Too Hot to Knit

Where I live, the weather is pretty moderate. We occassionally have very hot days but they are few and far between. Because of the temperate weather, I really don't have "summer knitting" versus "winter knitting" -- although I will not do a huge blanket in the middle of summer.

Yesterday was one of those few & far between days. The high was supposed to be 107 deg F. And it was never going to get any cooler than 75.

I picked up my Ribby Cardi that I had been working on, and managed to get through two rows, before setting it back down in disgust because...It Was Too Damn Hot To Knit.

Then when the evening rolled around, I simply sat & spun, while watching movies. This was much easier in the heat, then trying to knit anything.

Beading

So, instead of fiber, I'm posting about beads today.

A good friend of mine is a wonderful beader; she makes lovely jewelry. While I have beaded before in the past, it has been very minor and very very simple -- mostly sewing beading into costume pieces. As I had helped her how to improve her sewing, she was going to teach me the very basics of beading.

Several months previously, she had taken me to a bead show where I had made some purchases that she was going to help me put together, which we did this past weekend.

So, I put all of the designs together, and she helped me do all of the finishing work... like how to crimp, how to ensure there's enough flexibility, how/when to use adjustable chains, etc. She had many of the tools required for different jobs.

I made 5 necklaces & 1 bracelet that night. (The matching bracelet/necklace isn't shown.)

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Medusa Necklace

16" beaded Medusa necklace -- beads: bloodstone, silver, and czech beads -- Medusa piece from Green Girl Designs

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Shell & Square Necklace

16" Shell & Square Necklace -- all glass beads

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Fall Leaf Necklace

16" beaded necklace: Size 6 red czech glass, goldish spacers, glass leaf beads, green/red size 7 beads.

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Red Jade

20" necklace -- red jade with phoenix/dragon pendant, 5mm garnet stones, 4.8 gold-ish spacer beads. This has an adjustable chain so I can make it longer or slightly shorter.

Drive By Post

I'm making progress on my Ribby Cardi. I've finally gotten to the armhole shaping as of last night! Yaay!

I still have 5 inches to go before I can start the neck shaping. At this rate, I just might finish this cardigan before the holidays.

Although, truth be told, I could use it NOW. Our office is freezing!

Keep on Spinning

As noted previously, I've been spinning more than I have been knitting. I'm currently on the 4th ounce of the 8oz of the Ashland Bay top (garnet).

Here's a quickie iPhone photo of one of the quills containing 1 oz of fiber.

I'm looking at sampling for a 3-ply and a 4-ply, although I suspect the 3-ply might be better. I'll finish up the other 4 ounces first before I swatch.

Blackhole of Knitting

Lately, I haven't had much time to knit, mostly because I've been spinning, and what I have been knitting has been one "blackhole" -- no matter how much knitting you do, you don't seem to be making any progress whatsoever.

I'm still ploughing through my Ribby Cardi by Bonne Marie Burns. I'm still working on the body (mostly during lunchtime). Only July 8th, I was 5 inches into the body sweater. Today, a month later, I'm 12.5" into the body of the sweater.

This is 8.5 inches more in 30 days. This roughly translates into .2833333 inches per day, which is a sad, sad, sad state of affairs. I still love the pattern and I still love the color of the yarn....however, I am going to inch my way through this sweater.

However, as I've mentioned, I have been spinning. I am going through my Stash, and am currently working on 8 oz of some Ashland Bay Top that I started right after the Tour de Fleece (2010)

I've got 4 ounces finished, which pleases me to no end.

And, here's the final barber pole skein from Tour de Fleece. I apologize for the crappy photo. I haven't had a chance to take a decent one as of yet.

~200 yards of a heavy fingering weight, 2-ply

Handpun vs. Commercial Yarn

I was looking at my Ravelry Stash page.

Out of 66 Stashed Yarns, 28 are handspun.
Now, granted, that I haven't listed some of my Stash yet (both handspun & commercial) AND I haven't quite spun all of my fiber (that is listed), but I like the direction in which my Stash is moving.

Now, I just have to start knitting THROUGH my Stash. LOL