Twisp of Fate

The blog post title is kind of an inside joke, because my main focus for the last several weeks has been to  do something about my ongoing back problem.  This has been plaguing me since late summer.  I thought it was just the way it was going to be since my back surgery a year ago, plus we were so busy over the holidays that I just suffered along.  But I started physical therapy a couple of weeks ago and by golly it does seem to be helping.  I can actually stand up straight and almost walk like a normal person!    And I have a lot more enthusiasm for working on projects and life in general.

Nonetheless. when I look back on it, I have gotten some things done since December.

Knitting

I mentored a group of knitters who meet on Wednesdays up valley who were interested in knitting my Mosaic Mojo Hat.  It was easier for some than others, but a lot of them got through it without too much anguish – and I understand one of them has now knit ten of them, and another one is on her fourth!  These pictures are from one of our meetings – more hats have been finished since then.

I also knit a new one myself using some miscellaneous handspun yarn.

Here are a couple of cowls I knit during December and January.  The pattern is Rayas Cowl & Scarf available on Ravelry.com.  It uses fingering weight yarn, is fun to knit, and so easy to wear!  I didn’t have enough yarn for either of these to do the exact number of garter ridges in each section, but it doesn’t really matter.

Rayas Cowl using handpaint sock yarn

Rayas Cowl using Toots LeBlanc breed-specific fingering weight

Of the Toots LeBlanc yarns, the gray one was her handspun that I bought years ago at Shepherd’s Extravaganza in Puyallup, WA.  Nice to finally turn it into something yummy.

Spinning

I have actually been doing a lot of spinning lately.  I upgraded my Hansencrafts electric mini-spinner by buying some breakdown bobbins for the WooLee Winder flyer from Akerworks.  These bobbins consist of a hollow aluminum core and 3D-printed plastic end elements.  The big draw for me was that they can be taken apart for storage or travel, taking up much less room than the standard wooden bobbins.  They come in a bunch of colors and I got RED to go with my bubinga spinner.  I also got the Hansencrafts breakdown bobbins for my lace flyer.  The reason (or excuse?) for these new toys is that I am going to a week-long spinning retreat on Orcas Island in a little over a week, with Judith MacKenzie.

I spun up all of a blend of about 2/3 Corriedale (from a fleece I bought years ago) and 1/3 natural gray alpaca (from an alpaca breeder in Oroville, which I also bought years ago).  I had the Corriedale dyed a teal color and then blended and made into a roving by Taylored Fibers in Quilcene, WA.  I now have a 3-ply yarn that knits to about 5 sts/inch and more than enough to knit the cardigan pattern I have in mind.

Weaving

Finally got back to weaving a couple of weeks ago, and got 3 more rugs off the warp that was on there.

R213, 32″ X 47″

R212, 32″ X 52″

R214, 32″ x 64″

I have an order for a long runner, and I have lots of Pendleton selvages left, so despite the fact that I am a little sick of weaving rugs, I am tying on a new warp this week.  I can weave a few, then let it sit for a while since I do have 2 other looms to get new projects started on!

Home Life

I took this picture a month ago, it has been sunny and foggy on and off, but the snow was actually pretty good this year for cross-country skiing.

Juno and Stormy have been playful and cuddly.  They like to be warm and they like each other!

New Year’s Eve we had friends for dinner – here I am with the lemon meringue pie:

Rick is making a couple of beautiful dining tables in the shop – that will have to wait for the next post.