Saff

Yes, I went to Saff yesterday. The last couple of years it has worked out better for our family if I go on Sunday afternoon. While this does insure that I get the advantage of any available markdowns, on the drive up I do always feel like some sort of vulture. Don't worry, once my bag begins to fill up, the sensation passes. There's always so much there that I slowly realize that I'm totally incapable of finishing off this thing all by myself.
Anyway, I bought a spinning stool and extra bobbin from Mary Ellen. The staining began last night. I expect to add one more coat. This stool is turning out even prettier than I thought-the grain is really beautiful. And spinning long draw will be much easier in a chair with no arms, eh?
I wandered slowly around the arena, and by the time I arrived at the fleece tables, I was ready to open up the billfold again. Yes, yes, it's true. Another (partial) Dan-Vir fleece. Four inch staple, and the (long sought after) true silvery gray color. I'm just relieved that someone else took the first half before I got there. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have been able to leave any just sitting on the table. All alone. I don't know who that other spinner is, but she's a stronger woman than I am. After much inner debate, I have decided to finish the bobbin(you know, the one with my previous purchases from this same farm? Yeah, that's the one)and then the lock washing will begin!
One new category this year. I bought yarn. I told C I would bring her something. She has really been working on her knitting/crochet. So I stopped at Miss Babs booth and picked up some worsted weight superwash merino for her. And then just as I ran low of cash, I saw this booth. Now, I grew up just across the highway from this town. What could I do? That's what I thought. So I bought some of their kid mohair Primero. Just one skein-500 yards of sport weight. I'm not quite sure what to knit with it, but it's so terrific that I think I'd be content to just carry it around like a little fiber pet.
And yes, I got buttons for J's cardigan at Hancock's on the way home.

Edited to add: I just got off the telephone with Canon tech support and they are emailing me a shipping label and repairing my ailing Powershot!!!! Woo Hoo!

My DMV solution

On Sunday I realized that I had NOT renewed my driver's license before my birthday. So, I went today with the perfect plan to insure that I would not spend precious time waiting in line. I packed some Corriedale roving and my Mala Spindle. Worked like a charm! I walked in, the lady behind the counter to my left asked what I had 'come in for' and things started moving. I was out in ten minutes. Tops. I had time to stop at the grocery before picking the kids up at Meme's!


In other news, the cardigan is still without buttons. I'm going to search the closet once more in an effort to find the rest of the button tins-I simply must have more somewhere-and if nothing suitable turns up, I'll just have to buy some.


The shawl received no attention from me last Saturday or any day since. I'm stuck on the dishcloth train and can't get off. I crocheted one-a simple half dc affair with a scalloped edging and then made a drying mat of sorts for the counter. With that donw, I promptly cast on for a Ballband dishcloth. Then another. Then I cast on for a Swiffer mop cover using the same pattern. It's starting to scare me a little.


I'm spinning up some superwash Merino that I dyed(a couple of times, actually)in blues and purples and finished the first bobbin last night. I navajo plyed the singles to keep the colors a little more separated. I'm thinking of Pomatomas mitts, but I'll have to wait and see if the singles change much after setting the twist.

At last

I have the cardigan done. There was a little problem with the button band-as in, it was really better suited to a cardigan about five sizes smaller than the one that I knit. So, I redid it and things went much better. I wove in the ends, sent it for a little swim in the kitchen sink, and blocked it before heading to bed last night. When I checked it this morning, it was still damp. Looks good, though, and since I tried it on him at least a jillion times, I have very little doubt that it will fit.
Today's tasks will be:
Dig through all the button tins until I find suitable buttons-attach
Spin more of the wonderfully fantastic superwash merino next to my wheel
Knit a couple of rows on my shawl
Crochet a dishcloth
Bake...something

My review

I am ready to give an opinion on my Harmony needles! I knit both of the cardi sleeves with the size 5 dpns. I know, I said that I would compare them to the Clovers....but, you see, I knit the first sleeve with the Harmony set and then when it came time to knit the second sleeve...I simply couldn't bring myself to do it. Yep! I love them! I am resisting the urge to throw all my other dpns away and order all the Harmony ones.
Now, the circular #5 does tend to come unscrewed if I don't really tighten it up with the tool-so be aware of that, my friends. Still, I really like them and intend to knit with this one as much as possible until I can order more sizes!
I think I can finish the cardigan today-although I won't have as much knitting time as usual. Last night I started the buttonholes! Now if I can't manage to finish up a button band in a day-there's a real problem ;~)
Actually, I did just discover a REAL problem. I missed Knitter's Tea Swap 4!!! Now how did this happen? Guess I didn't check back in time....or maybe the email notice went to my junk email box and I missed seeing it.....DRAT!
Well, wait a minute. I did get a nice package from my Mom last week and she sent a pretty tea for one pot along with some tea-maybe I'll just consider that my little unofficial swap package. See? I didn't miss a thing! Anyone who looked in my storage closet would see that I don't need any more yarn anyway. There. Talked myself right out of my disappointment! Whew!

Huh?

Ok, I've finished the sleeves and am an inch or two away from starting the bottom ribbing. After that, it's a garter st border and I'm done. So, how come I am totally and completely obsessed with casting on this? And this? Is this just happening because I'm nearly done(and perhaps a little bored)with J's cardigan? Or is it the truest sign that fall is here? A raging case of startitis usually accompanies the cooler weather. Hmmm. Maybe a little of both, I think.
Don't think all my aspirations benefit me. I have both wool and a plan for pullovers for C and B, and the plan (along with some wool that needs to be bought) for T. Yep, things are getting a little crazy here.

Take my word for it

The sweater is coming along great. I knit past the elbows last night and the body is right about waist level. Hmmm....let's see....it's black....mainly st st...yep. That about covers it!
Remember back in the summer when my camera's LCD display went out on me? Can you guess where this is going? The troubleshooting that fixed things a few months ago is having no effect today. In fact, I found a message on the site that said they are aware of some problems, and will cover repair/shipping. Sigh.
But let's not worry about that today-'cause it's my birthday(woo hoo! 36!) and I don't want to dwell on things like broken cameras! I got my Harmony needles yesterday. Great timing, eh?The 5 tips, 24" cables, and 2 sets of dpns(1 and 5) The sleeve sts are beginning to pull a bit on the 16" circs I am using so I'm switching over to dpns today. I had a set of Clovers in a 5 already, so I'll compare them with the new Harmony set. I had planned to finish this up by Saturday, so I could get back to my shawl, but there's still a lot of knitting ahead. And I don't feel like making myself crazy over it.
The main reason I won't finish is that I've been sidetracked by my spinning wheel. I bought some Colonial top in the Northern Lights colorway a while back, and I spun that up last week and then started on my gray Corriedale roving. These are two fleece that I bought at Saff and had carded together at Wooly Knob fiber mill. I've spun worsted for 7 yrs now and thought it was high time to break out of my rut. So, I'm attempting long draw! It's not perfect, but I am absolutely fascinated by seeing the twist run up through the drafting triangle. Freaky. I still love a combed prep best, though. I'm spinning a 3 ply for some mittens or something-then I'll move on to another fiber out of the stash. I'm not ready to tackle Corriedale mountain right now. I'm looking for something smaller-more manageable. Maybe that Alpaca/silk that I bought on vacation last summer.