Retail therapy, take me awaaaaaaaaaaay!

In this case, 4 more bobbins. My unfaithful-to-a-single-project nature requires more options to do single plies of random fibres before having to do another corresponding bobbin.

Just go with me on this one, ok?

(edit: Also, this. So pretty!)

Glub glub.

As Happygoth so cleverly suggested, in light of recent life events, I'm drowning my sorrows in roving. Though, I do admit I resisted buying this, and bought this (and this) instead, as it seemed like a more reasonable amount. However, the first may eventually be acquired, as I love the idea of that volume of fluff in the house. I blame Darcy, as after seeing her enormous volume of fluff, I've been having stash envy. Never you mind the piles I've got, I need more!

But such lovely and unblemished roving calls for the purchasing of dye. Mad scientist dye experiments, coming soon!

Evil, I tell you.

I don't think I mentioned one thing that Darcy taught me during our visit to southern VA. After years of stating that drop spindles were Bad and also Tricksy and possibly Evil (the internet can teach you a lot, but spinning ain't one of those things that is easily taught from text and photos, and I had a bad experience), she took me in hand and, well. She taught me how to actually use the damn things. Then the words "And you can do this in the airport, if you want a change from knitting!" fell from her mouth.

Surely you can see where this is going. If you guessed "Wendi was using a drop spindle in the airport on her way to C14", you'd be right. It also led to an amusing discussion in regards to the varying meanings of "spinning", especially when talking to a DJ. You can bet I'll be taking it with me to D*C, too. Because, yanno, sometimes it's nice to switch things up a little.

Another feature of the drop spindle is that if one has, say, a little chunk of left over roving that had no other plans for it, one can lose half an hour going *WHEE* *SPIN* *FEED FEED FEED* *SPIN* *WHEE!!*, repeat ad nauseum.

Clearly, portable spinning is Dangerous and Evil. (But really fun, of course, like all dangerous and evil things.)

My pretties, let me show them to you.

Once upon a time, I promised pictures. Well, I just uploaded a crapload of them to both my flickr and my multiply accounts. Multiply has finished objects (I'll be uploading more later tonight, too.) Flickr shows my works in progress as well as why it is so bloody hard to stay faithful to a single spinning project. Look at those options, and can you blame me?

Should have seen that one coming...

So, my project infidelity is not limited to knitting (or crochet).

I got some of the red/orange spun up and thought to myself "Damn is there a lot of freakin' roving in this colour. This will take forever. I want to try something else now!" On the upside, I've got four bobbins, so I can do this, to a certain degree.

Red/orange went back into the basket for later spinning and I grabbed the 60/40 mohair/wool blend that Colleen gave me for my birthday.

I swear, this stuff WANTS to be spun. It's incredibly addictive, despite the fact that mohair makes me a little itchy. Just the tender bits, like the bottom of my arm or face. Easily solved: I will not spin with my mouth. See? No issues! *grin*

I had to drag myself away from the wheel to have dinner, and I find I keep glancing over at it. Addicted? Me? Naaah.

Etsy has forced me to buy more fluff, as well. Two more fiery colourways (Wanna talk addiction? I'll soon be easy to spot, as I'll appear to be covered from head to toe in flaming knitwear.) and some obnoxious batts that I have a specific idea in mind for. We'll see how I do with it!

Busy busy; always busy.

This has been a crazy last couple of weeks.

Atlanta for a few days for work and socializin', followed by immediately scooting off to Blacksburg to visit Darcy (Daven's sister) and her hubby and her woofs. We spent a bunch of time knitting and spinning and generally fibre geeking in a most fantastic manner. It was lovely, and she gave me some great gifts, including a cria (that's baby alpaca for those not in the know) fleece that is still pretty darn raw. I'm bizarrely stoked about the concept of taking it from the raw format to a finished product.

As I had to get a niddy-noddy anyway, I went ahead and got a flick card and a new drive belt for my wheel. A snazzy rubbery one that means that the mother-of-all doesn't have to be waaaay over to keep the tension right. I know, I know, I lost the non-spinners. The part just below the top spinny bit that the yarn goes around, that allows tension adjustments. Just smile, nod and accept that it makes me happy, 'k? :)

Other crazy-ass purchase that arrived included my "A daily dose of fiber" tee from Ravelry (grey, not pink) and the ridiculously expensive shipping costs of a photo-copied lace pattern from Germany. Yes, it's in German. No, I can't read German. I'll figure it out.

Finished projects (at least in terms of knitting, not seaming up): the Baby Surprise Jacket and the garter stitch cardigan I'd gotten 3/4ths of the way done with on my drip to LA in May then put down. I suck at that. Both of these were in my "Next in line" basket, so I'm proud of myself for casting them off. The seaming will happen eventually.

I got a bit of sock knitting done (as evidenced here) in Tampa at Convergence 14. That was a fan-fucking-tastic time, and we had a blast hanging out with old friends (of mine) and making new ones (for us both). What, you don't go to goth conventions to knit? Slackers.

The knee is a bit better. I finally finished all of the purple yarn I'd been spinning for forever, ending up with 810y of 2 ply that I think flails about between lace weight and light sport weight. I'll do a WPI analysis and post it later. I'm just thrilled to be finished with that project! I immediately dove into the roving that I'd posted a while ago that I bought on etsy, and it's a totally different beastie from the colonial that the purple was. Much shorter staple, but less slippery. And with the fantastic new belt, I don't have to treadle like a hamster anymore. Yay!

I still have yet to find my camera cord, but a concerted effort will be made to rediscover it this weekend. I have pictures to share. Oh, yes; I do.

(Hey, HappyGoth? I believe you wanted to see Daven in the outfit he'd described on LJ? It's a crap photo, and I have better on my camera, but for the time being, here ya go.)

"This I can promise, Sammael, for every one of you that falls, two shall arise. "

Why am I quoting Hellboy? Well, it seems that for every project I finish (that one is even blocked! Ooo!), two are cast on.

The Seizure socks continue at a fairly good clip, and my friend Colleen commented yesterday when she saw them that I could make some really fantastic gloves out of a modified version of the pattern. I'll have to work on that. *evil plotting commences*

So, those of you who knit may have seen this most recent cast on project coming. I'll do the math for you:

1 obsession with knitting mitered squares + 1 pregnant sister = ...

If you guessed the Baby Surprise Jacket, you'd be right!

I recently picked up Elizabeth Zimmerman's "Knitting Workshop" because I kept seeing these damn things floating around the web and I figured that since everyone had raved about her mad skillz, I should totally check her out. I've been a little too distracted knitting to read the book yet (what I have read was good, albeit basic), but I'll bring it with me on the Atlanta trip for some learnin'.

As to why I cast on another project...well, I'm loving the socks so much that I want to extend the knit a little bit. They are really just joyous to work on and I'm going to be sad when I'm done with them. Also, this morning I sat down on my couch to work on the last couple of squares for the blanket and had A Moment. You know the type. Where you are convinced you've done a good job, but when you review, something has gone terribly awry? Yeah. So, I knit the last three squares along the bottom of the blanket instead of the side. Argh. Nrgh.

I was good and pulled out the misplaced squares (I may have experienced a bout of un-ladylike language during that portion) and wound the newly-free-again yarn into a ball. I did finish about half of one of the squares along the side before I was overwhelmed by the "Feh". Clearly, I needed some new-project joy to bring me out my funk, so I went and scouted through all of my sock yarn and found some superwash (I love my sister; I'd never burden her with a hand-wash baby gift. That's just cruel.) that was appropriately boy-ish in colour and cast on. This is also flying along, and again, I am enchanted. Aaah, better. I'll still return to the blanket and try to finish the bastardly thing this weekend, but my spirits were raised sufficiently to re-knit what was torn out.

More spinning will be happening, too. I've been a good little spinner, and I've kept track of only spinning 15 minutes at a go, so my already screwed up knees don't worsen. The one that got the shot continues to improve, and so long as I don't accidentally overdose on painkillers again (yesterday was a long day), I have hopes that I'll be able to avoid the surgery that the Ortho was talking about yesterday.

As I'm supposed to do house-stuff in addition to the really important stuff (knitting & spinning, obviously), I'd best get to it. Tum is full of tasty steak and fresh pineapple, projects are waiting for me; time to work!

One down, many to go...

Well, this one sort of counted as a WiP, as I'd cast something on with the yarn and torn it out at least half a dozen times before settling on this pattern. It is a gift, though, so no pics. Neener!

With that done, I had to cast on a new portable project. I was planning on knitting a pair of Jaywalkers since everyone but me has, but then I found these. Oh, yes. Mitered squares, which I'm just mad for currently. (The blanket is 5 blocks away from completion now. It'll be a big square of squares.)

The only thing that could make that pattern more obnoxious is that I'm using some of the yarn I dyed in May...the rainbow yarn.

I keep calling them my "seizure socks" as I'm pretty sure someone will have one from looking at these bastards. It is an incredibly fun knit, and I'm flying through the blocks.

So. Very. Horrifying.

I love obnoxious socks!

For I am weak...

And I missed my spinning wheel. I only did it a little bit...5 minutes with both feet before remembering one of the ladies from the spinning group I no longer go to saying that if you can work a double treadle with one foot, you're golden...So I did that for about 15-20 minutes. Just enough to get a fix. It was sooooo gooood to get back in front of the wheel. I'm still damn close to finishing all of this roving, and if I can do a few minutes a night, I'll eventually get done with it.

Ah, joy is indulging in what was denied to you. *grin*

Ya gotta rippit, rippit...

So, as I'm no longer using a cane, I've taken pictures of several of my WiPs. Not the ones I'm actively working on, of course, because that'd be normal. No, these are the ones that have been sitting in boxes, sending out waves of guilt. I found the scarf I made with my third handspun yarn with just one sad end waiting to be woven in, and the cute tank-style shirt that I've already posted photos of on multiply still wanting to have the ends woven in so it can leave the house.

I also found a few things for the frog pond, and I'm working on ripping them out. A sock that I crocheted (don't ask, it was a long time ago) that will never have a mate, and the first handspun hat I made that just didn't work.

I of course forgot to photograph the grey sweater. But, hey, I don't know where the connector for my camera is. I said I'd take pictures, not that I'd post them! ...Fineeeeeeeee, I'll work on that. Later.

There was also some organizational work done; I've put the projects that are all organized on a shelf in the craft room/office and segregated the finished projects from the finished-bits-but-not-finished-projects.

Now I've been on my feet too much, so I'm going to start actually working on some stuff. House still needs organizing, but I'm cheerier just from making these small changes.

And for the record? I <3 cortisone shots. Screw you, cane!