i like yarn. and bunnies.

Today was the big day.  The weather, the fiber, the sheep-y smell, it was glorious.  We spent the first few minutes wandering through the barns. 

This is the best sheep photo I could get.  Apparently they are camera-shy. 

Then came the shopping.  

Ok, where to start.  The white stuff on the left is some heavenly soft cormo.  The big bag in the middle is one and a half pounds of shetland.  I have grand ideas of spinning this for a sweater.  That is, if I can get it all to spin up the same weight.  Ha.  Moving on…the small bag in the middle is some amazing baby alpaca.  The brown stuff next to that is not-as-nice adult alpaca, and the multicolored stuff is merino.  When I found it I thought I had some unique locally produced fiber.  Then I found this same stuff all over the freakin’ place.  But I got the best price for mine, so there.  (This reminds me of the time I found some amazingly soft and inexpensive alpaca yarn at a small festival and thought it was something special.  Then my bubble bursts when I discover–thanks to Ravelry–that it’s distributed pretty much all over the place.  Oh well).  Then there’s the niddy noddy, and a couple stickers from Jess and Casey.  Note that there is no yarn in this picture.  That’s because I really don’t need any more.  I need to make more.  There’s a difference. 

Most of the fiber there was in fleece or lock form.  Otherwise I might have come away with much more than my five and a half pounds.  But sadly, my little condo is not equipped for fiber processing.  Plus, my sister probably wouldn’t appreciate the smell of sheep poo. 

Of course there is much more to the festival than just shopping.  We checked out the skein and garment competition, and caught the judging of the sheep to shawl competition.  My camera was somehow absent during these, sorry!   

Here’s Jessica, Liz, and Mai at the Ravelry meetup.  At this point we had been at the festival for four and a half hours.  We didn’t much feel like socializing to say the least.  But we couldn’t pass up a photo op with a couple celebrities:

All in all it was a good day.  There was sheep petting, yarn fondling, lamb gyros and my brush with fame.  A good time was had by all.  Now please excuse me while I go pass out.  If anyone has any creative ways of storing a fiber stash, do let me know.      

I won an auction on eBay.  Looky! 

What could it be?

Still not sure?

It’s a Hitchhiker!  Yep, I caved and got a spinning wheel.  I do love my spindles but I couldn’t resist this little guy.  He’s portable, he’s cheap, and come on…the treadle is shaped like a foot for pete’s sake.  And he has his own tote bag for traveling.  That is, if I ever get the courage to spin in front of other people (you know, people that can tell I kind of suck).

Note how the bobbin came with some yarn on it…thanks? 

Now if only I could hole myself up in the house and play with my new toy.  But I guess I should do those errands I’ve been meaning to do.  Olive might want to eat sometime soon, right?       

I’m still spinning and still loving it!  I’ve spun up a bunch of mini-skeins since I started but never got around to posting them here.  They’re solid, natural colored and just…meh.  But here’s my first “real” skein I started yesterday and finished up just now. 

It’s merino from the Spunky Eclectic fiber club.  Yes, I joined another club.  This one is awesome…you pay by the month, not all at once, and just cancel when you want the fiber to stop coming.  And Amy is so great to work with.  There was a problem with my shipment and she got right on it and I had my fiber in no time. 

The yarn is bulky/superbulky, about 75 yards.  I thought merino was supposed to be a non-beginner-friendly fiber but I didn’t have any more trouble with it than usual, and it didn’t come out any more uneven than usual!  I enjoyed the spongy-ness.  Now…what to do with it…

Olive wants to wish everyone a happy Easter, and hopes your Easter basket is filled with lots of hay, twigs and raisins.  Oh, and maybe a pinecone or two, if you’re into those. 

First day of spring!  Wheeeee!  Time to put away the heavy sweaters and start working on summer projects.  I usually don’t go for knit tank tops and such, but there are a few summer tops I want to knit.  I also really really want to finish all the piddly little projects I have yarn for.  Scarves, hats, mittens and the like.  So, I made a list of everything in my Ravelry queue that isn’t a sweater, socks, or an incredibly daunting and/or time-consuming lace shawl.  Here it is…I’m going to be lazy and not link them all.

Tops:

• DROPS 107-12 tunic
• DROPS 105-11 s/s top
• Leaf paneled sweater from Runway Knits
• Lilian tank top
• Honeycomb from Knitty

Shawls:

• Woodland shawl
• Clementine lace shawlette from IK Spring 07
• Loop shawl from Sensual Knits
• Logan River wrap from IK Fall 07

Scarves:

• Diamond leaf ascot from The Little Box of Scarves
• Halcyon from Knitty
• Feather and Fan scarf from The Little Box of Scarves
• Misty Garden from Scarf Style

Mittens:

• Endpaper mitts
• Very cabley mittens
• Fetching from Knitty
• Fingerless garter mitts from One Skein
• Subway mittens from IK Winter 07
• Plaid mittens
• Adrienne

Hats:

• Matilda
• Cabled newsboy cap from SnB Nation
• Amelia from SnB calendar 2007
• Foliage from Knitty

Bags:

• DROPS 98-54 cabled bag
• Brea bag

Other stuff:

• Lace Capelet
• Soy Cardi*

My plan is to…brace yourselves…knit all of these by the end of the summer.  28 projects.  Think I can do it?  I’m starting at the top with the DROPS tunic.  Here goes!

*Only if the yarn I already have works out with this pattern. 

Yippee! 

 First, I got the second installment of the Neighborhood Fiber Co. sock club.  This month’s yarn was inspired by the photography of Mika Ninagawa, featuring flowers in rich, saturated colors.  Karida named this colorway “Hypercolor!” which made me picture something neon.  I was very pleasantly surprised to find this:

Whew!  I love it.  She also included a lace sock pattern and some chocolates, which are not pictured.  Because they were promptly eaten.  Oink. 

Next, I got some soft and fluffy white BFL from Spunky Eclectic.  This stuff is heaven compared to the fiber I’ve worked with so far.  You may never see Corriedale on this blog again!  Remember that metric crap-ton of Corrie roving that came with my learn to spin kit?  Behold:  TWO metric crap-tons. 

I fully expect to be a spinning expert by the time I get through all this. 

Anyone ever order from this company?  I hadn’t heard of them until I started reading this thread on Ravelry.   If you don’t already know the story, you need to read this.  To quote another Raveler, it’s “better than anything on TV.”  It is hilarious, sad and appalling all at the same time. 

A lot of people are calling it a train wreck, but to me it’s more like a good book you can’t put down.  The plot keeps thickening and yes, it is 86 pages long and growing but I really really want to know how it turns out.  If you do, don’t spoil it for me!  I’m only halfway through (although I did get to the big plot twist somewhere between pages 25 and 30, and I don’t see how the story could get any better than that).

It’s that time of year again, and some folks will be getting baby bunnies as Easter gifts for their kids.  A few months from now, these bunnies will reach maturity and either the child will lose interest, or the parents will discover that a pet rabbit is more than they bargained for.  Shelters and rescues will be inundated with these unwanted rabbits.  If not taken to a shelter, they are either confined to an outside hutch or “set free”–the former being a miserable existence, and the latter being a death sentence. 

 Rabbits make great pets for the right people.  Before you decide to get a rabbit, there are several things to consider:

• Rabbits do not make good pets for children.  They are prey animals, and are easily startled by the loud noises and quick movements of an exuberant child.  Rabbits do best in a calm, quiet environment where a responsible adult is the main caretaker.   
• Rabbits do not like to be held.  Again, rabbits are prey animals and being picked up away from the floor is a lot like being carried off by a predator.  While some rabbits will tolerate being held, most will struggle to free themselves which can include biting and scratching.  Rabbits are such delicate creatures that they can break their own backs while struggling to get away from you.  If your child wants a pet to carry around and cuddle, a stuffed rabbit toy would be a much wiser choice. 
• Rabbits are not “easy-care” pets.  They are as demanding as a cat or dog.   They need daily, supervised play time outside of the cage.  Rabbits require a specialized exotic vet, which can be difficult to locate and expensive.  They need to be spayed or neutered, which can cost hundreds of dollars.   
• Rabbits can live ten years or more.  By the time your child is heading off to college, that rabbit will still be around. 
• Rabbits are not for the “house-proud.”  Rabbits are big chewers.  Anything within reach is fair game–shoes, books, electical cords, plants…whatever they can wrap their little teeth around.  Even with careful bunny-proofing, a rabbit will still chew on your furniture, baseboards, and even pull up the carpet. 

If you still think you might be a rabbit person, go to www.rabbit.org to find out more about living with a house rabbit, and for a list of rescue organizations in your area.  Thanks for reading! 

…is another hobby. 

 The second to last thing I need is more yarn.  But what the heck, I’m adding both of these things to my life with a single purchase:

This is the Louet drop spin beginner’s kit from WEBS.  One spindle, one metric crap-ton of corriedale roving, and an instruction book, all for the low low price of $25.  I am shocked at the size of the spindle.  It’s huge!!!  They look so teeny on the internet. 

In case you didn’t know from painful experience, spinning is HARD!  Here’s the result of my first attempt:

Awesome.  Let’s try that again.

Much better, right?  It does seem to get easier pretty quickly.  And it’s fun!  My first little skein is hanging up to dry right now.  We’ll have show and tell later but for now I’ll just say it looks quite…rustic.  No offense, first yarn, but there’s some serious felting in your future. 

Ok, I’m off to finish the work I was supposed to be doing today.  Heh. 

 P.S.  Olive says “hi”