Knitting Dragonflies

I’ve been on a big destashing mode lately. It makes me feel good. I can give, toss, or make something to give to someone. I have wanted to have a space in my office/craft room for meditation and yoga/Pilates.  Now I do! Almost done with it. Left on the list is new curtains, or some kind of window treatment. I was thinking about bamboo shades, until my neighbor’s son came over when I was piling baskets into my trash can. He said his mom wanted the one on my top shelf if I was going to get rid of it. I was so confused, until I realized that she could see that from her window across the street. (maybe with binoculars)! So blinds and or curtains. I’ve been doing quite a bit of spinning (for me). I met a girl on Ravelry that has become a good friend, she showed me how to core spin. While I still feel two thumbed when I’m trying this here is my first attempt: Spun up from a batt that I purchased from UniquelyYoursDesign.etsy.com   Fiber Content: Corriedale, Merino, Bamboo, SW

Living in Indiana and coming from Indianapolis means basketball! This final four was great and exciting! So it has been all basketball at my house, with a little spinning thrown in, too much excitement for concentrating on a knitting pattern. Now we are big dog people and I’ve got to tell you, I love the Butler Bulldog doggie! If you were wondering… The Lucas Oil Stadium of the final four policy is; "We allow teams to bring pets in the building if they are the mascot and it is a domesticated animal.” Blue II, the live bulldog mascot, yes he has a live feed , he blogs , he is on You Tube , and more! Of course Butler's real bulldog with his giant rawhide bone is adorable and who can’t love this guy! Because he is "real and carries a bone." This sweet and wrinkled dog breed is usually pretty easygoing, loyal and even a bit goofy. Despite its reputation for multiple potential health problems, the Bulldog makes a wonderful companion. If you are a Bulldog owner,

Drop over and take a look at the new Spring/Summer Knitty 2010 ! My favorite pattern? I can’t decide yet. A wide variety from socks to shawls, easy to challenging. Below is some beautiful core spun yarn from urbangypz's photostream on flickr! She has an etsy shop UrbanGypZ . This beautifully spun yarn makes me think of spring! I’m still struggling with my core spun, I’m not sure that is for me, I’m going to go back to traditional spinning. We have been busy at my house, painting and getting a new privacy fence! While visiting my Dad, I got sucked into Genealogy world! I have never done any research like this. And it is fun and very interesting. I feel like I’m turning into quite a sleuth. The stories we hear about family and are they true? Tracking down records and more records. I can’t imagine how time consuming this was before the internet! I’m teaching  a 7 year old little girl to sew. Any hints would be appreciated, so far we have; made a tote bag, a cat bed, and a

I've gotten some wonderful gifts in the mail recently!! Thank you times a thousand!! From my Doppelgänger, Vicki at Dragonfly Soars I received a package full of LOVELY fiber!! I can’t wait to get spinning with these! The braid is BFL from Girlontherocks.com , I love the turquoise (i just painted my living room a lighter shade of this color) and the golden yellow mixed in. The green batt is a super soft batt of blended wool and soy silk from Ogle Design.etsy.com , a perfect spring batt to spin, this green color with a little blue added really puts me in the mood to get out in the garden. From Paula The Quilter , I received five skeins of excellent wool to dye! I’m not sure what colors these want to be yet, but I’m ready to get my pots out! The sun is out today and I haven’t done any Solar dyeing since last fall. Hummmm… I got a huge package of glitz and angelina to add to my spinning from Jane on ravelry!  Thank you Jane!! Great for you to add a lot of sparkle or ju

Sun, and bright blue skies! I’m in the mood for some bright yarn and some Reggae music from Jamaica ! So pick a song from the top 25 this week and get some sunshine into your life. So I got my dye pot out, and decided to try some kettle dyeing! I used the kettle dyeing tutorial from Fiber Fever’s blog (throwing knit fits since 2006). It is easy and understandable. So with just this amount of info, I got started… I quickly found the red dye over powers everything else, I was trying to half orange and half red. But I like the extreme vivid colors, I found if I didn’t stir it in and let it “settle” on top, and then stuck a chopstick in straight down, and just “wiggled” it a little, the dye dispersed without getting too even. Then I tried some blue and green, ooo pretty. I’m trying to keep a little white in it for more variation, and the colors look cleaner.   This pot has 1/3 red and 1/3 orange, 1/3 yellow, just a little wiggle, and then after bringing to a simme

I’ve had an energy spurt with the onset of spring and nicer weather. Thank goodness the sun has shown up, just in time. Here is what I have going on over here…. I pledged to finish my simple diamond lace shawl, and I am working on it! [ rav link ] I frogged my Kumara bed socks   [ rav link ] and decided I would use some of my hand dyed. I picked my Spicy Mama color way   I was anxious to see how it would knit up…just getting started, but I’m very pleased with the colors. I had some round bamboo handles in my stash that I have never used, I found a pattern by Patons, a nice cabled bag pattern , and decided I need a sunshine color for it. [ rav link ] I kettle dyed up several skeins of this I think it will make a pretty summer bag. I have been spinning with a girlfriend of mine, who is moving back to Michigan soon. She is the only spinner I know down here! Even though she is a new wheel spinner, she has already started wrapping and coil spinning! I am finishing

I’ve been on a hat knitting binge this winter. I had some of my hand dyed berry yarn, that need to become a hat! One skein dark with purples it in, the other blues. I found this hat through Ravelry, a free download. free Owl Hat pattern by Ruthie Knits. Just starting here and I’m pleased with how the colors are flecked through out. This pattern works up very quickly, perfect for a fast gift and great for just about anyone. If you look around on Ravelry you can see the many different versions. Some have small beads in the eye area. I thought I was going to add eyes, but when I couldn’t decide what color or size. I just opted out. I especially like the version by sekini , she made the owls in a different color, it changed the whole look of the hat!  I would definitely make this pattern again, and try it her way. May your knitting needles fly as fast as dragonflies…. Technorati Tags: Ruthie knits , knitted owl hat pattern , hand dyed yarns , knit ,