still waking up.

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goodmorningboh

It was hard to get up this morning, and I’m nowhere near full alertness. I’m mostly through my first cup of coffee (and will need a second). Boh has already given up, and is currently mid-snore.

hibiscus

I started plying the AVFKW targhee in hibiscus yesterday, and I’m hoping to finish this today so that I can get ready to do some sampling for my first sweater-spinning project!

sye shawl washed up

I snapped this picture while waiting for my french press to finish working its magic — seems I stopped knitting mid-row last night because I just had to get into bed. The colors are way off in this picture, as the shawl is resting on the arm of the couch underneath a very bright lamp, but I liked how it looked as I stumbled kitchenward to put water on for coffee this morning.

Things were a bit rushed yesterday, so I didn’t take any pictures of my farm share, but since I’ve been documenting my weekly haul here, I picked 4 quarts of raspberries and a quart of blackberries in the fields, and then picked up lettuce, a few pounds of heirloom yellow and purple carrots, cauliflower, hot peppers, red peppers, italian eggplant, bok choi, basil, and the last red tomato of the season.

Off to pour cup #2…

equilibrium.

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cmf grey corriedale

cmf brown bfl

Believe it or not, I’ve been spinning faster than I’ve been stashing fiber. (The rate I’m knitting my handspun? That’s another story, but I’m working on it.)

Anyway, Chris over at Doodles In String has been encouraging me to spin for a sweater, and her kind enabling, in addition to last week’s realization that I had spun more than I had left to spin, required immediate action. On Saturday, I ordered a pound and a half each of grey corriedale and brown bfl from Crown Mountain Farms, and it was here on Monday afternoon. A few bumps of fiber are on their way here from places further afield, but I do feel that I am much closer to stash equilibrium now. Phew!

targheebob2

targheebob2dog

I spun up the second bobbin of AVFKW targhee in the Hibiscus colorway last night, (note the lazy dog in the background) and I’m hoping to start plying before I head to class this morning. Apparently this particular blend of reds and oranges routinely speaks to me: the throw on the couch above Boh is the same mixture of colors, and this morning, I put on my sassymmetrical cardigan, only to realize that I knit it in a very similar shade of malabrigo.

sassymmetrical in action

closeupsassymmetrical

I love this sweater, but I rarely wear it out of the house. I think this is because of a mixture of several factors: (a) it is bright (b) I don’t have a lot that seems to look “right” under it (c) cap sleeves in practice aren’t the most flattering on me (though I love them in theory) and (d) the texture and variegation of the malabrigo in this particular incarnation make it look hand-knit in a way that makes me a little self-conscious. Does that make sense?

Despite all this, I’m wearing it today, and it is making me happy.

simpleyeteffectiveblob

Lastly, my simple yet effective shawl is growing. It’s the wrong color family for today’s post, but I can’t get over how much I like the way this is knitting up. I’m thinking I may keep going once I run out of handspun and continue with some commercial yarn leftovers to give it a more finished edge.

This post’s title is also apt because I think I’m getting closer to a routine: I’ve made lists of my personal and academic priorities for this semester, mapped out a tentative breakdown for working at home with Boh vs. working in my office, and I’m feeling okay about it all. I guess it is about time to stop planning my work and get to it!

walk/wool/work.

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plain and simple 9in

Yesterday, thanks to a fairly productive Saturday, Boh and I were able to take a nice long walk down to a local preserve that also happens to house a big reservoir for New Home’s drinking water. As we walked and the wind rustled the leaves on the trees, I realized that it truly smelled like fall. We spent the rest of the day snoozing (Boh) and alternating between spinning, knitting, reading, and writing (me).

targheeoranges1

I started spinning this targhee — 3 oz. from AVFKW in the Hibiscus colorway.

targheeoranges2

I’m planning a 2-ply, and I’m hoping for enough yardage to do a densely knit pair of fingerless mitts (I think). Note the pooch asleep in the background.

bohasleepcouch1

bohasleepcouch2

It is so hard to be a dog.

norwegianskein1

Here’s the first skein of that norwegian top from Paradise Fibers: 156 yards of 2-ply, worsted weight, from 4 oz. of fiber. I love the sheen of the yarn and the depth of this grey.

norwegianskein2

This is not the softest skein on the planet, but it strikes me as workhorse yarn that would be great for hats and mittens. I’m interested to see what this will feel like knitted up.

How did it become Monday again? I may indulge in a little bit of knitting before I head to campus to face the universe…

outnumbered.

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bohandcoltrane1

Yesterday, two dogs lounged and played in my house while I read and spun. Boh’s friend Coltrane came over after they met up at the dog park so that Coltrane wouldn’t be lonely, as his owner had to attend a day-long event.

bohandcoltrane2

plyed norwegian

While they snored, I spun the second bobbin of norwegian top singles, and then plied them together.

plyed norweg prewash

Here’s what it looked like right before I set the twist.

bohcoltrane5

We took a couple of short walks through my neighborhood yesterday, and I learned that it is tough to walk two dogs who don’t normally walk together at the same time! T., one of Coltrane’s owners, came over for dinner, and the dogs continued to lounge. After beet and carrot latkes and more homemade chocolate pudding, we dumped out a jar or two of buttons onto the kitchen table. T. needed buttons for some baby bibs, and I needed to pick out buttons for my handspun baby belle.

babybellebuttons1

babybellebuttons2

These buttons are a pinkish red, and I love how they stand out against the pastel shades of the handspun. What do you use to sew your buttons on? I’ve only ever used thinner yarn and a darning needle (seems I always pick buttons with pretty fat holes), but T. reminded me that when you buy a sweater, the buttons are sewn on with thread! (Which makes sense. It also means I need to acquire more than a travel button repair kit from a random hotel stay if I intend to keep sewing small buttons onto my knitting.)

bohgoodsport

This guy is such a good sport. We’re going to ease into Sunday with a little bit of knitting and a morning walk. Then, back to work!

yarn cakes.

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handspun yarn cakes

handspunyarncakes2

Last night I dumped all of my handspun out on the couch and tried to think about what each skein might want to be when it grows up. I’m realizing that I need to start thinking more strategically about my fiber acquisitions, because most of the things I want to knit require more than 1 4-oz skein of varying length/thickness. I also realized that I really love my handspun, and that it is incredibly fun and rewarding to knit with. I’d really like to try to keep a handspun project on the needles all the time.

syeshawl

To this end, last night I cast on Laura Chau’s simple yet effective shawl. I’m using my Spunky Club organic merino in the Twilight colorway, which I spun and plied on a spindle. I have 250 yards, which probably won’t be enough for a full shawl, so I plan to supplement with some worsted-ish leftovers from other projects in like colors.

syemacrco

It looks like it is going to be a rainy Saturday, which bodes well for both academic and knitterly productivity.

norwegian tomato button bags.

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Ahh, Friday. Today’s title is a mixture of elements from each of the things I have to show you. (It has been a long week.)

norwegian top fiber

norwegianbob1

This is Norwegian top, from the big, basic fiber order I placed right when I got my wheel. It is softer than it looks, but I’m not quite sure how to tame all of these super short fibers. I divided my 8 oz into 2 chunks, and I’m working on turning the first 4 oz. into some basic 2-ply. I’m interested to see what happens once I ply and set the twist. Anybody have experiences with this fiber to share?

tomato jam

Last night I made this tomato jam. I am planning to bake bread today in order to enjoy it. I am very, very excited.

babybelleneeds buttons

As you can see, I won my race with my ball of handspun — and I even had about 15 yards leftover. Next up: blocking and buttons!

baggu!

Also, yesterday was full of surprises! First up, this set of Baggu bags arrived from Joy the Baker, along with a lovely note about how I’m a winner. (I needed that.) I cannot wait to take these to the farm this week. Plus, I heard from a college friend who just happens to be within a few hours of New Home, so she is driving down for the day!

pink.

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pliedpinkhh

pinkhhskein1

pinkhhskein2

106 yards of 2-ply, light worsted, from 2 oz. of pinky-purple falklands fiber from AVFKW in the hollyhock colorway.

Despite what you’ve seen here lately (Mara, this baby sweater, lots of pink spinning), pink is not my favorite color in real life, but I am always really happy with the pinks in my fibery projects. I hated pink as a child, and as soon as I headed off to college, my parents painted my bedroom what I like to call “pepto bismol” pink. (That pink is still not okay.)

bbelleprog sleeve

bbellesleevecloseup

I’m loving how this is knitting up, but I’m getting to that place where I’m concerned I may run out of yarn. With this in mind, I stopped the sleeves at 4 inches, so these will be 3/4 length, rather than full length. I even caught myself knitting faster last night…fingers crossed!

feeling antsy.

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I’m not exactly sure why — maybe because it is early enough in the semester that I don’t quite have a routine yet, maybe because getting back into this particular mode of being is a bit of a struggle — but last night I felt just plain antsy, like I should be getting things done, even though I was tired. I think one of the reasons there is such crossover between the land of knitters and academia is that knitting is a way to see what you are producing, to hold it in your hands. Sometimes, even though there is a pile of reading staring at me, I just need to really see my own progress on something slightly more tangible.

belleprogsleeve

Hence, my baby belle. I just have the sleeves and the button band left to do, and I love how this is turning out. Also:

hhocksplied

I plied the bobbins of the green falklands fiber in the hollyhock colorway together, and set the twist.

hhockskein

hhockcloseup

110 yards of 2-ply, from 2 oz. of fiber. You may recall that the other half of this bump is pale pinks and purples. I may have spun up the remaining 2 oz. before bed last night…

purpleshock

I’m taking a class that is exciting to me, although it is out of my field — and out of my comfort zone. I may ply the rest of the hollyhocks falklands fiber this morning in preparation  — the fibery equivalent of a few deep breaths?

handspun baby belle.

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winding1

winding2

Yesterday Boh and I began winding the yarn I spun specifically for baby belle, an adorable baby sweater by cosy of cosymakes.

winding3

winding4

I cannot get over how cool it is to see my handspun in yarn cakes. The yarn is superwash BFL (so soft!) from AVFKW in the Pointillism colorway.

babybelle1

Although the pattern is written for a main color and a contrast color, I decided that I’d rather have the yellows blend into the pinks and greys, instead of alternating between the two. I started using 8s, but the fabric was just a little too open and sloppy, so I went down to size 7s, which are just right.

babybellemacro

I do have a baby in mind for this sweater. I’m knitting the 6-month size, in hopes that she’ll grow into it as winter approaches. I was up late knitting this — I just couldn’t put it down until I separated the sleeve stitches from the body — and now I’m going to knit a few more rows with my second cup of coffee before I head to campus.