*tink tink tink*

Some mornings, things just don't go as planned. I've been trying to make that little pirate knit hat for my future nephew and I'm currently on the 4th or 5th iteration of it. It keeps turning out too small. (The internet says that a newborn's skull measures about 14" on average! Unless I want my nephew to be a conehead, I need to work on my gauge a bit.) Today I grabbed bigger needles and swore I'd get it right...except that now I'm burnt out on it, despite the added cuteness of the changed pattern I'm using. The original skull and crossbones hat is out, new cuteness is in! Or it would be, if I were knitting it. Instead, I decided to work on a larger project that I've been dragging around with me for a while. Easy-peasy project, just two colours that intersect at one point.

The problem is that I'm a little sleep deprived, and therefore not very bright. That means that when I got to the colour change, I cheerfully twisted the yarn like a good little knitter and then picked back up the first colour and knit half a row before I noticed. I even followed the pattern, I just didn't look and notice that it wasn't the right yarn. Sigh. I guess there's a downside to being able to knit and read.

I mean, work hard. And stuff. Yeah. *shifty eyes* Hi Ted!

As an aside, the badger sporran was finished on Saturday in time to go to a party and horrify people. I'll take pictures and post them later. SO CUTE!

ZOMG!

Ok, so this link won't work for non-Ravelry members, but you who have signed up for the joy will enjoy it. Daven has demanded that I make one...as a sporran for him. Awesome!

*twitch twitch*

So, if you recall the photo I posted a while ago of some red/orange/pink spinning I'd done...Well, I filled that bobbin up, and as I got my 4 new (unfinished, grumble, didn't think of that) bobbins, and the singles are very very scrawny, I decided to navajo ply 'em.

Thin. And evidently not spun tightly enough for easy navajo plying. *ply ply BREAK CUSS ply ply* repeat. I must say, though, that the finished product looks far nicer than I'd expected. I'd not played with navajo plying slow colour changes before, and it's turning out quite lovely, even if it aggravates the piss out of me.

Did I mention thin? This will take me just short of forever for a single bobbin, and I've still got a huge amount of roving to spin. I have a feeling that'll be more of a long-term project. It's still spinning up to something like a sport weight, possibly a bit heavier, but not much. It won't be soft enough to wear against my skin, but I think I should have enough for a cardigan or something of that variety.

Totally unrelated to spinning, but still involving yarn: I went to Michaels today because I had to buy some of this. I saw it a couple of weeks ago and kept thinking about it, so clearly had to possess some. I plan on making a really obnoxious baby hat out of the green and white for the nephew who will arrive right around Halloween. :)

Edit: I'm making the pirate hat in green and white. (In a newborn size, as yanked from another pattern, therefore there will only be three skulls.) Both of his parents already have pirate skullcaps, he clearly needs one!

Stuff! Also, Things! Well, mostly Things.

Thing one: I have decided Navajo plying is the spinning equivalent to turning the heel on a sock. Not terribly difficult once you get the hang of it, but it leaves you feeling terribly clever.

Thing two: Flick carding is fun. Cria fluff is static'y. Imagine trying to wrangle a particularly affectionate yet cantankerous cloud, and that's somewhat like trying to flick card this stuff.

Thing three: My fluff arrived! Or, at least the big order. I highly recommend these guys. The fibre is just To Die For. I need to get that 30lb bump now, please. Anyone got $400 laying about that they want to spend on fluff for me? *cute* In addition to the 100% Rambouillet (soo nice!), the silk/alpaca blend is just incredible. Again, very cloud like, and it just screams to be spun into laceweight. There was also a free sample (first hit's free!) of what I think is soysilk, though I'm not sure. The staple length is very uniform, but it's so soft and smooth...the little sample bit that I twisted between my fingers and let ply back on itself is thread. Just thread. Lovely lovely lovely.

Thing four: Uhh...There is no thing four. You get three things, and you'll like it!

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.)