It's So Squishy

I have a weakness, and that weakness is yarn. The other day Anzula was having a trunk show at Green Planet Yarn, so I thought I'd go over to "Just Look." I thought I'd be safe because of what I did to myself at Stitches West. No such luck.

I ended up with six skeins in the Squishy base. The colors are, starting at the top orange one and going clockwise: Arizona, Black, Boysenberry, Poppy, Charcoal, and Spruce.
Spruce is what started it. I've eyed it for quite some time, but just hadn't managed to get my hands on it. Once I chose one, it was all over.

Who else has fallen down recently? It can't have been just me.

Christmas Spinning

In addition to my "knit before Christmas" knitting projects, I had a few "spin before Christmas" spinning projects. I didn't want to show them off until they were delivered because they were a surprise. (And I know the recipients read this blog. Hi guys!)

I spun up three skeins of yarn for my three regular knit night buddies.

It's silly, but I had been worried that my buddies wouldn't like the yarn. I was of course completely wrong. The skeins were a big hit. I also put homemade cookies in the packages as well. I'm sure that helped.

The labels, as seen below, are organized by: skein name, dyer's name, breed of sheep, yardage, yarn weight, and wraps per inch. 

I am now officially done with all things Christmas. I'm now focusing my attention on a sock test knit and a sweater for myself. Go me!

2010 Knitting, Crocheting, and Spinning

I hadn't realized how prolific my knitting (and bits of crocheting) had been in 2010 until I started to put a collage together. I don't think I even took a picture of all my knits. I did more than just knit though. I had also learned to spin.

I moved from a CD spindle to a nice wood spindle, to my Lendrum spinning wheel. Once again, I didn't take a picture of all my skeins. There is a sampling of the Tour de Fleece skeins next to the giant picture of everything I had spun for the event. The last picture is of all the spinning I'd done in December.
I can't wait to share what these skeins will make. But I have several more to spin before I reveal what that might be.

Hung Out To Dry

Today I finally got around to setting the twist on a bunch of my hand spun yarn. There are eight skeins being hung out to dry. While I was at it, I blocked a shawl that was recently finished. I'll leave you all in suspense over which one it might be. The Icarus Shawl or Andrea's Shawl.

The other day I was the recipient of a lovely gift. A cute purse I'd been eyeing. Who couldn't love a saddle purse.

And inside was the blue yarn. Mmmm.... yarn. The next day the green yarn showed up on my doorstep. Although, I was expecting that one. The blue yarn is a Mulberry Silk by Silk and Shine. The colorway is Glacier. The green yarn is 70% baby alpaca, 20% silk and 10% cashmere by Stitch Jones. The colorway is Hemlock. Now to choose patterns to go with the yarn.

All the lovely gifts made the memory of being sick last weekend fade a bit quicker. All was not lost. I had a chance to sit down and read. I've been devouring the Anne of Green Gables Series. I'm already on book three.

I did put them aside yesterday though. I made a trip to the thrift store and found this book.

It was a bit chilly out, so while I read the spy book, Scooter opted to sleep under his blanket in his bed. Justin was affected by Scooter's bambi eyes kind enough to bring out the bed.