Spin, Span, Spun

I never planned to learn to spin. Though I surrounded myself with spinners, and learned the technicalities of the spinning world, I was sworn against the craft. My yarn stash is big enough, I didn’t need to add fiber to my collection as well. But my friends were patient, and politely waited for me to come to them to tell them it was time. That day came just before Christmas, 2008.

Over the next couple of months I played around with fibers that I could scrape together, on both drop spindles and wheels. Friends, of course, were generous, and I also bought some inexpensive roving at the shop to play with. I didn’t really have a goal for any of the resulting yarns; it was just practice. Then one day Celena walked into Hanks with a big bag of merino/nylon pencil roving. I knew immediately which colorway would be mine, and I didn’t even put it on the shelf for the customers to see. I knew I had to have this big poof of lovely shiny, and I knew that I would knit socks with the yarn that I made from it.

I spun the singles and chain-plyed the yarn on the shop’s Louet Julia, the finest wheel on which I’ve had the pleasure to spin! There was definitely unevenness to be had, but plying the yarn helped even it out.
I don’t know how I came to the conclusion, but as I spun the yarn, I just knew that these hand-spun, hand-knit socks would be for my cousin Bill. Bill is a gem of a man. He has made it a point to collect hand-made items from each of his aunts. He has a quilt of my mom’s, an afghan of Aunt Shirley’s, and a recipe book from Aunt Betty. He treasures the small, meaningful things in life, and is the kind of person who will appreciate the time, energy, and love that was put into these socks.

These socks for Bill are just a simple rib pattern, but that helps to ensure a good fit on a pair of feet that I don’t happen to have on the end of my legs. They are the first real product of my handspun yarn and I am quite pleased with the result. I hope these simple socks help keep both his feet and his heart warm and cozy.

One! One Finished Object! Ah ah ah!

 

For Exhibit C I present to you my first finished knitted object of 2010: Lala’s Wedding Shawl. Not made for Lala, but for me to wear to her wedding (Ravelry link). I began this project in October, teaching a class on it at the shop. It’s a lace entrelac shawl called Dianna. After scoping the other Dianna shawls on Ravelry I decided that adding a simple border gives this shawl the finishing touch it needs.

I have a tendency to leave projects behind once I’ve finished teaching the class for them, so I made it my goal to wear this to Lala’s wedding on January 16th. I calculated how many entrelac squares I’d need to complete each week in order to meet my goal, and I added these to my craft calendar. That craft calendar that works really well until I get behind (Gulp.). I did end up rushing through this on the last three available days before the wedding.

The fabulous thing about knitting lace is the magic of blocking. Before this shawl was blocked it looked a lot like a pile of dog barf.

 

Strings every which way. A heap of a mess. But let that dog barf take a nice long hot bath, and spread it out to dry, and before you appears a thing of lacey beauty, dropped stitches not withstanding.

This is the first shawl I’ve made, and I’m not quite sure if I’ll do another one any time soon. I did enjoy it, but I certainly have a lot of unfinished objects to get out of the way as I contemplate my next shawl adventure.

Making Momma Proud

When I was growing up winter time was quilting time. Before the first snow my dad would bring in Mom's quilting frame from the barn. Her quilting frame is this long Amish-style contraption that's about four feet wide and as long as our basement family room. Mom would spend all winter sitting at that frame, stoking the fire every few hours, and constantly watching 'her shows'. She would hand quilt at least one full sized quilt each winter. By the time the daffodils were in full bloom the quilting frame would be back in storage, and Mom would be at the dining room table, cutting out the geometric shapes of next year's quilt.

My mom sent a quilt to college with me, she gave me a quilt for my wedding (7 years before the fact, actually, because I begged her for it on my 30th birthday.), and she was buried in a quilt-lined casket.

Oh come on. You don't pay that much money for something 

you'll never see again and not take a picture of it.

A couple of years ago a friend of mine graciously gifted me with her mother's sewing machine. TW had gotten the machine from her mom in order to make a quilt for her sweetie. After doing about 13 seconds of research on the 1958 Singer, I knew that my first project on this beautiful girl would have to be the very same thing.

Which brings us to Exhibit B. I made the top of this quilt last summer. When I started quilting it (On the machine. I'm not nearly as hardcore as my mom was.) I hit a snag with some tension problems and had to do some ripping. And then it sat. And sat. Until today! When I picked it up and finished quilting it. After snipping some threads, trimming out the back and batting to fit the top, and a quick bind off, she'll be all done. It's not a work of art. It's definitely a novice quilt. But I like to think my Momma would be proud.

Yesterday one of our loyal customers gave me the high quality materials for a quilt that she has decided she isn't going to be able to work on any longer due to health issues. I was flattered, to say the least. And I think I finally feel like I can do this lovely fabric justice.

Well hello there, 2010. How are the wife and kids?

I rarely get caught up in end-of-the-year reflection. I enjoy seeing the round-ups that my bloggy friends do, showing off their finished projects of the year, or displaying their favorite photos from the last 12 months. But I tend to put the past behind me and try to look towards the future. For that reason I start to get pretty excited at the beginning of the year. Even though I don't read much, I love reading through Denise's book challenge list. And I am eager to see that my feed reader will have daily entries from the Amputeehee this year. It's bloggers like these who set goals for themselves that inspire me. They make me want to be tidier and more organized and thinner and funnier! I will make lists and focus and work hard and turn off the tv and make change in my life! I see a full year of crafty goodness ahead of me. Craftiness at work, at home, and on the Internet. And I remember foreseeing this same thing at the beginning of each of the past few years. Unfortunately, the lists and heady goals of the past got lost on my desktop and all of those inspiring ideas spiraled down the drain of apathy.

So this year I'm going to try something a little different (Good lord, I say that every year, don't I? Please, don't remind me.). Little goals. Little goals with big results. Today's little goal (And by 'today' I mean 'this here goal that is in front of me right now, no matter how long it takes to accomplish it, be it a day or a month'.) is to resurrect the blog. A better blog. A blog with direction. A blog that has goals itself. A pretty thing with nice curves and fancy clothes. So here you are at Exhibit A.

I hesitate to talk right now about Exhibit B. It is a crafty thing, and it has a deadline, however effervescent said deadline is. But now that I have Exhibit A with which I will speak of Exhibit B, I am dedicated to completing this next task. Please join me for the ride to Exhibit B! And beyond!

p.s. Many thanks to my two favorite computer gurus who helped me attain my first goal of the year. Today!