Finished Sweater

Finally!! Finally!! I finished the vest and blocked it, is so hard to take a picture in the house but we had a snow-thunder storm whatever going on outside today so I had no choice. I love the way the colors faded one into another, the only place I manipulated the color was on the right front trying to match it up a bit with the left front. I was knitting off the knit tube I had dyed, it was a light grey to start with and I thought the colors would have been muted a bit. I think next time I will put the vinegar in the water I soak the knitted tube in instead of the dyes as I found the dye was grabbed too fast, had a hard time getting the colors to overlap creating another color. The biggest problem with the vest is there is too much yellow, anyone that knows me knows.....I really....really do not like too much yellow. I do not mind a bit as it sets the other colors off. I never wear yellow and I would probably be physically ill if I had to....why?? I do not know. So what am I knitting now.......a scarf that is knit in short rows, I just got the new Creative Knitting Magazine today and I loved the scarf pattern in it, in the magazine it is knit in reds and blues and I loved it......what color am I knitting it in?? I only had one skein left of wool I dyed so am using it and .......it has too much yellow in it!! Next dye pot will not have yellow in it unless it is mixed with blue....creating green. Spent the afternoon potting up some of my plants, they were getting pretty sad, now I have a problem with the rest of the house plants, they want new soil too and are threatening to toss leaves all over the place if I don't so better have another potting up day tomorrow.

Another Snow Day!

We had a beautiful day yesterday and the snow from the night before melted away but this morning everything is white again and it is still snowing with a strong wind......it is cold out there!! We really need the moisture as it is so dry but for goodness sake just get on with it....all this fooling around with a bit of snow one day and a bit the next....just give it to us!! I am e-mailing Mother Nature with a complaint! Well am off to pot up a few plants, they are looking pretty sad so I think they need new soil, then I better get the vacuum out and do some cleaning. Knit on the vest some more yesterday and hopefully I can have it finished and blocked today. Then what should I knit?? really should knit a few more pairs of socks and put them in the stash for the fall sales. Meanwhile let us all think of the spring flowers that will eventually come our way!

Well we had a mini snowstorm last evening and although the ground is white this morning the sun is shining and the sky is clear. RH had some business out of town and he was going to be near the mill I wanted to process some of my alpaca and llama fibre so I spent the week sorting again and he took five bags up and dropped them off this morning. So that is done. I ordered my garden seeds yesterday so hopefully spring comes pretty soon, I can see some little plants coming up in the front flower beds although the main garden still has snow on it. My Aunt living near Seattle has a pen pal in Russia and her pen pal sent her some tomato seeds, my Aunt had sent me some pictures of the tomato's she grew from the seeds and I said next time you write me if you have a couple of extra seeds I would like to try growing them..............well she sent me some seeds..........seeds from thirteen different varieties of tomatoes!!! My word!! We garden in raised beds around here as the soil is not great and the four legged garden pests are too many. Looks like we should put in a couple more raised beds this year!!Now on the knitting front.....things are not going any too fast......I am knitting but I am ripping out and reknitting alot!! I am knitting a vest from the last knitted tube that I dyed and I have had to set it aside a lot and get back to it and sure enough when I pick it up and get knitting again......I find a mistake way back there....so it is rip..rip.. and knit...knit. I was really getting sick of the thing...it is not as if it is a hard pattern?? The back knit up so fast, the left side knit up fast.....so why was the right side giving me so much grief!! Because I would only get a couple of rows knit and I would have to put it down again!! So yesterday I decided that I would finish the right front if it was the last thing I did...I said I would not answer the phone...I would not talk to anyone in the house and I warned the cats and dog too...as far as any living breathing thing is this house...even if they could see me...I WAS NOT HERE!! So the vest pieces are finished and I just have the ribbing down the front for the buttonholes to knit and I better find some button's from my stash before I knit the buttonholes...good thing I remembered that!! Am off to find some buttons!! While I have been trying to write this post I have had at least ten phone calls......the dog made me get up and let him out...and when I got up to let him out...the cats were in the computer chair...Grrrr.. Thought I would get so much done today. Don't have any pictures of the vest but do have a couple pictures of the llama girls I took the other day. Am off to get at the rest of the day I have left!!

Another scarf finished

Just finished the handspun merino scarf I was working on, the roving was dyed before I spun it so has a mixture of colors and I really love it. Was worried about it as there seemed to be so many colors in it but it worked out great. Maxx even liked it and offered to model it for me. Still have to work the ends in and decide if I should put a fringe on it. I had dyed the grey knit tubing and found the vest pattern I was thinking of using it for. When I started knitting it I really did not care for it but forced myself on and now that the colors are worked and are fading into each other I love it and can not stop knitting. As soon as I finish the back I will post a picture. We have had a couple of snowy, cold dull days but today the sun is out, hope it stays for a bit. Off to figure out what to do next, have the knitting on the go and am spinning up some of the mohair/merino roving I just got back from the mill but I really should do some house cleaning. The fireplace stone is all up finally, just needs a few finishing touches but the really good news is the sand is pretty well all vacuumed off the floor and left over stone is taken downstairs and it looks like we have so much more room after living with the stone laying all over the floor for a month and a half. But there is dust everywhere so I think the job of the day is get some dusting done!!

More Dyeing

All of our snow pretty well disappeared, mainly from the winds we have had and now tonight it snowed a bit and has turned colder. I went out and checked the flower beds the other day and the iris are coming up. The most exciting thing for me in the spring is when I find little plants coming up. RH had a meeting in the city the other day so decided to dye a couple of the grey colored knitted tubes and they turned out so great I can not wait to start knitting something with them but have to finish knitting the scarf I had started with my handspun rainbo dyed merino first. After having to rip it back a bit, could not figure out where I went wrong but it just was not working out. riped it back a bit and reknit and finally have it finished, will have to get pictures tomorrow morning....love the way it worked out. Now I can start knitting on one of the other dyed tubes tomorrow.......have to decide what?? I have a vest pattern in my mind but can not remember where I seen the pattern, hopefully it will come to me tomorrow, have had such a sinus headache all week I am almost brain dead, hopefully next week will be better.Posting the pictures of the knitted tubes I dyed.

More Knitting

Took a picture of the scarf I started with the merino I just finished spinning. I dyed it in the roving and although I thought it was a bit busy I thought I would try a scarf with it and I love the way it is turning out. I love this scarf pattern but you sure have to make sure you get the purl rows where they should be and the knit where they should be as it isn't until you are finished a diagonal piece that you realize you could be out a row and then it is rip..rip..rip.The pattern needs to be enlarged so it is easier to read but for some reason my copier does not want to do the job so hand printed it out and it is working better. Had a cleaning attack this morning...wonder why with all this sand all over the floors, we are still putting the stone up on the fireplace...is almost done....is almost done, my patience is wearing thin. I had bought a throw blanket a bit ago in a tan color almost the color of the couch in the family room and have used it as a cover on the seat to help with the dog and cat hair, it was really large and was folded in two on the seat. This morning as I was taking it off to wash I had this great idea that if I cut it up I could have a piece to cover the bottom, pieces to cover both arms and another piece that would fit on the chair seat of the leather recliner. Everything worked out perfect and there was not a scrap left over. Sheba, one of the cats just has to sit on the arm of the couch as I sit and knit at night so the cover will save the arm and covering the recliner seat will make it more comfy for the cats (as if they need more comfort)Am off to knit a bit!!

Finished Scarf!!

Finally got the scarf finished, it isn't that long, she only gave me a small piece of knitted tubing to experiment on, wish I would have measured it before I started knitting. Have to dye a larger piece and make a longer scarf. The tube was knitted so densely that it felt harsh but after I knitted the scarf and washed it, it is nice and soft. Forgot to ask what wool they used but it feels like Merino. I had some merino roving that I had rainbo dyed in the roving and I finally spun that up, there was about 200grms so made two good sized skeins. The spun skein colors looked so busy but I started a directional scarf with it and it looks great. Will get a picture tomorrow. We have had great weather the last few days so the snow is disappearing and I am starting to think about ordering seeds and planning where to plant what and of course planning the strategy for keeping the gophers out of the garden. they are out and about already.Spring must be on it's way, a pair of Bald Eagles have been flying around lately. I also better get the bluebird nesting boxes up, they are probably already here.