This is very cool

Brooklyn Tweed has posted a series of what happens in a fiber mill to make his yarn. Great pictures and very interesting to know how this sort of thing is done.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5

I'm sure he wouldn't be disappointed if you happened to buy some of this nice yarn after reading about it.

Pictureskew

Such a lovely apple. One of the lovely apples we rescued from the fruit stand in New Mexico. (They were just going to sell it to someone else, I know it!) I took this picture just now because the apple looks just like an apple should look. It's the apple leaf that does it. Just like a painting done by someone other than me. Perfecto.
Anyway, the trip was lovely in other respects as well. Other than the steep dirt road down into the gorge, it was most pleasant. I stopped in Taos and bought yarn. (yes, more yarn) I ate a nice lunch and had interesting conversations with my parents. They are my kind of people, which is good, because I'm related to them.
The Rio Grande Gorge is pretty spectacular, especially because you can't really see it until you are nearly on top of it. Then it goes down down down.
Makes your stomach feel a little strange to look down that far. That's the Rio Grande far below. I wish you could see the scale. Later on that day we went to see where the gorge starts farther upstream. It looks as if the water may have carved this but that isn't true. According to geologists, this is a rift. The river is just flowing at the lowest spot. We live in a rift valley just like the rift vally in Africa. Just not as spread apart as there. But some day in the far far future, there may be an ocean here. I'll let you know. ;) At the start of the gorge it's more tame and not so scary deep. It's picturesque. Or as dad would say, pictureskew.And the apple? It has gone to a better place.

Yarn Shop

I went to the yarn shop today. Ostensibly to get some matching yarn to try a fix a friends cashmere sweater (found some laceweight I think will work). I also picked up some Cascade for a men's hat I'm trying to design. But then I was just browsing a little and I saw it. And I want it. I've been admiring it on the internet and there it was. The Cricket Loom. Add that to the Schact Ladybug they have sitting there and they have officially become the place I have to avoid if I don't want to spend any money. Evil bad yarn shop.

Pagosa Fiber Festival

Last Saturday I traveled over the pass about 70 miles to go to the Pagosa Fiber Festival. It was a wonderful day with just a few sprinkles of rain. I took the boys with me and we walked around. There were many different vendors of wool and roving and yarn and spinning tools and books. The boys liked the animals the best. There were different kinds of sheep and goats and rabbits and llamas and alpacas. We watched a sheep-shearing demonstration. The man had been shearing sheep for 56 years and he was fast. I ended up buying some Australian merino(undyed) and some superwash dyed roving. On the way home we stopped at a malt shop and I had a huge sundae. It would have fed several people. I had no idea it was going to be so big. Set the diet back a gazillion years but it was a special occasion.

Post 200

I would have had something profound for this post but I didn't realize that it was going to be #200. So it will just be your run-of-the-mill incredibly boring post. Bear with me.

I got some great new sock yarn during spring break (yahoo!) from Pueblo Fiber Arts. The color is just beautiful and so of course I can't can't can't wait until I get something knit from it. So, I picked a pattern Mockery Socks(free download from Ravelry), then I proceeded to knit. Ahhhh, beautiful, the colors changing, the pattern not too busy so as not to detract from the beeyootiful yarn. I get the leg done, admiring my work and decide to try it on. The sock is for me and I'm right here, so why not. To my dismay, I can't even get it over my foot. Curse you size 1 needles. Curse you! I briefly flirt with the idea of giving the socks to someone with a more suitable size foot but NO! They are my socks. So I frogged them, starting again with size 2 needles. Not quite finished with the leg again but you can bet your booty I've tried it on already.

Projects

I think a little wrap up of projects would now be in order. I finished a little woven coaster made on a little picture frame loom I made. I used thrift store recycled cotton and linen yarn. I either put my cell phone on it to keep it from getting scratched or use it as a coaster. I think I will be make more to use the different colors of yarn that I have.
I finished the socks I had been knitting since November. They were also thrift store sweater wool yarn. This is the 3rd pair of socks I've made from that sweater. I'm sure I have enough for one more pair at least. They were driving me nuts though, they never seemed to get bigger.
I knit two bags for a KAL I was participating in. I used sugar and cream yarn in peppercorn colorway. They are really nice. Only took a week each to make.
I did a little spinning on a trip I had to take last week so that was good. I'm spinning on a spindle again because I can make the yarn a lot thinner. I'm still not great with the wheel.
I even picked up the shawl I've been knitting for a year and did a few rows. Maybe I can do more over the weekend.
I got some new yarn last week for socks so I've been trying to pick out a pattern that would work well. The colors are amazing so I don't need anything fancy to make them look good.
I also started working again on a blanket for my bed. It's the Babette pattern but I'm not using a gazillion colors like the pattern calls for. Just 4. I'm liking it a lot.
Have a great weekend!

Projects

I almost have a second sock done. I'll be glad to finish that. I made myself a tiny weaving loom last night. Pounding paneling nails into a wooden picture frame. The frame started to split so I hope it holds together. I have 3 sweaters worth of cotton yarn that I have unraveled but it's not been great for knitting so I'm going to weave with it. What am I going to weave? Little square things. Potholders? Coasters? Cell phone mats? We'll see what they are useful for. I want to do little patterns in the weaving but I don't yet know how to read a weaving pattern so it's time to learn a whole nother language once again. Wish me luck!

Knitting overload

I had two knitting projects going for a long time. Just the socks and the stole. Well, now, I have 5 things going. Still the socks and stole. The lovely Malabrigo is becoming a scarf rather quickly. It's wonderful to knit with and I just chose a stitch pattern from one of the Harmony guides, double basket weave, and it looks beautiful. I got the book through interlibrary loan at the college here where I work. Interlibrary loan is great! Then I can decide whether I really like a book before I buy it. This scarf will be put in the gift stash to be used when needed. Unfortunately I never have enough in the gift stash when Christmas comes around but I'm always trying.
I started teaching a friend to knit a dishcloth and of course I started my own to demonstrate. So that will be done quickly I think.
I also have my knit hat pattern I'm working on. I'm converting a flat pattern to be worked in the round and it's more difficult (for me) than I thought. I had 8 rows done on the brim but I'm going to have to pull it out and rework it. Weird stuff happens. But I'm very please with the yarn and I'll eventually be posting the pattern here.
Have a great day!

Progress

Well, I'm nearly finished with the sock that will match the sock with a hole in it. The second sock has a tiny hole so maybe if I knit about 10 more of these socks, the hole will eventually disappear. I'm knitting these with Socks that Rock mediumweight the Mudslide colorway. I love the yarn so it wasn't much of chore to reknit the second sock. I've also started some monkey socks with Regia sock yarn my sis bought me for Christmas. The pattern really isn't too hard and it's going pretty well. I tried to start a stole with my fancy Jaeger yarn but after 3 rows I already had 10 extra stitches so I pulled that out to retry it some other time. The pattern isn't too hard but I've never knit with such fine yarn and so I better really pay attention.
The real news is my Ashford spinning wheel is wonderful. I spun 4 ounces of Spunky club fiber from November. The yarn came out very nice and I'd like to make some mittens but I'm still looking for an easy pattern. Now, spinning time is battling with my homework time.
This Friday I'm singing a small solo in a Good Friday musical presentation at church so I've been practicing that every night now. I'll be nervous but it should go well.

FO

Well, I finished a hat over the weekend. What I was intending was to do this. But when I finished the hat, I had hubby try it on to make sure it would fit a guy, but he decided it was just the right color and size and so he kept it. Well, if he'll wears it I guess it's ok. Then my kids chimed in that they wanted hats too so I started one of those last night. You should see the rainbow colors they picked. When I'm knitting it I won't be able to hear anything because the colors are too loud. Perhaps I'll get another hat done in time for her deadline. I have the yarn already but life might get in the way. Homework and housecleaning and eating and sleeping and stuff.

Knit knit, (diddy do wap) knit

Bet you didn't know I could stand on the ceiling. Huh, huh, didja? These lovely socks I finished with only small hole in the toe (after frogging and frogging and then finally emitting a deep growl) But they fit perfectly and although the colors don't match in sequence, only I will know when they are ensconced in shoes. Sockotta yarn. Crystal palace pattern. This scarf is nearly done. Only a few inches to go. I had yarn left over from a sweater I knit a couple years ago and knit this scarf and another one. It's Lion Brand Wool-Ease and the Lion Brand Red Riding hood scarf pattern. I'm not going to make it into a hood like the pattern. It should be a warm and wooly gift for someone.
And what will this be? (the shiny thing is a small box of pearlescent beads) Could it be? Could it really be a couple headbands with beads? Yes, yes it could. Maybe. If I get it started soon.
Take care!