Spinning fun

I am quite enjoying Spinning these days, and thought  i would give you a peek at what i've been working on.

Here is a pic of the one-tone wools i have spun recently. most of it will be used for naalbinding (which i will hopefully be doing a post on soon, for all my vike and non-vike friends alike!)

This is my current WIP (work in progress)... a multitonal two-ply. I'm in the midst of plying it right now. i'll take another pic once it's all skeined up. it's going to be used for a kids hat... should make for interesting colors, i think. I plan on doing another similar one, with slightly different colors, for the other child (no need to get them fighting over just one hat.... there's enough of that already!

I have to say, using my one commercial spindle for plying, it feels HUGE compared to the viking-sized ones i have been using lately (and looks huge too) yet it didn't feel unwieldy when i was using it originally... just now. Hm. All a matter of perspective, i guess.

Hope everyone is having a fun friday!

the long cold days, crochet, and clutter-busting

So. i look out my window this morning just as the sun is coming up (no, i'm not up at this time by choice). I see... not much. Looking again, i see.. fog? Oh, lovely.
I check the weather network online and see....yup. Fog. Ice fog, to be specific. and -15C to boot. whee...

and this is warm, and 'mild' for this time of year.

for those of you who might not live in such northern climes, this is a picture of part of my back yard, taken yesterday. see those two short pillars on the right side? those are the top of a 3-foot tall childrens 'castle' slide toy. yeah. lots of snow.
(the thing in the middle is a tripod for our living history group, used for cooking)
those drifts in the background against the brush are 5-6 feet tall.
that blown in path is just that.... a path towards our wood pile.

yay winter.

to keep myself from going insane, i've been spending lots of time with my hook and yarn

 

trying out a tapestry crochet un-pattern. .this is the beginning of a bowl/container of some sort. as you can see, i'm using two colors of worsted weight cotton, and a super-bulky acrylic hidden inside to provide bulk and stiffness.

this is the beginning of a tea towel pattern i'm trying. i like the way the fans look in the pattern.

and this

is a super-warm fast and easy pair of slippers.

the pattern is heavily adapted from a toddler slipper pattern. The original pattern is here.  It makes a great kids slipper, but when i made a pair adapted for myself, i found it too 'ridgy' using double crochet. Here is the pattern i ended up making that is more comfortable, and nice and stretchy to boot!

simple slippers

materials: acrylic worsted weight yarn (i used red heart  super saver)

              4mm crochet hook

note on gauge: i didn't test gauge for this pattern, but i tend to crochet close to most pattern gauge, so if you tend to crochet loosely or tightly, you may have to adjust your hook.

sizing: this pattern is designed to fit an average size 9 mens, or size 11 women's foot. (that'd be me)

i included one possible adjustment if you have very large/wide feet. this pattern was tested on four adults, ranging from size 8-10 mens, and fit all of them without adapting.

stitches used: 

ch - chain

hdc - half double crochet

ss - slip stitch

hdc2tog - hdc two together

st - stitch

method:

working in rounds:

round 1: ch3. ss into first stitch to form a loop. ch2, then hdc 9 into the loop, joining with ss to 2nd ch of ch-2.

round 2: ch2. turn. hdc in same stitch. 2hdc in next stitch, 1hdc in next, *(2hdc in next hdc) twice, 1hdc in next hdc. repeat from * once, then 2hdc in last hdc, ss to join.

round 3: ch2, turn. 1hdc in each of next 3 st. (2hdc in next hdc) twice. 1hdc in each of next 6 hdc. (2hdc in next hdc) twice. 1hdc in next 3hdc, join.

round4: ch2, turn.  1hdc in next 4hdc. (2hdc in next hdc) twice. 1hdc in next 8hdc, (2hdc in next hdc) twice. 1hdc in next 4hdc. join.

round 5: ch2, turn. 1hdc in next 5hdc. (2hdc in next hdc) twice. 1hdc in next 10hdc, (2hdc in next hdc) twice. 1hdc in next 5 hdc. join.

round 6: ch2, turn. 1hdc in next 6hdc. (2hdc in next hdc) twice. 1hdc in next 12 hdc. (2hdc in next hdc) twice. 1hdc in next 5hdc. join

(( bonus round for big feet: ch2, turn. 1hdc in next 7hdc. (2hdc in next hdc) twice. 1hdc in next 14 hdc. (2hdc in next hdc) twice. 1hdc in next 6hdc. join ))

round 7-18:  ch2, turn. 1hdc in each hdc around. join.

the joining point will be the top center of the slipper. 

from this point, work in ROWS, not rounds.

row 19-28: ch2, turn. 1hdc in each hdc across.

row 29: ch2, turn. hdc in next 13hdc. hdc2tog in next hdc. hdc in next hdc. hdc2tog in next st. hdc in next 14 hdc.

row 30:  ch2, turn. hdc in next 12hdc. hdc2tog. hdc in next hdc. hdc2tog. hdc in next 13 hdc. fasten off, leaving long tail for sewing.

finishing:  fold the last row in half, creating the heel. stitch along this to close up the heel. weave in ends.

decorating:  if you are so inclined, feel free to decorate with flowers, ankle pom-poms, or any other frou-frou bits you desire. i left mine plain as i like to be able to slip on my clogs while still wearing them.

this pattern was written down as i made it, but hasn't been tested by a separate set of eyes. if you find errors, or have problems, please let me know!

and in the on-going war against clutter and grime: clutter and grime are still winning. they have more warriors. However, i am waging battle with clutter by thinning the herd on my over-flowing bookshelves, and trying to re-organize them at least a touch. so far about 50 books have hit the bag. i actually have almost ALL my books on shelves now! crazy. Now to get those bags to a thrift shop..... that might be the tough bit.

for all my fellow winter-persevering folk, i raise a mug of hot chocolate to you, and hope you all keep warm.

And remember to bundle up, it's cold outside.

long days with simians and tired of the snow

Okay. so my kids aren't actually monkeys. It just seems that way some times. Particularly on those long cold stuck-in-the-house kind of days where they feed off each others energy, and seem to go from running around screaming with glee to running around just screaming in about 3 seconds flat. Just trying to do those normal everyday household chores (cooking, laundry, etc) seem nigh-on-impossible. *sigh*

It may come as no surprise that i haven't gotten much done on my Works in Progress lately. i've now got a half-finished crochet top, and a bag of strips of fabric waiting to turn into a rug (eventually)

while i haven't actually done any 'deep cleaning' i have made progress in organizing my basement (which is pretty much a mess of boxes because we're living in an undersized rental) and trying to get some stuff ready to go to thrift.

and no, i haven't done any good things for my spiritual self yet either... i have _thought_ about what i want to do... but that's pretty much the same as complete inaction.


i'm getting a bit tired of the cold whiteness outside too... so to bring a little green energy into my post, here's a pic of some of the plants from my window garden this summer

 

  

these are rainbow peppers, an edible ornamental hot pepper

 

some of my bounty of peppers 

(sweet medusa peppers and hot rainbow and purple peppers)

now... just think some warm thoughts

and don't look out the window

Ugly but Functional

while slogging away at finishing my current WIP (work in progress) i was thinking about projects i make for myself. they usually fall into the UBF or UBW categories (that'd be ugly but functional and ugly but warm).
i usually use scrap yarn to make things for myself, and though they may work/fit just fine, i often use them as a chance to try new techniques or yarns... and they often end up as less-than-visually-appealing.

case in point is this little ... well, case.
i decided to test some of my new plastic-fabric in my serger. i had a perfect project for it- i needed a small case to put my thumb-drive in that would keep dust and crumbs out of it. aand....

as you can see, it's sitting on my WIP... a convenient place to show the design.

so... it's a serged pouch, with a snap closure. functional, but certainly falls in the UBF category.

notes for next time: when working with plastic fab in the serger, adjust tension before stitching! (duh.. i know... call me lazy)  also, use velcro for closure, as snap is too strong for the plastic fab, and will likely tear through quickly

i may post more of my 'lovely' UBF items.... or i may refrain and post NICE things i make instead. one will just have to see