Spinzilla 2015 is in the books. Between the alpaca/BFL and the Targhee from Hello Yarn, I ended up with 1,896 yards according to Spinzilla’s method of measuring. They give you special calculations for plying versus spinning singles. I was pretty excited to have exceeded my goal of spinning a mile. …
On Thursday, we did a lot of driving, enough that I was able to finish the body of Gramps down to the ribbing. The picture shows the moment when I was finishing up the frogged yarn from Gramps Version 1 and starting a new ball of yarn. I’m not sure …
Spinzilla is underway! Since Sunday, it’s been pretty much all working and spinning around here. I decided to start the week off with 12 ounces of alpaca/BFL I got from our friends whose farm we visited for Alpaca Days a couple of weeks ago. What a pleasure to spin! It drafts incredibly easily …
Today, I turned fifty years old. I slept late, had coffee in bed, connected with people I love, went for a walk in the woods wearing handknit socks, ate Thai food, took a nap, and am now about to curl up on the couch for knitting and the new season …
This has been a hole up and chill out kind of afternoon. I’m in a perfect little spot of in-between with work. I finished up an editorial project around noon, and I don’t get the next project until Monday. Also, I’m between classes until Monday. I was suddenly free. So …
Did you know that the Oxford Junior Dictionary no longer includes the words hamster, heron, herring, kingfisher, lark, leopard, lobster, magpie, minnow, mussel, newt, otter, ox, oyster and panther? The Guardian and The New Yorker both published articles about this in January, but I was apparently doing something other than reading …
Today, we hung out with great friends and alpacas. It was learn-about-alpacas weekend around here, so we spent the day visiting and spinning while the curious came to see our friends’ farm. Last week was busy and left me feeling a little dragged out, so it was fun to relax …
I finally have some pictures of Calligraphy to show you! Here it is during the sewing-on-the-buttons stage. This was after a nice long soak and gentle blocking. Augie is chief button inspector, and he takes his role very seriously. VERY seriously. Here are a …
I brought the creeping crud home with me from my trip. I’ve got a miserable cold. It’s nothing that won’t pass, but it makes me not want to do anything but sit around and feel sorry for myself. Know what I mean? There is no shortage of work stacked up, …
Gauge is the most important principle in knitting. So sayeth Elizabeth Zimmermann. These words are from the chapter on gauge in Knitting Without Tears. It’s one of the first books on knitting I ever read. It’s right here next to me. I can reach out and touch it. It’s spent …
