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Planned Purlhood

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Tribble pattern is here.

Basil’s been going through a steady, but hopefully heavy moult.  This makes bathtime all the more necessary and funny.  His idea of a “bath” is to stand in his water dish, and put his head between his legs.  That’s pretty much it, he doesn’t hunker down and splash water up with his wings like normal birds.

Anyway, he thinks he’s pretty hot stuff with his extremities wet, so I give you the latest series of silly cockatoo photos.

Best bet?  Climb up seven feet into the air and strike the almost-ultimate display of might cockatoo-ness.

“Imma flirt wif you!”

Then we have the classic, “O rly!”

I’m getting stuff shipped from Japan faster than I am getting a certain Priority Box filled with yummy fiber from Ohio.

Definitely perplexing.   Woe!

Leave it to sheer boredom to stalking Bloglines at 1am. Many apologies to anyone who lusted after the “Marrakesh” colorway mentioned in Lime & Violet’s Daily Chum ESotD, cuz barring any freak happenings, it’s MINE! Bwahaha. Oh, and for shipping saving’s sake, I snagged “Sublime“. Plus, the seller is somewhere here in Oregon, too. Added bonus!

And, as predicted, my August fiber budget went “floof” after staring at Franquemont Fiber’s eBay store for a long while and doing a lot of dithering between one bit of wool and the other. Abby, do I need to apologize for reducing your inventory numbers by some 20%? *grin*

I guess it’s nice to be a DINK*, now and again. At least I won’t run out of knitting yarn or spinning fiber in the near future. Just wish I had the courage to dye some of the “good stuff” I have tucked away. Alpaca, Shetland, Wensleydale, Romney, and Cotswold! not to mention the entire white Icelandic fleece…good grief, that’s going to be a lot of combing…and the better part of a pound of domestic top that defies being dyed anything but colorways resembling cat barf! Fwah!

In knitting news, I finally broke down and started the Second Arrrrgyle Sock of Dooom! (Otherwise known as the Lime & Violet Argyle Socks) After 1″ of 1×1 ribbing, I realised exactly why I had been avoiding it. We hates ribbing. (And to think I’m doing an entire Hogwarts scarf in 1×1 rib - what was I thinking?!) I guess I’m going to have to sort through a few totes of yarn to find the wee ball of green I dyed for the argyles, damnit anyway. Tho, I do need to get some of that re-inventoried and into better storage.

I’ve also been struggling mightily with a heel pattern that actually fits my foot on a toe-up sock. I think my feet are strangely shaped. I wear a 12W-13 in women’s shoes, size 11 in men’s and a 43 European. 9.5″ around the ball of my foot, 10.5″ at the high instep, and exactly 11″ in length. Or, in Pendleton Parlance - she wears a Justin 11EEE boot. *shakes head* Short rows are most definitely OUT (toes are IN tho, that’s for sure), and I’m hoping that the directions/formula I found for a round heel/toe up flap/thing will work. Fourth time’s the charm, maybe? At least the yarn is holding up remarkably well for being ripped out at least 6 times. And it’s cheap ol’ Knit Picks Sock Memories, too. Who’da thunk?

Oh, and Mom - if you haven’t signed up for Ravelry, get thee to the list already!

On the spinning front:

I spent nearly 6 hours at the local Craft/Scrapbooking/Yarn store Friday night thing at the wheel. I think my right foot is still barking at me for the abuse. I plied up some aforementioned “cat barf” yarn (which came out in a rather odd autumnal scheme), and a third of the last Tide sock batt from Abby. Been inch-worming that ENTIRE bobbin…good grief. Hopefully I can burn through the last third soon enough so I can PLY it already. Sheesh! Let’s hope I’ve done it justice. Sure is nice to spin!

I’ve also been fuzting around with some beautifully dyed Louet Shetland from Flawful Fibers, but haven’t quite figured out how I want it. I know I want laceweight, and spinning chunks of it from the fold didn’t produce the color I wanted. So, onto the combs its gone, and I’ve blended it a bit and I think it’ll be a bit better looking than the heavy marl I was getting before (2-ply). Hopefully I can convince my wheel into a light take up (she’s been awfully bitchy lately) so I can spin a true laceweight. Hopefully.

I plied up two spindle’s worth of preeety green mohair & wool blend from Abby (can you tell she’s my “dealer”? tee hee) tonight. I’m not sure I even have 1/2 ounce spun up yet, but it’s been fun. Just doing it on my Bossie featherweight (Tasmanian Myrtlewood), having carded the roving into rolags. Which reminds me, I really need to upgrade my hand cards….

*Double Income No Kids

1) When is you birthday?  5 December
2) How long have you been spinning? 1 Year
3) How long have you been blending your fibers? 6 months
4) What types of blends do you like to make and spin? silk, wool, mohair
5) What types of fibers do you NOT like? Are you allergic to any kinds of fiber?  I’m not big on angora, only tolerate mohair in smaller percentages.
6) What are your favorite colors?  Most any that exists in nature.  I gravitate towards greens, blues, and reds
7) What are you least favorite colors? neons What type of yarns do you like to spin? (singles, plied, novelty, fingering, bulky, ect.)  2 ply fingering seems to be my “standard”
9) What type of blending equipment do you use?  Indigo Hound Viking Combs (double pitch), Ashford hand cards
10) What type of wheel or spindle do you spin on?  I have a Fricke wheel, a Bosworth Featherweight, and a Jorn Piel Nordic spindle (these are the ones I use most of the time)
11) What do you do with your handspun yarn?  Collect it, thus far…will knit with it eventually
12) What are your interests outside of spinning?  Knitting, Historical Costuming
13) What types of music do you like?  Runs the gamut from medieval to folk metal
14) What types of movies do you like?  Science Fiction, Adventure, Drama
15) Do you collect anything?  not really
16) What types of candy and snacks do you like and dislike?  I like chocolate, but don’t eat much of it.  The new seasoned almonds that are flavored with wasabi and soy sauce
17) Do you have any food allergies to common “goodies”? (ie: chocolate, nuts, etc.)  Nah.

Or my socks do.

Crickey.  I put on my Pink Ugly Sock while knitting it’s mate today.  It was too big.  As in, I frucked up the math.  When I checked it today (for the 4th time, I’m sure), it had SEVEN stitches per inch.  Which made it over an inch too big in circumference.  No wonder it was falling off.

*sobs*

Said ugly pink yarn is now rewound into a center pull ball and in the time out pile.

Good grief.  At least I made a permanent record (well, as permanent as things are on the Intarwebs)  on its entry on my Ravelry site and marked it “UGH!”

Hmph.

Why is it that socks I knit for others come out really well, and the atrocities I mangle for myself turn out just that - atrocities?  I’ll never know, but I’m stubborn enough to keep knitting for myself.

Lime & Violet’s show this week had me hankering for some decent ’spro.  I busted out my Estro Vapore (gotta love hand-me-downs, eh?)  and got a respectable pull from some cheap Sumatran stuff.  Next up, I’m going on a hunt for some Yemeni beans.  Only two places in town that would carry such a critter…I’m going to start with the Panache dealer on main street.  Faster turn over, local money, etc.  Last resort is Star*ucks.  Tho, the last bag of beans I bought there resembled something I would use as bbq fuel than something I’d extract liquid crack from.  (Not sure they know a City from a French roast to save their soul, but that’s beside the point).

Check this out!

This is Ferdinand the Raven, from Morrgan’s Creatures.

A cute, quick-to-knit toy.  The yarn is from Knit Picks - black Wool of the Andes, and the orange a bit of Andean Silk.