Last night we to the wedding of one of my husband's cousins. Now he said he though all week about the fact that at the reception there would be a dancefloor and much hilarity would ensue when H hit the floor. Honestly I hadn't thought of that. As soon as we got to the reception though H started asking when he could dance. Well, you know how it goes... eating, cutting cake, etc. It took a long time before we could give him the go ahead. When he finally got out there, it was full force and for the rest of the evening. He was definitely the center of attention as everyone was just dying laughing watching him dance to the fast songs and then tickled when the seven year confidently asked them to dance for the slow songs. He danced with with young and older women alike, from his sister to his 86 year old great great aunt. Very Very cute. I am not sure how long it will take to lod the video but if you have a bit of time you should check it out. Oh and that is the garter on his arm. He caught the garter and his sister caught the bouquet. All in all I think they had a blast!

Beginning of a sideways sock

Beginning of a sideways sock
Originally uploaded by sparklingscraps

I have been seeing projects that other people have been making that make the self striping yarns go sideways. I love them, but the patterns are just really confusing to me. I figured I just needed to jump in and start on one and see if I could figure it out. This is the free version available on the Knitpicks site. I can already tell that I am going to want to make modifications on this pattern, but will probably wait until I get to the second sock to do it.

9/12/07- This sock turned out awful. The pattern was written to fit a size 9 woman. Ok. So after knitting for a bit it was clear that the length that was coming out of it would never fit a size 9 foot. So I thought ok maybe it will fit my 11 year old. Kept knitting. Soon it becames clear it wouldn't fit her either. I have a seven year old so I thought maybe it would fit him. Well, this morning after supposedly getting the point where I had finished knitting all but the toe, I held it up to his foot and it barely covered the top of his foot. Obviously not going to go all around his foot and heel. Now granted I did knit with a US1 instead of the US2 suggested but that just shouldn't have made that much of a difference. The good thing that I did get from this pattern is that I learned more about this kind of construction. I think I can take what I learned here and make up my own ideas and pattern. Whew!

Hemlock Ring Blanket

closeup of stitches
Originally uploaded by sparklingscraps

Well in blog surfing the other day I found a beautiful blanket made by Jared of http://brooklyntweed.blogspot.com/. It is a blanket made from a vintage doily pattern. The catch is that it is done on larger needles with much chunkier yarn. The result is that the 15 inch across doily is turned into a 4 ft across blanket. The pictures of it were so lovely that I just kept going back to see it again and again. I just love how the center flower looks. So finally I decided that I would definitely make it, but now right now. Yeah... I'm sure you all see where this is going don't ya! So I cast on for it on Saturday and it is so fun to knit! I just couldn't put it down. I would say at this point I am about three quarters of the way through it am loving it even more in person! The yarn I chose was from my stash and it is a hemp/wool blend in blood red. Very nice!

whew now that's better

whew now that's better
Originally uploaded by sparklingscraps

Well I did it! I tinked back and fixed the problem and didn't cause anymore problems on the way. Woohoo! Now I really love how it is looking. The yarn color, the stitch definition, everything about it is just how I envisioned when I picked this yarn out. I am so proud of myself for not letting this be a reason to stall out on the project. Usually for me this is a reason to throw a project in the basket for a long hibernation. So, now onto clue 3!

MS3 Clue 2 finished!

MS3 Clue 2 finished!
Originally uploaded by sparklingscraps

Well Yeah!
I thought I had finished clue 2 but then when I blocked I noticed a rather glaring error a few rows back. The more I look at the picture, the more I think I am going to have to tink back to that point. RRRRR! Aside from that though, I am really loving my choices for this. I love the slight color shifts in the Jojoland yarn and the beads add just enough shimmer to be noticed. I just hate tinking back lace though... does anyone want to do it for me? PPlease!?

Brew at the Zoo 2007

Brew at the Zoo 2007
Originally uploaded by sparklingscraps

This past weekend was the zoo's Brew at the Zoo. The way it works is that you but tickets to get in and then when you go up to the pavilion area, local breweries and restaurants are set up. As you go in you get this really cute 4 oz mug/stein to get your brews in and away you go. Given the 100 degree weather, super high humidity we have been having here for the past month or so, I was dreading this a little. I mean I knew once we got there and had acquired the first layer of sweat it would be fine and we would have fun, but simmering in the heat never sounds super fun! Well, as we got to the Zoo and were standing in line to get in we started to hear lots of thunder and the clouds on the horizon looked very menacing. Hmmm... I thought. Well literally minutes after we were let in and managed to make our way up the hill and under the pavilion tents the sky opened up and poured buckets down. Whew! I thought the day was lost but fortunately it just rained for maybe fifteen minutes and then stopped. Sure we had a couple more light showers, but nothing like that first one. The rain really did help to bring the temperature down though. The food and brews were really good and it was fun hanging out with friends listening to the bands that they had playing. If I had to give any criticism it would be that the breweries and restaurants need to bring more food and beer with them. There were some restaurants that were done and gone in the first half an hour and most were out of food in the first couple of hours so about halfway through. My hubby didn't overly mind because there were still plenty of brews left. For me though being that I was the designated driver this was a little disappointing. I also think that for those of us that aren't drinking the good stuff, they could have more interesting non alcoholic drinks available. All in all though it was a good time and we will definitely be back again next year!

new anklets

new anklets
Originally uploaded by sparklingscraps

Here are some anklets that I finally sat down and wove the ends in on. They had been sitting next to my bed for a couple of weeks. I hate it when I let the end of projects go so long like that. Especially when H loves the things I knit for him so much! In fact, he wore them to school today. What a sweet boy he is!

3-ply indy yarn

Fiber in the beginning of the spinning
Originally uploaded by sparklingscraps

This is the beginning of my souvenir sock yarn that I am spinning. It is navajo plied and so far this hank is about 85 yards. It is about a fourth of the fiber so I think I should have plenty for a fine pair of socks!

The lovely Knitspot

Knitspot 4
Originally uploaded by sparklingscraps

This past week we took one more trip to Indianapolis to see some sites before we head back into the drudgery that is school. The main attractions that we went for were the Zoo, Conner Prairie and the Children's Museum. Everything was so much fun and I will get to all of that but first I wanted to tell you about the fantastic store that we happened upon while there. Ok so I didn't necessarily find it but my hubby did. He and the hubby of my friend were going out on an ice cream hunt for the adults and they saw a sign in a shopping center that said "Knitspot." Well my friend and I had meant to do a yarn shop search before we left but didn't end up making it that far, so them finding a shop just down the street from the hotel was a great find! I think they thought twice about telling us about it but then decided that was too cruel. Yeah they are good husbands. Well, this store was just gorgeous!! It was all color coordinated and had various antiques used to display throughout the store. There were quite a few yarns there that I had only seen online so it was nice to see them in person. Man I could've spent a lot of time in there! We were on the way to other things though so I found some really nice Lorna's Laces superwash merino that I plan to spin into a 3 ply yarn for socks. The staff at the store was really friendly and helpful and the selection was impeccable! I would definitely suggest it as a destination if you are ever in Indianapolis. The only thing I would comment on which isn't really a negative but just surprise, was that they did have quite a few skeins of yarn that were over $50 and even $100. It was interesting to feel them and think of what I would use them for, but also made me wonder how many of those high priced skeins would a store really sell. Hmmmm.... Below is the fiber that I ended up with. I am totally a sucker for these kind of colors together so it isn't really surprising that I picked this, but I think it will make some beautiful footwear this fall.

mystery stole 3

mystery stole 3
Originally uploaded by sparklingscraps

I have bitten by the bug that seems to be sweeping the net. The Mystery Stole 3! I didn't know a thing about this until I happened to be at the Harlot's site on Friday and just couldn't resist. I found this lovely cashmere/merino laceweight in the stash that I got in a swap last year and I love how it is turning out. I did have to go down to a us 3 to get the look I wanted in the stockinette but don't think that will change it too much. The bronze beads I found in my stash really show up well I think. The funny thing about starting this was that I had everything onhand to just get started which hardly ever happens! I even had the itty bitty crochet hook that you need to put the beads on with. In fact, I have an abundance of them from several grandma stashes of knitting/crocheting tools that I have inherited through the year. I have looked at those hook so many times and wondered, just what the heck do you use these for? Now I know and am glad that I didn't have to go hunting for them!

Onesies for teacher

All three
Originally uploaded by sparklingscraps.

H wanted to make a gift for his teacher who has left school early for the year to have a baby. She already has one baby that is over a year old. The idea that we came up with was to needle felt some designs on some onesies. His school' s mascot is the bee. So we made two onesies with a bee. The pink one will fit the older baby and the yellow one will fit the new baby. The flower was just an extra. This was a great project for him, because he could do the whole thing with very little assistance. One of the gifts that he got for Christmas was the Clover needle felting tool and mat to put underneath. I cannot say enough good things about these two products. The felting tool has a lock and a guard on it so you really would have to try to stick yourself with the felting needles. The mat has a solid base to it so that even if you are poking vigarously with the felting tool you can't poke your leg. I feel totally comfortable letting him, (7- years old), make needle felt projects without any supervision. So the flower onesie he made completely on his own. For the bees because they are a little more detailed, I helped with holding the wool in place and he tacked them done. Of course once they are done being tacked down, he could finish it up. I did do the wings for him because they are the most detailed and he didn't think that he could handle it. I just love how these turned out and I think he was tickled too that he could make something so cool all on his own!

Flame On!
Originally uploaded by sparklingscraps.

Here is a recent art yarn that I have spun. I started out with some batts that I got in a swap that were mostly wool with all sorts of glitz and other texture bits running through it. Then I spun some chunky singles out of a hand dyed roving. When plying the two singles together, I also held a gold thread to further glam it up. The final touch was that ever so often I would spin in some strips that I cut from a transparent gold fabric. I ended up with about 90 yards and am really happy with the results!

stacked for fun

stacked for fun
Originally uploaded by sparklingscraps.

These are two different handspun yarns that I have made recently. I am really trying my hand making more of what you might call artyarns. You know just to see if I can. These aren't really bulky like so many artyarns that I have seen, but they have definite funkiness and charm. I think for me anyway their skinniness might just make them easier to use.
The brown one is made up of two different singles, both spun rather thinnly. The brown is a solid alpaca that is just soooo soft. The second is spun from some batts that I received from a swap. They have all sorts of fiery colors and glitz and other fun textural bits running through. I took the two singles and plied them together. I went back and forth between which of the two I was holding on top and then ever so often I let the dominant single spin back on itself and then back over that some spot to ply normally. This resulted in fun honeycomby looking spots that alternated between the fiery single and brown single.
For the green yarn, I spun several singles out of several different green rovings. Once I had those spun, I gathered up yellow rayon cord, some wool felted dreads that I made a while back and various green and earthy colored yarn bits that I have accumulated from swapees. The plying of this yarn was really fun as I just went along and then trapped the thing I had collected with the yellow cord. Again it turned out to not be as poofy as I thought it might, but I like how the yarn changes as it goes along, but is still cohesive.

handspun socks... the beginning
Originally uploaded by sparklingscraps.

I couldn't resist starting some more socks. I usually have two pairs going to try to avoid the whole second sock syndrome. I have found that my boredon sets in with sock once I turn the heel and start down the foot. Well, now once I turn the heel I start on a whole different pair of socks. Then I work on that until I turn the heel of that sock. By then I am usually bored again and go back to the first sock and finish it up. Then it depends on my mood at that point. Sometimes, I go on and finish up the second pairs sock or sometimes if I am really enjoying the first pairs sock yarn, I will go on and start the second sock for the first pair. All of this back and forth means that it takes me a little longer to finish an actual pair of sock but by the time I do I am actually almost done with two pairs of socks! So anyway, I do have at this time three pairs of socks on the needles. One pair, however, has me frustrated to no end so I am taking a break from it. The second pair is nearing the finish line on the first sock and then yesterday I started this one. I have been drop spindling the yarn for these socks and my plan was to get all of the yarn spun before I started the actual knitting. The lure of the colors and curiosity of how the striping might look got to me though and I had to dive in. I am really loving how they are looking so far. The striping isn't necessarily consistent, but also isn't doing any crazy pooling. Yeah!

Hubby's landscape socks

Hubby's landscape socks
Originally uploaded by sparklingscraps.

These are some socks that I recently finished for my husband. I have tried on several occasions to make socks for him and I really wanted to, but something always got in the way. The first pair fit me, (oops!), the second pair I didn't like the yarn, and the third pair had a stitch pattern that I just couldn't get into. Well, finally I found the perfect yarn and wallah! socks happened. These were knit from Landscapes yarn from Alpacas with a Twist, (this has recently been discontinued so if you run across some snatch it up quick!). It is a wonderful 50/50 alpaca/silk blend that is really soft while you are knitting with it, but after you wear it a few times it gets super soft. It is a thicker not necessarily for socks yarn which is great for him as he works from home and great for me because I could knit them on size 5 needles. All of that means that I was able to finish the socks off in a few days. So finally my husband gets the treat that everyone else around has already gotten of the luxury of handknit socks!

handspun harvest yarn

handspun harvest yarn
Originally uploaded by sparklingscraps.

I have had a productive day at the spinning wheel today. A few days ago I spun almost a whole bobbin full of a llama roving that had a bit of burgundy ingeo running through it. I have been trying to decide what I would do with it next and today it hit me. I have some fall colored handdyed wool that I spun fairly thin. Then I plied the two singles together. It has two plies of the Llama/ingeo and one ply of the harvest colored singles. I just love how this turned out. I haven't washed it yet so I am sure that will help it to plump out more, but so far it is a good worsted weight. The llama gives it a nice silky softness although I am not sure about it being nice close to your skin. We will have to see what happens after the bath. This skein is a little over 100 yards. And the nice thing is that I have a ton more of the llama/ingeo and plenty of the harvest wool to make a lot more. Hmmmm... what does this want to become?

Itty Bitty Spinning wheel

Itty Bitty Spinning wheel
Originally uploaded by sparklingscraps.

Lastly, there was this cute little thing. The person giving the tour didn't know too much about it and I would love to find out more. After looking at it more closely we decided that it probably wasn't for a child because of the fine details that it had on it. It is just too tiny for an adult to sit in front and spin though. We came to the conclusion that it must be for use on top of a table and that you would spin the wheel with a hand. The bobbin on it was also tiny. Probably about half the size of my bobbins. I just wonder what this type of wheel would have been used for versus the standard wheel of the day.

Swift and little bitty wheel
Originally uploaded by sparklingscraps.

Of course the main things in the room that intrigued me were the wheels and tools. I love the look of this swift. The color of the wood and the fact that it is on its own little legs is really nice. I did wonder, however, why the little cup is on the top of it. Is it really to hold a ball of yarn like they have done here or does it serve some other purpose?

The loom
Originally uploaded by sparklingscraps.

This is a picture of inside the main house in the attic. There was a room full of nothing but wheels, looms, and all of the other equipment that would have gone along with them. I wanted to jump across the ropes and lay my hands on everything, but I was a good girl and resisted. The guide for the day said that back in the olden days, all of this probably would have been relegated to an outbuilding, but that since it was all in working order they had it in the house so it wouldn't deteriorate. The loom was just huge. I have seen on other's blogs pictures of their looms and in my head I knew they were big but seeing one in person is a whole 'nother thing.

Room full of wheels and other fun bits

Walking wheel
Originally uploaded by sparklingscraps.

Over the weekend Locust Grove was having a Revolutionary war re-enactment. This included various troop manuevers all sorts of fun to look at costumes and fun demonstrations to look at. I just love to walk around and look at all of that sort of thing and try to imagine what it might have been like to live at that time and place. Probably my favorite demonstration was given by a man who showed all of the steps that it takes to go from flax straight out of the field to linen ready to spin. Whew! I think I will stick to getting my linen ready to go thank you very much. I also enjoyed talking to a lady who was drop spindling. She was evidentally just getting into it and had a couple of wheels that she was trying to learn how to use too. Afterwards my hubby said he could really appreciate the difference between what her technique looked like compared to mine. Of course she was getting more of that beginning thicker and thinner yarn that everyone has in the beginning. Now when I try to go back to that I just can't seem to acheive it like I did back then. She was sitting as part of a sewing circle and it was really neat to see all of the different types of projects that everyone was working on.