No Knitting Here, Well, Maybe a Little

Yup - you read it right. There is minimal knitting content on this knitting blog! (At the end if you want to pass all the other words.)

But I do have some Harp content - Yes indeed! I am taking lessons from Laura so I can attend Harp Camp and not embarrass myself too much. Here is this morning in her studio after my (2nd) lesson.

Daily news - we had to replace our mattress last week. It was a drag not only because of the price of a king, but our old one was only 3 years old. We decided it was defective since one side had no support any more. So we got a Simmons Beautyrest in firm. It felt very supportive bit a bit hard. After doing some research, we decided to get a mattress topper and are much more comfy now. This one is from Walmart and quite inexpensive - but according to Consumer Reports, people liked it more than the $$ ones.

Now it feels very nice indeed :-)

Ocean Cardigan is ready for assembly. I was thinking about the effectiveness of blocking since this ribbon yarn is 62% nylon and 38% cotton. One suggestion made was not to block until I seamed it all together. I am trying to decide what to do since the edges roll alot.

What do you think? Will this fiber block? Or just jump back to it's unruly sproingy shape?

My next project:

Wallis Cardigan from IK Summer 08. The suggested yarn was way too $$ for my budget, so I bought some Lion Brand Micro Fiber in a lovely Vanilla color. the weight is very similar and I figured it would be good for the conference at BYU this summer.

Spinning and Tomatoes

Thank you to everyone who has commented. I loved refinishing the wheel - maybe that should be my next avocation. Yeah, right, in my spare time! And the Baby Surprise Jacket and Mary Jane Booties were so much fun. Annie came by yesterday to pick them up - and she loved them. She thought they would fit their soon to be new born baby just fine!

Here is what is on the first bobbin on the Scholar. I am not sure what the fiber is; it is from my classes last summer. My goal to get comfortable with the new girl is to fill the bobbin, spin some white fiber I have and then ply them.

A crazy note - since my blood pressure is pharmaceutically controlled, I do monitor it from time to time. Two days ago, after 1/2 hour of spinning I checked and it was lower than it has been ever since I can remember. Hmmm - does spinning lower blood pressure?!

We are going to plant this little tomato plant tonight and see what happens. I would love to have fresh veggies and herbs..... this will be the first sojourn into plants to bear food.

Have a beautiful weekend and Happy Memorial Day!

Awwwwwwwwww...

Mary Jane Booties

to go with the BSJ.

Same yarn, #3 needles.

2 FOs

Here is EZ Baby Surprise Jacket before seaming:

And here it is all seamed up:

The yarn is Red Heart Luster Sheen, the color is Baby Combo. I used #4 options. I think this is a good newborn size - at least I hope so. Annie's baby is due in a few weeks :-)

And the next FO is my Scholar:

You can see the damage



And here is my repair

And she spins!!!

I washed all the wood, gave it 2 coats of stain and one coat of wipe on Poly. Deciding I didn't like the look of the poly, I went over her with steel wool and rubbed in a few coats of Watco Wax Finish. I am much happier with the look.

Phase 2

My little Scholar arrived safely on Wednesday. She is actually in great shape with only one large chip (now repaired) and the wood in need of moisture. I took her apart, wiped down all the wood and let it dry overnight. This morning she got a light sanding and the first coat of stain. I am using a mahogany color gel and will most probably apply another coat tomorrow. After the color is satisfactory, I plan to use a wipe on Poly in a low gloss so she will be sealed and ready for traveling. I know the purists think it should be hand rubbed oil, waxed, etc. ~ which is how I finished my Traveler ~ and the other camp is into painting and decorating but I want a nice deep color wood finish that is very durable and low maintanance. Do we hear Minwax Gel Stain and Wipe On Poly? Easy to apply and will be done by Sunday. Yeah, baby!

Have a great knitty weekend!

A little further along

EZs Baby Surprise Jacket is moving along:

I am about halfway at this point. The Sirdar is also moving along, but taking a picture of the black yarn doesn't come out so well.

I was surfing Ebay last night and found an old Ashford Scholar in need of some TLC and a new home. I have been thinking about wanting a little portable wheel thinking it will encourage me to get back into spinning and get going to the local spin-ins. So I set up ESnipe to bid for me and won her! She (for some reason I have applied gender it although that is not my norm) came in at nice a low price and in need of cleaning. I hope to have it by the end of the week and will know if this was a good thing or not.

You see how neglected she is? I hope to easily disassemble her and refurbish her to get that finish or a new one, looking fabulous. I love working with wood and finishes - so this will be a fun project. Cross your fingers on this one :-} that she will spin well!

WIPs

Hi!!! We are nearing the end of the school year, symphony season and just plain crazy work days and nights. Now maybe I can get in some good quality knitting and perhaps even sit at my wheel and figure out this spinning thing.

Lest you think I have not been active with my needles (because I haven't updated in a while) let me assure you there are projects in the making.

Here is the Sirdar Sweater I am hoping to finish soon - It is knit with "Ocean," a cotton/nylon ribbon yarn. I love the texture of the fabric, but it is a bit of a pain to knit with. I have to keep untwisting it so it looks right. I went against convention and used the sleeve as a swatch. After all, why knit a swatch and then start the project? Is it not efficient to just start a sleeve and then measure for gauge? If it is right, I am already in production! So the sleeves and back are finished and I am working on one of the front pieces. Please forgive the crummy shot - the pieces are not being blocked - but the nylon makes the fabric so squishy, I needed to pin them so you could at least tell what they are.

This is the pattern picture:

Next is the EZ Baby Surprise Jacket:

I have started this project 4 times now and think I finally have it right. The groups on Ravelry have been an invaluable resource in figuring out this very unique pattern. The yarn is a little acrylic: Luster Sheen by Red Heart in the color Baby Combo. It is a fingering weight and I think it will be light and sweet for the little girl coming in a few weeks.

I hope your week is filled with lots of knitting time! See you soon.