would drop to the rail and start by anchoring the opus on whatever it could -- railing, flower-basket holder, flowerpot hook -- and then have at the middle. Spider started from the outside, making large, sweeping circles and going swiftly but carefully counter-clockwise into the center, before making its stakeout in the dead center waiting for dinner.

Earlier this week, I asked my husband to go outside and capture this miracle. Video didn't do it justice, particularly because of the darkness of the sky and of the Spider. But this photo pretty much says it all.




Sure, there were lots of jokes about sitting on our porch at night ... if you picked the chair nearest to the Spider, you were Little Miss Muffet ... on some nights we expected to see "Humble" written in the web (I can't tell you how big the web was -- our neighbors could see if from 75 yards in the sunrise) ... but more than anything else there was a sense of reverence ... of pure, unadulterated awe at this creature and what it did. Every single night.


If you took coffee on our porch in the morning, you could watch Spider head up to bed, and revel in the total beauty of a spider's web in the dewy, morning light.


Until yesterday. You see, the mercury dropped and we had our first taste of autumn. It was one of those delicious days when you pull out the blue jeans and handknit socks and revel in the coziness without realizing that outside, in nature, the Circle of Life is taking a devilish turn.

Yesterday, while I was cleaning house, scrubbing floors and tending to L'il I and my boys were racing around outside with friends, we were oblivious to what was happening to our sleeping friend. I should have stopped for a visit.


Last night, I headed to our porch to visit with Spider -- a few quiet moments with a kindred spirit. But Spider wasn't hard at work. Spider was still in its daytime position -- curled up under the eave in a ball. There was no web to greet me -- just a few willowy leftover anchor lines wafting in the night breeze. This morning, Spider is unmoved.


I fear the world has lost a truly remarkable spinner and I am sad.

Maryland, My Maryland (S&W)

All week long, I've been waiting for the anticipation and the anxiety to set in for MDS&W ... that Christmas Eve feeling that is difficult to shake and makes concentration at work quite difficult. On Friday night, I was more than a little worried.

But yesterday morning, I woke up at FIVE THIRTY IN THE MORNING and could hardly keep myself from fidgeting with excitement. It didn't help that there was a very loud group of baby birds outside who were obviously very hungry and trying to wake Mama Bird. Fortunately, my little chicks were all still asleep.

I fought off the anxiety, got myself prepared for the day, packed my bag and left my house at 7:30. I expected much more traffic than there actually was, and I got to the fairgrounds in about 30 minutes. Even though it was eight o'clock, there were tons of people going in already, so I wandered into the grounds, picked up my directories and started scoping out the vendors. My friend wasn't due to meet me there until 9, so I had an hour to kill.

I wandered with the knowledge that the gates don't technically open until 9, ogling yarns and rovings and animals and then happened upon David Paul at The Merlin Tree's booth. I stopped to smile at all the cute little wheels lined up and Dave started chatting. I told him who I was (we talked on the phone last week about saving me a wheel) and before I knew it, he and I had picked my specimen from the row and I was seated, being shown how this little beauty works and taking a practice spin. After I spun for a bit, the deal was cinched. I paid up and Dave even autographed the wheel for me (after all, he builds them by hand -- they're a work of art):

Honestly, I don't know that there's anyone quite as nice as Dave.

To complete my early circuit, I went up to the main exhibition haul to scope out the Koigu booth (I wanted to be there when the Koigu frenzy started so I could watch it ... it's like a 10-cent panty sale at the department store.) I walked the whole hall, but alas, no Koigu. Apparently they were a no-show and rumors were floating of a broken foot. I consoled myself with a much-sought-after-and-coveted Grafton batt. I think that the vendors who actually had Koigu (like the Mannings) really cleaned up.

From there, I started heading back to the front gates to wait for my friend when I ran into Knitty D and The City. They drove down on their own (as opposed to coming with the rest of the Rosie's crew) to make it in time for the Koigu rush, and so I had to break the news. Wendy and I left Christina in the Socks that Rock line at The Fold and we went to check the main hall one more time. This is what Knitty D had to deal with. She's on the far left bending over (sorry Christina!) and Wendy's on the other side in the pink tee:

Wendy and I walked through the main hall and then parted ways back at The Fold's booth. We swapped cell numbers and I went to meet my friend. Sadly, the mayhem of the day prevented us from hooking up again.

Memories from the rest of the day are far less linear. Animals, shopping, animals, more animals, more shopping ... My friend, her husband and I wandered through all the barns and booths, fondling fibers and talking about what spins well and what doesn't, how uncontrollable a stash can be without a plan (her stash rivals mine) and just having a lot of fun. We work together, you see, which is why she's going nameless here, and it's always really nice to do things outside the office with someone that's as much fun as she is. Her husband was a real trooper, too. He carried the Hitchhiker the whole day!

We saw the dog demos:

We wandered a bit more and then parted ways. I headed to get some lunch (got a lamb sausage from the Boy Scouts) and finally plopped down on a bench to rest and eat. Ran into Caroline from my spinning group and chatted and then, at 1, headed out to the blogger meetup.

The blogger meetups always drive me nuts. No matter where people say they're going to meet, it's hard to find -- primarily because we rarely see each others' faces! Unless you pick out something totally awesome to wear (like the socks I saw on the hill -- I don't know her name, but they were amazing), it's very tricky! So I plopped down with Sarah and a few other gals from spinners group and looked around, trying to pick out Gryphon with no luck. Oh well. It was a chance to take a load off, anyway.

By then, it was about 2 o'clock and I had just about had it. So I started heading back to the gates, stopping here and there to pick up little things (like some lovies for the boys -- even the wee one). I finally made it to the car and headed out. So here's the haul:

Clockwise from back left: HitchHiker Wheel from The Merlin Tree, a white batt of California Red from Apple Rose Farm, three ounces of alpaca fleece, Grafton fiber batt (dead center), silk hankies from A Touch of Twist, along with a few cocoons to process on my own, Cormo roving from Winterhaven Fiber Farm. The stuffed llama is for the wee one (each of the boys got one too, but they were asleep when I took this picture).

What you can't see in the picture is a ball of Jacob Sheep roving and a combo sett-stick and orifice hook from Woodchuck:

All in all, it was a good day. A fibery day. A friendly day. I'm seriously fighting the desire not to race back today, but I was very good with my budget and there's a lot to do around the house. There isn't anything else that I can't live without and truth be told, yesterday took more out of the pregnant lady than she cares to admit. But last night's dreams were sweet and I can always play with my new toy today to take my mind off of the festival itch!

It's Coming Around the Corner...

That's right, folks. Maryland Sheep and Wool 2007 is coming up, and I hope to be there on Saturday and possibly Sunday as well. Gryphon is setting up a meet-up on Sunday, in case anyone has an interest (can't guarantee I'll be there).

I, like so many others I have read, have a bit of a problem when it comes to planning out the shopping for the festival. Last year it was obvious: spinning wheels, fiber, Koigu and a Bosworth spindle. This year, I already have one wheel (do not be deceived -- keep reading), more fiber than I can possibly spin -- including some from last year's festival haul, a solid on-line source of Koigu and two Bosworths. What could I possibly want to pick up at MDS$W? I've started a list:

-One of these. Don't try to talk me out of it; I've already called Dave to discuss and there's one with my name on it waiting on Saturday.

-Brooks Farm something. Four play, perhaps? I'd like to at least touch it and see what the big deal is.

-A yummy, multi-colored fiber batt that I can spin up for a fine fall/early winter scarf.

-More of those sock-needle elastic cappers that I bought at Stitches East last fall. I keep losing them.

And that's about it. Maybe a shawl pin if something catches my eye. A stuffed sheep for the wee one perhaps.

Surprising, no?

Just a Quickie

This will be a short, pictureless post. Not because I didn't make any additional progress, but because the photos would. be. boring. With a capital B.

Mitered Blanket:
The baby blanket miters are complete. Finished up the last one yesterday with a flourish and the blanket was deemed a success by many parties in my house (the ones that have taken an interest, anyway -- Zee hasn't had an eye for this one). Now I only have to do the edging. Today at lunch I head out to the Big Box that Shall Not Be Named to look for some dark green and a size F crochet hook to finish this one up. Then there will be pictures.

Basil:
Yes, Basil has not gone away. After the miters were done yesterday, I picked this up and slogged along a big on that incredibly tedious border. Only about two and a half rows to go before cast-off. Having been rather successful knitting without peeking on the miters, I've realized that I don't have to watch every single knit stitch go by and that multi-tasking (i.e. watching a movie with Hubby) is possible with only a small risk of a dropped stitch. So that's chugging along -- one more movie and I'll be ready to cast this off (finally) and call it a day.

Spinning:
I've dubbed this wool "Hydrox." The Hydrox cookie was the enduring predecessor to the Oreo, and the name resonated well with Knitting Auntie of Aran Fame when she popped in for a quick visit on Saturday. The first bobbin is now filled and the second is coming along. It looks exactly the same as the first bobbin, hence no pictures. Once I get the third filled and my first three-ply completed, I'll be happy to put it on display.

Assorted Little Projects:
I've been toting a little baby bib around with me that I managed to whip out a few rows on, but no real progress to be seen. I also played a bit with some burp-cloth appropriate stitch patterns but can't seem to find one I really like. Any ideas?

Progess

This morning was a fibery one at Chez Spinneas.

Finished another miter and started another. Only one more full square to go and then on to the edging for the baby blanket:

And I have nearly filled the first bobbin of the Romeldale:

I've been thinking about this ... after all, this is what I'm spinning for Flair. I'll need about 800 yards or so of worsted-size yarn. I did a wraps-per-inch calculation on the spindle-spun this morning, and it's still a little thin. A three-ply ought to bring me up to worsted with this homespun. So, my plan is to fill three bobbins and ply them and see how much I can get yardage-wise. Then I'll have a solid idea of how much spinning I'll need to do.

Since I have such an obscene amount of this wool (The Yarn Sniffer saw it this morning and said, "Whoa, that's a huge stack of wool, mom") I don't think I'll have a problem meeting the quota. In fact, I may have enough to do some matching socks or perhaps a little hat to go with it. How cute would that be?

What a Whorl, What a Whorl ...

Today, I took one of those bloggy quizzes ... the Sesame Street Personality quiz. I am Bert, and that frightens me. If anyone cares to find out who they are, you can access the quiz here.

In any event, enough about muppets and on to more appropriate content. This will be a short post, because pictures are worth more than words.

I've been spinning:



This is peacock merino/tencel from Kendig Cottage, and it has taken me forever. This is four ounces, Navajo plied. I don't know when I'm going to tackle the other four, because another Romneydale fleece has touched my heart. Anyone remember Oreo from last year? Well, his/her cousin (I like to think) has resurfaced, and at February's spinner's group I purchased an obscene amount. I have enough of this lovely fleece to last me for some time. I have some on the bobbin already.

But I also decided to spindle some of it. Firstly, to get an idea of what thickness to go for (this is the wool I'm going to use for Flair) and partially to get back into the spin of it so I can teach a co-worker who is chomping at learning to spin.


I didn't do much, but this is an Andean plied two-ply bit of goodness. That's a dime for scale.

More progress from the weekend in a few days!

Knitting and Nailbiting

I can count on one hand (with fingers left over) the number of times in my life that I’ve actually had fingernails that were long enough and in reasonably good-enough condition to actually get a manicure. For decades I was a nailbiter, exacerbated by the fact that I have a milk allergy, which was just the excuse that those little appendages needed to break off in odd moments where no one in their right mind would have access to an emery board. That meant I simply had to bite off the offending area, which then caused stress that gripped me until I chewed the whole damn thing down to the nub. Damn weak fingernails. Tried everything – vitamin e, that “strong as nails” stuff, even had acrylic tips for a while after my wedding. But I tell you, there’s one sure fire way to get nails that work: Get knocked up. Works every time. (Remember I said I could count on one hand? One finger for each kid, folks. The acrylic tips from the wedding don’t count.)
Given the stress and strain of waiting until Thursday to find out what I’m having, it’s amazing that I haven’t chewed these nails off. I’m terribly impatient, and it’s killing me. My husband and I have even postponed our naming discussion until the big reveal. He says it will help us better focus the discussion and maximize time (he’s a techie, LOL) but I really think it’s to avoid stressing me out further. Like I said, it’s all I can do to not chew, chew and chew some more.

One thing for sure about these talons: I can’t let them go much longer though, or they’ll start to interfere with the needles.

Speaking of needles, I have a few things going.

First, there’s Basil the Wonder Blanket.

A few words about Basil. This is a Smith Island Pattern Factory opus, an absolutely dreamy baby blanket with a simple motif and has knit like a dream. Once the code was cracked, I was off with this and I’m now sitting on the edging. I’ve had it in my head that I would wait until we found out whether we’re having a boy or girl before starting said edging, tailoring it accordingly, but then it hit me that I absolutely LOVED this minty green. In fact, the nursery theme that I have in mind is primarily green. So in my haste to not only make something that matched but also work with what I already have, I opted for the green (which is one of my all-time favorite colors anyway) and started the contrast last night.

But I’ve reached my waterloo, I swear. This happened with Parthenope. It happened with the pi shawl way back when. Some edgings are just plain evil. They team up with the rest of the pattern to have you move along quickly and easily with yarn overs and lacy patterns that just go so fast you can’t believe it. And then you hit a speedbump and you’re right back to plain old knitting. Problem is, for some reason, that’s taking me a LONG time. Plain vanilla is screwing me up. It will happen though … I’m just impatient. And it’s taking all of my willpower at this point to keep going and not put Basil in the knitting basket with Parthenope (who is still two rows away from a bind-off).

Speaking of plain vanilla, I started a sock a few weeks ago (again, is it the plain vanilla that’s getting me and impeding progress?)

It certainly isn’t the yarn. This is Socks that Rock, people. It will happen, I know, but it’s a little frustrating. But, like most cases of Second Sock Syndrome (read the Harlot’s new book if you want specifics on the strains of this condition), it will pass with time.

I’m also moving furiously in the Land of the Knitted Burpcloth. I snagged some Plymouth mercerized cotton at the LYS the other day, and it seems one hank will make a decent sized shoulder cover. I have lunch plans to get more. Burpcloths seem to fit the bill for quick and easy knitting and all moms know you simply can’t get enough of those.

I’ve also been spinning.

Merino/tencel top from Vicki and Kendig Cottage. It's spinning thinner than it looks. I finished one bobbin a few weeks ago and Navajo-plied it … turned out great. But then I got to thinking … Geyl is on my list to start soon and I have a lovely green varigated Koigu for the main part … but this “Peacock” colorway might be perfect for the edging … so I’m going to do the other four ounces this thin and do a two-ply instead of the Navajo ply. I might have enough. I was going to use mill ends for this, but then this green Koigu jumped out at me and it seems perfect. There’s other Koigu in the stash that will work for the edging if the spinning doesn’t work out … and if it doesn’t, then someone will have a beautiful Peacock scarf this Christmas.

Then I’m on to another project … “Flair” by Wendy at Knit and Tonic. Problem is, I’m planning on spinning the yarn for that, too. At our January spinner’s group, I picked up about 20 ounces or so of a luscious Oreo-like yarn – you remember, that absolutely delightful wool that I spun with great zeal last fall. The pattern calls for about 750 yards of worsted, and I can do that. It’s a cute little swingcoat that will be perfect for those chilly fall days. I’m going to make the sleeves just a little longer than the prototype, though that’s my only foreseen modification to the pattern.

Two days until the reveal. And then comes the anticipation of waiting for MS&W (and the big yarn diet).

Will the nails survive?