Home from seeing the Nutcracker.  It's been years since I have seen it and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. First, there is something charming about seeing ballet performed in a small space. I feel like I was better able to appreciate the intricacies of movement.  The choreography was lovely, the children playing the mice were just about the cutest things you ever saw, and couple playing the Sugar Plum Fairy and Cavalier were beautiful dancers.  Also, the guys had really nice butts.  Well, I mean, really...I know you all expect me to notice these sorts of things.  Also, I had forgotten how much I really like the music.  Not surprisingly perhaps, I find the Trepak/Russian dance particularly appealing and will likely be humming that to myself for a bit, which may make it difficult to go to sleep tonight.

I can take a hint

A few weeks ago, I got a text message from my niece which said something to the effect of, "I just bought this dress for the baby. It looks like it would be easy to make. Don't you think it would look cute in candy cane stripes for Christmas?"

HINT HINT HINT

I couldn't find a pattern that I liked, and after playing around for a little while, I eventually came up with this:



New skill learned: pleats.  I couldn't find any patterns for making pleats on a top down garment, so I figured it out myself.  I think I will make them more pronounced next time, but I am still proud of myself.  Overall, I like the way this came out and can't wait to see my great-niece in it.

talking to a brick wall

me: can i get [information x]?

 brick wall: you don't need that information 

me: here's an explanation of why i need this information. [explanation]

 brick wall: i can give you that information next week. 

me: here's an explanation of why i need this information now. [explanation]

 brick wall: there is no information. 

me: so you are saying there is no information?

 brick wall: i didn't say that. 

me: so can i get the information?

 brick wall: what information? 

 i am pretty sure talking to my cat was more effective.

A-ha!

Working on the semi-circular entrelac shawl still. Because in each round, the blocks are increased by one stitch, they were starting to get kind of big and funny looking. So I figured out how to switch from doing 6 repeats of a 10 stitch entrelac pattern to 12 repeats of a 5 stitch pattern. Without breaking the yarn. This may have been done before, but I figured it out all on my own, and therefore am very proud. Go me.

a conversation between me and my cat

Gwyd: Hi Mommy! I'm so glad you're home! No one has ever loved me ever. Can we snuggle? 

Me: No honey. It's hot. Here, have some gooshyfood. 

Gwyd: But I..Oooh! Gooshyfood. Nom nom nom. Hey. Where'd you go? 

Me: I'm in the living room, enjoying the air conditioning. 

Gwyd: It's nice and cool in here. You wanna snuggle? 

Me: Go away. 

Gwyd: How 'bout now? 

Me: No. 

Gwyd: Now? 

Me: Really? Can you just... Ow, that's my leg. 

Gwyd: I'm sorry. Were you using your lap for something? 'Cause it seemed lonely. 

Me: Ahhhhhh! Ow. Ow. Ow. 

Gwyd: Oh, you want me to headbutt your face? 

Me: Ahhhhh! 

Gwyd: I think I missed a spot. 

Me; Ahhhhhh! 

Gwyd: Got it. 

Me: Oh god, I have cat hair in my eye. 

Gwyd: It's too hot to snuggle. I think I'll go nap in front of the a/c.

Entrelac shawl

Started a shawl to match my entrelac hat. The beginning is a little wonky, but I am hoping it will block out ok.

Monongahela Shawl

I am thinking about making the Monongahela Shawl for my sheep to shawl challenge. The 46 pages of instructions are a bit intimidating.

Citron

Still unblocked, but I love the colors and it is soft and light as a cloud.

Slouchy Entrelac Tam

Finished this hat last night. It's a basic entrelac pattern, knit with some handspun yarn. I still have a lot of this yarn left over so I may make a matching scarf.

Sunday afternoon in Boston Harbor

Had a chance to go see Enter the Haggis again this past weekend when they performed on the opening cruise of the Rock and Blues Concert Cruise. I had already had plans to go with a friend, but then in discussing birthday celebrations for some family members, it was decided that they would join us, so we had a fun group to spend the say with. It was an absolutely perfect day to be out in Boston Harbor. Sunny, warm, breezy and comfortable. Plus, did I mention? Enter the Haggis? I always enjoy seeing them perform, and this was no exception. They were full of energy, humor, and good spirits. In addition to play a few of my favorites, including "The Litter and the Leaves" and "Another Round," they played a few of the newer songs from their forthcoming album. Can't wait for that to come out, as all the stuff I have heard so far is awesome. Had a little bit of a break after their set to socialize, refill our drinks and enjoy the harbor views. Then Carbon Leaf took the stage. I didn't really know too much about them prior to this show, having heard maybe 1 or 2 of their songs before. But they performed a couple of traditional songs like "Rocky Road to Dublin" and seemed generally to be having a good time. So I enjoyed that part of the concert as well. After the cruise, we went to dinner at the Whiskey Priest. Food was pretty good, especially the fries, which for some reason were particularly delicious. So all in all, it was an excellent way to spend a Sunday afternoon. Even though I am not familiar with the other bands that are playing the Rock and Blues Cruises this summer, I would definitely consider doing this again.

Handspun Slouchy Entrelac Tam

Left my other knitting at work. So what's a girl supposed to do? Start a new project of course.

This is an especially special project, because this yarn is spun from the very first fiber I ever got: superwash merino in the colorway "Heat Wave" from Crown Mountain Farms (I think). I think the color has long been discontinued. This fiber was a gift from Amber when I bought my spinning wheel from her, and it was so nice, I was terrified to spin it. I think it sat in my stash for about a year and a half before I finally took the plunge. The finished yarn has now been in my stash for about 3 years, waiting for the right project to come along. And I finally decided to do an entrelac project, since the yarn has somewhat self striping properties. It's much more red and deep purple than it looks in this picture - for reference, this is a better pic of the yarn:




I am excited to see how this will turn out. Back to knitting!

Citron in progress

Halfway through section 3 and I realize my gauge is off.  May need to do an extra repeat of the pattern to make it a wearable size. Hopefully I won't run out of yarn.

a visit to Webs

I went to visit a friend in western MA last weekend, and she kidnapped me and forced me to go to Webs. I fondled all the yarn and spent a lot of time mooning over the alpaca and cashmere fibers, but I resisted the urge to make any purchases....

Until I came across their display of Knitty's Citron and made the mistake of petting it. And then I was compelled to buy a hank of Malabrigo Lace Baby Merino. Seriously, it jumped off the shelf and into my hand and insisted on coming home with me.



How was I supposed to say no to that?

Mist

Hand dyed and handspun

Dawn - bfl, merino, cashmere, firestar fiber batt

Blended this morning from some hand dyed blue faced leicester, merino, firestar and cashmere in sky blue, pink, gunmetal, lavender, apricot, and burnt orange.

More carding and spinning

Mixed up this batt of fiber a few weeks ago. Mostly BFL with bits of other stuff. I'm calling it Haunted Pirate Ship:



At the last open studios I spun up My First Batt^tm and plied with some metallic thread:


And also spun up the Haunted Pirate Ship batt that day:


I have made up a few more batts this week, and feel like I am finally getting the hang of the drum carder. Or at least, I have stopped ripping my hands to shreds while using it. Progress. Yay!

Fire and Ice

Mixed up this fiber batt this morning. Mostly merino with a little bfl, cashmere and firestar.



Yes, I do like my new toy. Why do you ask?

Guess what I did

Mix of blue faced leicester, merino, cashmere, silk, firestar, angelina, and faux cashmere in shades of blue, grey, purple and black. Am looking forward to spinning this baby up!

After a very long delay, the drive band for my drum carder arrived in the mail yesterday. Woo-hoo! Off to the studio after work tonight to play.

Flair

Here's another use for all those little bits of yarn I always seem to have floating around. A while ago, I participated in a swap where I made a bunch of crocheted flowers from my handspun and hand dyed yarns, and then added some pin backs so they can be added as decorations to hats, scarves or headbands.

I started by making up a few new flowers:



And then I got it into my head to make some crocheted gears:


And then I made up this prototype for a key:


Fun to make and super cute!