I'm crafting, honest!

Mental note: do not hit enter when in the Title, or it posts. Stupid interface.

Anyway!

I know I've been very quiet during my recovery time, with just the occasional jackass post from some horror that I've found on Ravelry. Fret not; I am also making with the creation process.

As HappyGoth found out for her birthday, I had evil plots involving neon coloured roving. Now that the gift has been delivered, I can make little happy noises. I admit, this didn't turn out quite as I wanted it to be; you can really tell the difference between the two bobbins in the colour changes, and it really fluffed out a lot when it was washed, but it's soft and petable, so I'll count it as a win. I've mostly spun very tightly thus far, I wanted to try something a little different. Of course, I'm a bit short-bus in that I decided to give that a go on some superwash, but with the amount of mohair in the blend, I couldn't resist letting it fluff a bit.

I'm currently spinning this, which I have plans for, if it works as intended.

Aside from the spinning (I only got back in front of the wheel yesterday), I've been knitting, of course.

My post-surgical knitting was an all-garter stitch extravaganza blanket wherein you change colours every row. It's a good way to use up a lot of crappy acrylic that I'll never use otherwise. It's also a fine project for those who are totally flying on Vicodin. Just sayin'. (Daven got to be amused at my tendency to fall asleep halfway through a row, and when I'd wake up, keep knitting like I'd not had a little nap. Drugs are fascinating.)

I started a onesie (Gah, is that right? Should that be "an"? That sounds horrid.) for the nephew, when my sister made the tactical error accepting "Smurfling" as a nickname for him. Ho ho! I'm totally re-knitting the onesie as a Smurf onesie instead, stopping at the neckline and knitting a seperate little hat. I just need to find/figure out a Smurf hat. I'm leaning towards using a Santa hat and making it more bloopy on the end and less pointed. It's pretty darn close.

I also have a knitting project dedicated entirely to working on when playing WoW, specifically during flights. (Alright, it's accompanied me to a couple of doctors visits, but not been worked on much there.) It's growing at an alarming rate, letting you know how much I've been playing WoW. What can I say; I'm a gimp, and when one's body fails you, you have to have some outlet for frustration. Killing murlocs fills that void. One can knit only so much.

Oh, and since I was terribly excited about the loom and then entirely silent about it afterwards, here's why: It got too easy. No, really. I was too efficient. So, after doing a length of straight weaving (albeit in stripes) long enough for a small rug, I blocked off some room for edging and started another rug. This one should be challenging enough, though I'm to the portion of the pattern where I only have 4 active shuttles instead of 5. Pish. I think it's turning out alright, for the first time I've ever done colour changes in weaving. Really, what it's all about is being pleased with your own work, and I am at this point. Yay for makin' stuff!

Aww.

More like Roadkill Dragon. (Again, non-ravelry users are SOL. It's sad, though.)

Dear gods.

Do want. DO WANT!

Wow. I'm going to have to buy that. And maybe the other similar shawl pattern she has. Just amazing!

This is normal, right?

I love my loom. I also love my husband for letting me turn our living room into a den of fibre.

We swapped out the leather cords for the new plastic coated metal ones yesterday (with a little bit of a learning curve, but we figured it out). The warp was what came on the loom when we bought it, and though it's old (I had one thread snap, but I was able to work it back in later), it's so damn freeing to be able to do whatever I want with it. This is a bit of sampler type work, though I've settled into a nice herringbone pattern that pleases me greatly. The basket of wool was from some friends who picked up a bunch of needlepoint wool and gave it to me. It was a bit too itchy to knit with, but it's perfect for weaving!

I know that I'll probably be griping later on about setting up the warp, but being able to just weave is such a gift. I'd forgotten how quickly it goes when you're just workin' away.

Glee!

*sigh*

So. Wierd. Friggin' knitters.

I feel like Father Christmas roughed me up.

I was spinning this. It's lovely, but I've never spun anything with angelina before. It sheds like a mad thing, and now I'm covered with glittery stuff. You know the icicle stuff that you use (or maybe used to use...I haven't done it in a while) when decorating a Christmas tree? This is like that, but with a hideous pervasiveness that I was unprepared for. I was even being a good little spinner and using my drop cloth. (IE, folded in half pillowcase.) And yet, it kind of exploded everywhere, like an elf...er...I'll refrain from my usual comparison, but I'm sure there must be a shot for that sort of thing.

I have a feeling that I'm going to be spinning random sparklies into my yarn for the foreseeable future. At least it's cheerful.

What in the everliving hell...

It is knitters who make things like this that give us all a bad name.

If you don't have a Ravelry account, you won't be able to see it. Be glad.

Clinging to the good is important when the bad gets overwhelming.

My new (to me) loom. Except for the fact the one in the link has 6 treadles, and mine only has 4, due to it being...er...38 years old. I'm replacing the cables for the harnesses, as one has broken (old leather cording), and I might as well bring them all up to spec. The folks we bought the loom from were snazzy as hell, dropping $50 from the buy price due to the broken cable and the lack of a crank. Daven has Plans for it, and until such a time as he has time to implement said plans, the website has this to say:

For the older looms where the shafts taper to a four sided point we recommend using vice grips or replacing your beams. We are sorry but that handle company went out of business years ago and the handles are no longer available.

Not a problem. We have vice grips.

The woman who owned the loom before me bought it before she became a mother (her children are all grown and out of the house, and they're looking at retirement), and was describing to me how they were living in KY. She had taken a weaving and natural dyeing class, and was inspired by the whole earth-mother deal. I couldn't help but grin, as her dreams of old sound terribly familiar.

Aside from the aforementioned bits that are getting replaced, the loom is in great shape. Some things, I wouldn't want an older model, but for something like this...if it's made it 38 years, it probably has quite a few more in it. :)

She kindly threw in the warping board for free, as well. Score!

I'm so looking forward to playing with my new toy. Just need the new bits to arrive!

It came with some warping on it, so I can skip that process to begin with. Yay!

SQUEE!!

I has loom.

Is nice loom.

Is $2000 loom for $400. Score!

Loom is 8 years older than me. Hee!

*happywiggles*

I apparently blame a lot of things on others.

Like my recent burning desire for a loom. I blame someone who will remain nameless but knows who she is. Don't you, Ms. Posts-pictures-of-herself-measuring-out-warp?

I've been trolling eBay like mad. There are a few prospects, though they each have their downsides. Like the floor loom for really cheap...but you have to pick it up from NJ. Nrgh. Or the one that's in McLean, but it's just a table loom. I think that might be reasonable to scratch the itch and see if I'm still as in love with the craft as I once was.

Anyone want to buy me a loom? Pretty please? It'll help me with my long-term fantasies! When I was 15, I took a weaving course for a semester at school. I fell in love with it and proceeded to tell everyone that I was going to run away to the Scottish Highlands and become a professional weaver. Enh. Got one of the two done, though I came back. Now I just need a loom.

Yes, I do have a lap loom, but...well. Let's just say that I find it unfulfilling to my desires, 'k? Want more harnesses than one! Rigid harness for the lose! And it is damn awkward to try to use. Oh, right, I wasn't going to say why I didn't love it. Well, that's not everything, but it is a reasonable starting point.