Well, I feel sheepish!

I'm a bad bad blogger. I know. I go YEARS without a peep. Mostly it's just that I forget. Sometimes it's because I don't have much to update about.

Today, I put a new band drive on my poor Mach 1 that's been gathering dust in the corner. It's not that I don't like this wheel. I love it. I do! However, it's big, bulky and hard to get to through my clutter. I've had some mystery fiber languishing on it for years. I bought this fiber when I was just getting into spinning because it was purple and soft. Not even the woman selling it knew what it was. I only knew it wasn't mohair.

Well, it's like a whole different person had spun it. It was thick (very thick!) spun. Almost a worsted weight single. I never spin that thick! D=

So I'm spinning on a wheel I'm no longer familiar with, trying to match the spinning of my past self who spun extremely chunky. I'm so in over my head. XD

My spinning mojo is high.
My knitting mojo is almost non-existent.
My sewing mojo is high as well.

On the sewing front, I've been making male and female Oneida No Face dolls. I've been trying to make a male/female pair for every season. So far, I've done Fall and Winter. The fabric for Spring just arrived (strawberry fabric is nearly impossible to find here, regardless of season). I have NO clue what design to do for summer. I'm hoping some fabric will just jump out an grab me.

Must be the end of the world or something!

Because I'm actually updating my blog! YOIKS! It's been a long time. Many things have happened (probably too much to actually write). Anyhoo... I've been thinking about joining The Knitgirllls Stash Dash. It runs from May 27-August 15 and you have to knit 5 km (5460 yards) of yarn. I've been pretty lazy about my knitting, so maybe this will give me the kick in the pants I need. XD

Oh! One of the things I've been doing is a yarn diet. It's going fairly well. I've only added 3 skeins of yarn to my stash since going on this diet in January. I really need to knit some of it down.

I'm currently knitting a shawl called The Weekend Shawl by Anne Kuo Lukito. I've had to knit it TWICE! I didn't like the size it came out on the needles it called for, so I did it on size 7s. But I'm almost done with that sucker! Oh man, I can't wait to be done with this. Took WAY more than a weekend.

I'll likely take a small break and knit up a couple of wash clothes in my favorite pattern. I need some instant gratification after this shawl. I'll also try to squeeze in finishing a couple of UFOs in the form of socks that are mostly done.

So much to do, so little time to knit it all in.

Lots of Stuff!

Well, I am officially done with my Firmaments Lace Shawl! YAAAAYY!! I did mess up in section C of the lace, but seeing how long it took to bind off (and I was about 80% done with the binding off when I noticed it), I wasn't about to rip back. I'll live with it. I must say I enjoyed lace knitting.

Speaking of lace... I've cast on for the Hemlock Ring blanket. In June??!! Yes, in June. XD I'm one crazy mofo! It's been really easy and enjoyable so far. I'll probably take it to knit night at Nina's house.

I've also decided to rip back that bag. I just don't like it. It looks nice in the picture, but it's a little too weird for me. I'll rip and start knitting it in a different pattern.

I'm also going to NYC for my bday. I'm planning to go to the Lion Brand Studios, but I would also like to hit a few more yarn stores. I've been reading on Ravelry that quite a few stores in the NYC area are closed. Maybe I'll just hit Kinokuniya and look at their magazines for J-knits... I also want to go to Alice's Tea Cup. =D

To Frog or Not to Frog...

I got a free pattern from Michaels and it was for a crochet market bag. I thought it was quite pretty in the picture, but it seems no one on Ravelry has made it yet (or has bothered to post it). But the further along I get on this bag, the more I'm not sure I like it. I don't like sewing stuff up (I mean, something like a bag can easily be done in the round. Especially in crochet!), so why is this pattern done flat? Even the bottom doesn't really make sense.

I'm wondering if I should just frog it and start either on a different bag pattern or even remaking this so I can just crochet it in the round.

On the other hand, I am about halfway done (and put in a lot of time on it). I'm not really looking forward to putting this cotton back onto the mega huge ball it once was.

Guess I'll work on my shawl for a bit while I mull this over. =(

New Wheel Adventures

Well... as much as I love my Mach 1, it is a HEAVY HEAVY wheel. Yes, I know, it has wheels, but really! You have to lift it in and out of the car, and heaven forbid it should be raining/snowing/sleeting/going upstairs to Nina's place, you're gonna have to carry into wherever it is you're going.

So I bought a new wheel. It is a Fidelis from Heavenly Handspinning. It's a single treadle made from the wheel of a bicycle! Now, I've heard both bad and good things about the Heavenly Handspinning wheel, but the weight and price sold me. After all, it couldn't be any worse than the Hitchhiker. ^_^;;

The Good: It is light, fast, and cheap. The bobbins are DIRT CHEAP. I got 3 of them for $25 and it also comes with 3. It's very easy to assemble and the packaging it was shipped in kept it very safe. It's also cute and it's better looking than the PVC wheels out there. You can also customize it by staining it however you prefer.

The Bad: It's not like any other wheel I've ever spun on before and it takes a bit of getting used to. The bobbin spins and the flier stays still. Now you're probably thinking "Well... how different can that be?". Very. It takes a bit of experimentation to figure out how to spin on it. I found that I do long draw very well on it.

The bobbins are kinda.... cheap. Both to the touch and sight. They look like a fine plywood and are a bit rough.

The noise... Well, generally, it's fairly quiet. However, if the bobbin gets too close to the orifice, it does make a click, click, click noise slightly louder than keyboard strokes (at least my keyboard!). It's still a much quieter wheel than the Hitchhiker's direct drive.

Is it worth it? I think it is. Some people find that you need to push hard on the treadle to get it to spin. I don't find that to be true. I use very little tension and it sucks up the fiber fairly quickly with not much effort on the treadling. And it takes less concentration and effort in the treadling than the Hitchhiker. I'm not sure if I'd recommend it as a first wheel, but if you're on a tight budget, it's a fairly decent wheel. I'd love to try out a double treadle one. XD

My friends are talking about getting me those little doodads that you used to stick on your bicycle spokes when you were 7. You know... they make a cute clink clink clink as your bicycle wheel turns. Does anyone remember those? I think they should get me a reflector. Hmm.. maybe a bike chain. I could chain up my wheel when I go to the ladies room. Oh the humor possibilities! XD

YAAAYY!! SOCKS!

I finally got to the last lace repeat (and bind off edge) of the Lace Firmaments Shawl. However, I know I'm gonna need a lot of quiet time to concentrate on this. I really really really don't want to rip back on this part, so it's gonna stay at home where I can tink, swear, and concentrate on the shawl without any distractions.

In the meantime, I need something to take to knitting with me! Sooooooo.... SOCKS!!!! I'm casting on the Chevy Socks from Knitting with Handpainted Yarn book. This is some yummy yummy green yarn by Knitpicks. Now, I've got PLENTY of prettier yarn to knit with, but I've been wanting to knit with this yarn since I got it.

SOCKS!!!!!! =D

SOCKS!!!

When I started my lace shawl, I was 100% burned out on socks. I didn't want to look at another pair of socks. So I decided to either knit a shawl or the tilted duster (sweater) to just get out of the monotony of socks. It's a good thing I did. I needed it.

However, I just bought Knitting Socks with Handpainted Yarn by Carol J. Sulcoski and I am dying to knit up a pair of socks. There are so many seriously good patterns in it! Bad bad bad news. I know if I start a pair, my shawl will just sit on the needles for the next 3 years. ARGH! I even got some yummy yummy sock yarn in the mail, too! D=

I'm doomed. ;_;