Beginnings and Endings

I started working on a Blankie made from singles scraps that I had been collecting on a center pull ball for the past few months. This square is my favorite so far. I got the inspiration from Shelly's blog. It will be big enough for a queen sized bed when it is done.

I also started on a kitchen rug for the new house. I spun up some yarn from a sock bundle from Spunky Eclectic a few months ago. It came out beautiful and reminded me of a persian rug. I was sure I had taken photos of it, labeled the photos and posted about it on my blog or a fiber friday or something. I only had a 4 oz skein and I knew I would need more, so I went searching for the fiber specs so I could order more. I couldn't find any photos, files or mention of this particular yarn ANYWHERE! This is jus so not like me.
So then began the search for the colorways. I knew that they were wool blend fiber, they had been a sock bundle and that they were two different colorways (burgundy/white/gold and Navy/white/gold) that I had spun together. So after exchanging some emails, offers to mail her the project and spur of the moment photos, Amy was able to pinpoint the colorways I needed! She rocks, go buy her fiber!! So now the fiber is winging its way to me along with my fiber of the month.

Speaking of the house, it is almost done!!!!!!!!!! We close on the 9th!!!!!!*passes out from excitement*

Here is what the house looked like last time I showed you guys a pictureAnd here is what it looked like as of this morning!!!

They aren't quite done painting the outside. Imagine it with a redish-brown trim and front door. They also need to install the carpet, plumbing fixtures and blinds and put in the landscaping. I am going to try to get some photos from the inside. Our project foreman is our backyard neighbor and he tries to leave the backdoor open for a bit so we can get a look inside, but our next door neighbor (bless his heart) keeps going over and locking the place up before we get there! So I haven't had very many chances to get interior photos since the doors went on.

Tour de Fleece

I have been so scatter brained recently I haven't been able to stay focused on one project long enough to get anything done!

I have been trying to restrain myself from spinning at the moment. I am waiting for The Tour de Fleece to begin and I don't want to take the chance of running out of fiber mid-tour (yeah, like that could happen). I missed out on last year due to lack of spinning equipment, but I am all over it this year. If you would like to participate here are some details.

-Sign up at Craftster or at Star's blog

Guidelines (not rules)
1. Spin every day the Tour rides, if possible. Saturday July 7th through Sunday July 29th. Days of rest: Monday, July 16th, Tuesday July 24th. (Just like the actual tour)
2. Spin something challenging Wednesday July 25th. (The last hard climbing mountain stage in the Pyrenees - Col d’Aubisque)
3. Take a button if you want one. Then we can use the button on our blogs in show of solidarity. Take it from here or grab a clean one from the flickr pool.
4. Wear yellow on Sunday July 29th to announce victory. Why not wear yellow on any day you feel particularly successful? (Yellow is the color of the race leader in the Tour - but here we are all 'race leaders')
5. Other colors if desired: Green (sprinter - think FAST), Polka-dot (climber - as in uphill), and white (rookie)

I will be moving smack in the middle of the tour so I don't know how much I will get done on those days, but I will still spin for a few minutes those days.

Please come join us! This is going to be so much fun!

Also, this weekend there is a movie comming out that every spinner needs to see. A new horror movie from New Zealand. What happens when the sheep revolt?

Modular Miters

Sara asked about the Mitered Squares that I am working with right now, so here is what is currently in my knitting bag. It is the Dogwood colorway from Spunky Eclectic spun in a sport weight single. Here are some of the websites I found with info on this pattern.

This is the pattern I decided to use, but I am doing it in Stockinette instead of Garter. It is very clearly explained and once you have the basics of the pattern memorized you can make the squares as big or small as you want them to be. These instructions are great too because they show you how to minimize having to weave in the ends!! Always a bonus.

Shelly Kang has a great scrap blanket going with this method. Scroll to the very bottom for her instructions. Last night I started a scrap afghan too, so I am going to join her KAL

Anonyknits has a great tutorial on how to turn the blocks in different directions without having to seam them together.

I hope these point you in the right direction!

On the house front ( yes we still have a house :P ) The driveway and sidewalks were poured yesterday, the painters are there today and the cabinets are being "dropped" tomorrow!! I will get some pictures uploaded in a day or so.

Back at the Keyboard

Here I am, back at the keyboard after a nice vacation in the land of green. I had a fantastic time relaxing and hanging out with some of my favorite people in the whole world. I went to my brother's highschool graduation in Omaha, Nebraska and it was such a nice change from all the brown here in the SouthWest.

Deneen - I am finding that the email addreses aren't showing either. I will stick with it for now, I am hoping people are just forgetting to enter their email addresses.

Thanks Lasandri, I like the banner too. I got it from this realy great lady I happen to know ;D

Lora - So glad that I inspired you to pick the entrelac back up. I love playing with color and entrelac is such a great way to show off a great yarn

I finaly got photos of my Pacific Waves Shawl. It was more narrow than I like and it was SUPER long, but the moment my Mom saw it she fell in love! So instead of giving her my Clapotis, I gave her this shawl instead. She looks stunning in it, but that is my horribly biased oppinion

While I was in Omaha I taught my brother to spin. He did a great job spinning an ounce of Corriedale! It came out as a great Thick and Thin. When I get my wheel set up again I am going to finish spinning the other 3 ounces and make him a hat using his wool. I think he will have a great time this winter telling people that he spun part of that wool.

I also started on my next project, no photos yet. It is a mitered square shawl using the Dogwood colorway from Spunky. I love how it is looking so far and i will certainly use this pattern for at least 2, maybe 3 more shawls. It has the charm of entrelac, but I love the modular aspects of the squares. It really feeds into my love of color. I think it is my background in quilting that draws me to making shawls. I love laying them out and looking at how the colors play across the FO. I love looking at how they interact, how they touch each other and blend into each other. I love watching the colors move and dance, changing positions and partners. Sometimes blending with a complementing color, then flitting across the knit fabric to interact with a group of colors that are bright and contrasting. It is such a feast for the eyes.

Speaking of feast of colors for the eyes, while I was in Omaha I got to visit their annual quilt show. So very inspirational! I have set up a group of flickr photos of some of my favorite quilts.

And Lasandri tagged me for the 7 meme. I think I am the very last person on the whole internets to do this one, so if you are like me then consider yourself tagged!

1. I started out my college career majoring in Race Track Industries. I wanted to be a race horse trainer. It had been my dream career since I was about 9. I left the department for a super lame reason and there are some days I wish I had stuck with it. I decided to leave for the more lucrative career of Costume Designer. I tell my husband I got a degree to learn the proper way to iron a shirt!

2. I hate sunny days, which is why I live in a place that has 360 sunny days a year *eye roll*.

3. I wanted a moped or scooter when I was in college. A Vespa would have been the best! I could have zipped around campus, "Ciao"

4. As a child somebody made the mistake of giving me and my two cousins a tape of the Pirate's of Penzance soundtrack. We put on lip synched musicals just about every weekend, complete with costumes and props. The grownups decided to put an end to it when we took sticks of gum, drew faces on the inner wrapper, folded the outer wrappers down to make costumes and taped them to sticks for puppet show versions of our musical (hey, you use what you have)

5. I love horror movies!!!!eleventyone!! On my vacation my sister, upon coming home from seeing the newest Pirates movie, told my Grandmother that she wouldn't have liked it because it was too violent. I told her, "That's ok, she just stayed here and watched Silence of the Lambs with me instead." The look on my sister's face was priceless :D

6. I am a night owl, which really sucks having children who wake up with the first sliver of light that happens to creep through the window. I would be ecstatic to live on a Vampire's schedule. Up at dusk, bed by dawn.

7. I am terribly addicted to video games. Given an opportunity I would spend days in front of the TV, neglecting personal hygiene, sustinance and human interaction. It is a good thing I don't often get this opportunity.

Back to unpacking, getting my wheel set back up and getting caught up on almost 500 yahoo group emails and over 100 blog posts!