cosmicpluto knits!

two weeks

Um, yikes. Time’s going by rather alarmingly quickly, isn’t it?

This scarf has been on my rigid heddle loom (Ashford 24″) for months and months, since before I moved! It was even still in its plastic garbage bag under my desk until I decided this week that it was high time to finish it. And of course once I picked it up again, I was finished in 2 hours!

That led to warping the loom up again, and right now I have 2 scarves have their soak. The loom is empty just now, but I might even warp it up again tonight.

A knit I’m really excited by, but was putting off because it’s fiddly – Some Assembly Required. Personally I’m not really one for knitting very fiddly things, especially small fiddly things (I’m pretty game for complicated sweaters and things). Toys are pretty challenging for me just because there’s so much finishing and fiddling compared to the actual knitting! Give me a big swatch of stockinette any day.

That said, this is a pretty fun knit so far. I’ve only done the head, but I’m hoping to make a good dent in the torso-knitting this afternoon.

Oh, and just in case someone out there needs a yummy recipe to bring to one of those numerous parties this time of year?

Twix-alike bars! So good. The only changes I made were to add some sea salt to the caramel (probably about 1/2 to 3/4 tsp) and to cut the squares much, much smaller. Nom.

etsy update december 8

I just put up three new woven scarves in my Etsy shop!

The one on the right is my favourite, I love how colourful yet muted it is! Weaving is awesome.

a spinner is born

So back at Rhinebeck,my travel buddies Cheryl and Andrea both decided on Sunday afternoon that it was high time to look for a spindle and some roving and get spinning! Obviously I was rather pleased, having both of them turned by the wool fumes…buahaha.

With that goal and a tight budget for this whole spinning lark, we set out to find some inexpensive spindles (a bit challenging) and some pretty roving (not nearly as challenging) and I got ‘em spindling on our last night at our Rhinebeck house.

Fast forward a month, and both of them have finished their very first handspuns! I didn’t take a photo of Cheryl’s (I should’ve though, it was awesome) but I did take some photos of Andrea on Wednesday night at knit night!

Plying…which is my favourite part;

Stephanie helping Andrea with Andean plying;

And Andrea’s very first plied mini-skein! She ended up with about 100 yards or so. (From pretty Ashland Bay merino, in case anyone’s wondering!)

Awesome. I love seeing spinners being born.

I’ve been spinning a little bit myself, too – here’s some gorgeous 2ply worsted-ish weight that I spun up from merino/silk batts that I got at Rhinebeck. I haven’t counted up the yardage yet, and there’s another bobbin full that I haven’t wound off yet.

I’ve also finally managed to get a few woven scarves up in my Etsy shop. I’d wanted to get more done for this update, but I figure I’ll just add as I go – lots more to come, and you can always contact me if you have a request!

whoa, time warp

How is it Sunday already? I swear it was just Wednesday.

Despite a touch of ambivalence towards some of my projects, I’ve been fibre-ing up a storm around these parts.

Knitting a top-down raglan cardigan along with my sweater class students:

It might be a Christmas present, we shall see (I’m sorely behind on that, but more on that another day). I’ve got tons of other projects but had fewer photos than I thought! I’ve still got to finish up those Cedar socks, which are up to the toe on the second sock – so right at the finish line, really! I’m trying to get back to some neglected projects that would speed along if I just worked on them. I’ve got a couple of new projects in mind too, but there just aren’t enough hours in the day, y’know?

I’ve also been weaving up a bunch of new scarves and things for my etsy shop – look for an update this week (of course I’ll blog about it). I’m aiming to have a good handful to put up, then maintain a rate of a couple a week for the while leading up to you-know-what.

This time I’m doing some narrower scarves along with wide ones, some that are a bit chunkier, and some with handspun. Fun fun! And a great way to use single skeins in my stash!

strawberry season

Friday I went strawberry picking with Dr. Steph and Denny and their kids, and it was so much fun! We went to Reesor Farm, not far at all, and pick your own sure is pretty cheap! We picked for about an hour, and I came away with 5kg (11 lbs.) for my very own. (Denny and her son had about the same as me, Dr. Steph and her two kids picked 9 kg! Whoa.)

Yum. Have I mentioned lately how much I love my new camera?

With my family away on vacation and me on my own, there’s just no way I could eat them all myself. I wasn’t planning to, anyway. So once I got home, I got busy right away putting up the fruit.

I washed, hulled, and froze 2 baking sheets’ full (then put them in freezer bags the next day; it’s so they don’t freeze in a big clump):

I made “fridge jam” (as opposed to freezer jam, because I just stuck it in the fridge) – just fruit, sugar, and lemon juice, macerated for awhile then cooked down in a pot. An intermediate step on the road to jam tarts!

Then the next day, I made strawberry ice cream! In my old-school hand crank machine. I used this recipe, which uses eggs but is uncooked. It’s yummy! I don’t think I have a photo of a bowl of it, but I’ll try to remember later when I’m eating it! (We’ll see how that goes!)

And yes, there has indeed been some knitting around here parts. I had a bit of the knitting ennui there for awhile, but I think I’m back on track! Finishing up some old projects, starting some new ones. An older one that’s almost done, the cashmere sweater:

Just in time for the sweltering weather, eh? Well, that’s kind of how the knitting goes. I am planning on writing up my notes on how I converted the Unwrapped pattern to a cardigan and the other details – I don’t feel comfortable writing up the whole pattern since I used Jody’s yoke, but I’ll write up a little bit on how to make your own. The sweater just needs some type of closure, and a good blocking. Maybe clasps, maybe not.

Oh, and the handwoven scarves in my Etsy shop are now on sale – each is just $85. I’ve got more in the works, but just need to clear some stuff outta the studio!

a small update

I’ve added a few more scarves to my Etsy shop!

I’ll be back shortly with tales of…the greatest dress I have ever sewn. (How’s that for suspense?)