Thank all of you for your well wishes for Sydney. She is still improving daily, swelling is gone but the discoloration is there and I can’t wait for it to go away. It’s beginning to look like someone slugged the poor child right in her arm! Thankfully through all of this, I never had to take her in to the ER to have it checked out… now I know that might sound bad, but see, I live in a neighborhood where I always have just what I need. My next door neighbor is a nurse at one of the large hospitals in the next city over, she also teaches geology at the junior college. Her husband is a handyman/construction worker. Other neighbors include a special education teacher, a paralegal who has a B.A. in child psychology, a child protection services worker, a police officer, a few people in the newspaper business….. everything but a butcher, baker and green grocer… but we have a great neighborhood mom and pop store just around the corner. The nicest thing about this neighborhood, most of us watch out and help one another. It’s not uncommon to see neighbors talking over the fence around here, even though it seems to be more uncommon in today’s society.

Of course, I am still sort of an oddball around even this eclectic neighborhood. I play with wool…. and one of the neighbors has a daughter who has called me “one of those people” when she found out that I actually spin my own yarn. Yep. One of those people. That makes me chuckle! There are others who are fascinated with my apparent throw back ways to a more primitive type of art and craft, and others who just flat out think it’s great but that they could never do that sort of thing. Yeah, right. Obviously they haven’t had a chance to develop the same addiction that all fiber artists are so stricken with… but we all know, it’s just a matter of time.

Sometimes I look hard at myself and the contradictions of my ways. Here I am, processing, spinning, plying, setting, weaving, knitting, crocheting, and creating. I live in a world where I can talk to anyone I want by typing into a computer connected to the world through a DSL line in the wall. I can shop anywhere that there is an on-line store, find inspiration through people I have never met in person and here I am making my own thing from start to finish. I could save a lot of time by just ordering the mill spun yarn, and wait for it to arrive. Now, I do order mill spun from time to time as there are some commercial yarns that I just love, and I order roving’s, batts and wool tops to spin instead of just processing raw wool into what I want. There are many talented fiber artists out there creating the most luscious spinning fibers for me to play with. And sometimes, I need to get in there myself and just do my own thing, from my dye-pot disasters, to hand carding, using combs, or whatever method I have at my disposal. Fiber has become my canvas, and there are a multitude of tools to use with it. Does this make me an oddball? If so, then I never want to be normal at all!

And now, I think some photos are in order. Like I said, I do really still knit!

First, the Little Leaf Lace Scarf is complete. Ends woven in, completely blocked… but um, I do still need to snip off the ends of the woven in yarn…

And the gratuitous close up shot…..

I know that the leaf pattern isn’t as clear as it could be, that the variegated yarn has a habit of diminishing lace patterns, but I do love the zig zag that happened in the pooling. It somehow reminds me of Autumn leaves drifting down on a breezy day…. and I am looking forward to wearing this as the seasons change.

Now let’s talk about some forgotten things. One of my “dye-pot disasters”. Now, honestly, I don’t call them that because I don’t like them, but rather because I don’t plan it and just let the wool do it’s own thing. Many times I end up with explosions of color, and dubbing them the “dye-pot disasters” just sound so much more interesting than “hot pour method dyeing”

Do you remember “Fireworks on the 4th of July”? Looking at the finished roving, this was not one of the ones that really struck my fancy. It’s nice and all, but not something I would probably go out and purchase if someone else had made it. With a little pre-drafting and some time on the wheel though, it transforms. And the almost finished product, well, I think I have fallen in love!

Say hello to Magnhild, a child size Faroese Shawl from “Føroysk Bindingarmynstur” from Bundnaturriklaedid. It’s a Norwegien book available from Schoolhouse Press complete with the translation booklet “Faroese Knitting Patterns – Knitted Shawls” translated by Marilyn van Keppel. Magnhild has a selection of lace patterns for the borders and center, but I opted to knit it plain for a nice warm winter shawl for Sydney. Our little house was constructed in 1937 and comes with plenty of drafts. Sydney loves her flannel night gowns that I make for her in the winter, but often feels cold around the shoulders. There are a few finishing touches I want to make to Magnhild, such as adding i-cord ties and blocking, but essentially, she is just about finished. I love how the roving spun up into such a colorway of denim blues, lavenders and reds. Sydney is already in love with it! (She kept telling me that she wanted a shawl like my Seafoam Faroese Shawl, and I just couldn’t deny her some hand knit love.)

Years ago, I posted this photo. Approximately 600 yards of hand painted DK weight yarn that I received in a trade. I love the Pansy colorway, but for the life of me couldn’t figure out what I would make out of it. During one of my long blogging absences a while back, inspiration struck and the knitting kept me sane.

I needed something different, and everyone else was making them, not that that is an excuse, but it stuck in my mind that it would be perfect. I did have to make some small adjustments to needle size, but it all worked out and it was love at first sight. I bet you can guess what it is.

Clapotis, of course! This is another one that needs the ends woven in and maybe a light blocking. She will be perfect to chase the winter day blahs away. Nothing like some bright color!

There is always more to show, more that I have done, am working on and am playing with… but I have to save something for other blog entries!