spinning

I went to the Common Ground Fair on Sunday with Genna, and despite the drizzly rain it was pretty darn fantastic. There was fiber EVERYWHERE, and whole tent devoted to spinning! Now, spinning is something I’ve tried, but i have not really succeeded at, haha. The picture to the left is an example of my poorly spun yarn, i cant seem to get it to hold its twist, as you can see its not twisted very much. One of the woman in the spinning tent was using a drop spindle with the whorl (heavy part) at the bottom, and it seemed like it would be easier, so I’m thinking about investing in one. 

I also picked up some fabulous fiber at the tent for Oasis Farm Fiber Mill, it has angora in it so its incredibly soft. I cant wait for my skills to improve so i can spin with it, its just fantastic, and the color is beautiful. There were also

quite a few angora bunnies for sale at the fair and if i had the funds and the place to keep one i definitely would have invested in one, adorable! i just wanted to pick them up pet them, hopefully one day i’ll have the room one.

On to pre-spun yarn, haha. I ordered some red wool yarn to make Rosamund’s Cardigan from the Fall ’09 issue of Interweave knits, i cant link it cause the only link i know is a ravelry link, and not everyone is signed up on there. I’m pretty excited about it though, and its red for a change! I’m really trying to get out of my blue/purple/gray phase. I did just realize that i also bought red yarn for a summer tank i want to make, and pink yarn for yet another top, so i guess my next step is to move out of the red category. On to greens and yellows, haha!

Anyway, i thought i’d share a photo of the progress on my Multiplicity sweater, I’ve finished the back and now I’ve started on the front, so much stockinette stitch, omg! Its looking good though, and once i get the front done i don’t think it’ll seem as daunting, or so i hope. Also, now that I’ve got more yarn i should actually be able to finish it, so i hope anyway!

stuff i want

I guess i shouldnt have classified this as a knitting blog, cause i hardly ever have knitting stuff to update about, oh well! I’ve been rather bored lately, seeing as i’ve been unemployed for 6 months, so i’ve been browsing a lot of shops online. Window shopping without leaving the house, score! So i’ve picked out a few things i’d  love to have in my currently non-existant apartment.

First, this fantastic office chair from The Container Store

you get to sit on Bungee cords! i actually tried it out when i was at The Container Store down in Massachusetts, its fantastic and incredibly comfortable. I bet it would look great with the Ikea desk i posted about last month. The bungee chair in all colors is apparently on back order right now, which is okay, maybe by the time i have a job, and apartment, and the money to pay for it they’ll be back in stock, haha!

Next item i want, this slightly boxy but still fantastic Coffee Table from Ikea!

The reason why i love it is actually cause i saw something VERY similar, possible the same one, on the show Carter Can! It has a bunch of storage cause there is a drawer that you cant see in the picture, and its glass top. On the show they got some nicely patterned place mats and put those under the glass top and it looked lovely. I’d like to to that, or possibly use some pretty fabric, or maybe even place a bunch of photos under the glass top. Either way, its extremely versatile and you can make it match the decor in your room. So even though its boxy and a wee bit fug i still want it for my non-existent apartment.

And finally, the last object i want is the lovely Round – Back Chair, also from Ikea.

I love round back chairs, i actually have a chair currently thats similar. Its white though, with a slightly hideous pattern, and the back is a-symmetrical and slightly sea shell like. I think round back chairs are a lot more comfortable then square ones, but thats just my opinion. Most likely i’d get rid of the throw pillow though, i’m one of the few people in the world who are anti-throw pillow, haha. I think they are annoying and uncomfortable.

So i suppose thats the end of my furniture i want list, there is more, i just dont want to post it all.

Anyway, i’m going to the Common Ground Fair on sunday with Genna where i plan on picking up some fantastic yarn, and possibly roving that i’m sure i’ll share when I get back!

Red Sox!

So on Tuesday i finally got to attend at Red Sox game at Fenway Park in Boston, it was so worth the 25 year wait! And i can not wait to go back, which i hope is soon 🙂 I didn’t bring my SLR with me so most of my pictures are pretty crappy, my point-and-shoot does not have a very good zoom on it, oh well. The picture to the left is of Jason Bay up to bat, he has  a nicely formed butt, as you can see.

The only terrible thing about the game (other then the over priced beer) was that i missed Papi’s record breaking home run cause i had to use the bathroom. apparently the pitching change does not take nearly as long as i think it does when i watch on tv, oh well.

I’ve also started on Season 3 of Battlestar Galactica so far its slightly depressing, but i have hope!

Anyway, the fantastic Genna got me a gift card to Knit Picks for my birthday and i’m trying to figure out what i should get, there are to many options! I’ve been thinking about getting the ball winder, but then i’d have to get a swift, which i cant afford right now seeing as i’m unemployed and everything. Knowing me i’ll probably just order some fantastic yarn, suggestions are welcome  though:)

Google Addict

i started using “Google Reader” and its amazing! i wasnt a big fan of going to each blog/site, which means i never did, haha, and now i dont have to! all i have to do is add the url to my google reader and when i check it it will tell me if there has been a new post, its FANTASTIC. Now i’ll actually read new blog posts, go me! Speaking of blogs, send me the URL’s of some good ones, i’m completely terrible at finding them.   Then i made igoogle my home page and i can see my gmail, google reader, weather and my gchat all there. so yeah, in the span of like an hour i became a google addict, haha.

So, i finally got to use my knitpicks Zyphers, i have mixed reviews, mostly because of the light weight thing. When they say “light weight” they mean it! its like i’m not holding anything at all, its just weird!  I prefer to have a little weight to my needles, so i’m probably going to switch back to my nickle-plated ones at some point soon to finish up my sweater. I do, however, think they will be fabulous with slick yarns because they are more grippy (or some would say ‘sticky’) then my nickle plated ones. So, most likely when i finally make something out of the fabulous 5000 yards of silk yarn i’ll be using the zyphers, then i wont have to worry about slippage. And i’m not quite sure of this last part because i’ve only used the size sevens, but the tip doesn’t seem as needle like, so therefor i shouldn’t stab myself to death, fantastic! Overall i liked them, i just prefer weightier needles, so i’ll probably just use them for smaller sized things.

And i’ve been slacking big time on my sweater, fail! so i suppose i’ll go work on that now…..and don’t forget to send me blogs to read!

Options!

I got my new zypher needles in the other day!! sadly, i was in Boston for the last 5 days, I just got back today and haven’t gotten a chance to try them out yet, which i’m not very happy about. They are beautiful though and look (and feel a bit) like glass. I hope they feel as fantastic to knit with as they look. I ordered more zippy cases for my needle binder with my yarn order the other day so that should be in soon to.

Another thing about being gone for 5 days, i haven’t gotten to work on my sweater at all, which is pretty depressing. Then again, five days of not knitting has let my index finger heal, i ripped a hole in it knitting a blanket on size 4 options needles (the nickle plated ones). I ordered the zyphers in the small sizes in hopes that wouldn’t happen again.

While I was down in Boston I got to visit both Ikea and The Container Store, and i want to live in either of those stores! i bought a fabulous bed side table and put it all together tonight, as you can see by the picture above. I even took photos of the time at the begining and end of the project, a little less then 2 hours, not bad if i say so myself. Its a pretty tall table for next to a bed, but my bed is pretty tall, so i don’t really care. and i LOVE all the storage it has. My mom mentioned that i should paint my yarn cabinet white to match, and think that’s a fantastic idea. first off, painting is a bit easier then staining, and then i wont have just one random piece of white furniture in my room.

So, who wants to come paint my yarn cabinet then? just kidding…..kinda