I Dropped A Stitch, WAHOO!

Now why in the world would I be celebrating the dropping of a stitch? Well, if you had read a post of mine about being afraid to drop a stitch in a pattern, the Clapotis, then you know that I had frozen on this bit of the pattern. I actually put the scarf down and didn't touch it again until last night, when some plurk pals encouraged me to move on. I did it! I dropped the stitch and have since, dropped 2 more. Wow, what an incredible feeling to watch that stitch work its way down the scarf and form a ladder. I can't wait to finish this project and wear it.

This may seem like a small step to you, but it is yet another venture outside my comfort zone to expand my creative world. What have you done lately that is out of your comfort zone? I can't wait to hear from you!

Spinning!

I have finally made a 2 ply yarn! Ok, it isn't anything that anyone else would want,but I am pretty proud that I have accomplished this feat no matter what the quality. My youngest brother made the spindle and the burnt orange corriedale fiber was a gift from twistedknitter on plurk. I apologize for not being a good photographer and having difficulty getting the color to show correctly.Then I tried my hand at the Andean Bracelet so that I could turn this into a 2 ply yarn. I don't know if I did it correctly, but it did allow me to ply from both ends of the yarn.When I went to remove the plied yarn from the spindle I wrapped it around my walker handles. It turns out that it is 37 inches for every revolution around the handles so I just counted that as 1 yard. It is nice to find another use for the walker ;) From there I put the yarn in hot water to soak and set the twist, then I hung it to dry with a soup can at the bottom to straighten it a bit since it was very curly. I think the curl means I over twisted it at some point, or possibly at all points. It was dry by this morning so I wound it into a center pull ball.Now I have cast it on my needles to make a hat for the Ravelympics! I don't know if this will turn out to be anything that will ever be worn, but it certainly has been a learning experience and I can't wait to spin again!

Lost in Plurk Land

Where have I been you may have asked, or not. Plurk has had my full and undivided attention. I have only knit about 12 inches on my scarf and I have spun about 1 ounce of fiber in the past week. Why has my Plurk obsession suddenly risen to a new height?

Last weekend, I got a used computer from one of my brothers and it was set up next to my lift chair, so that I can now be online in relative comfort (relative, because there is always some pain). Before this, my time was limited to short intervals after which I would have to elevate my legs to stop the swelling. Since I can now have my legs elevated while I am online, I now am having a difficult time logging off.

Still this doesn't quite explain why I have neglected my blog for so long. I guess that is because I feel that this blog is primarily about my knitting, crocheting and spinning, and since I haven't been doing much of that, then what do I blog about?

I have decided that this one is dedicated to Plurk since the reason for me wanting to spend so much time there is that so many knitters, crocheters, and spinners are there too. I live in the middle of nowhere, Maine. There is no LYS, no guilds, no group of fiber obsessed people in this neck of the woods. I find a kind of camaraderie of like minded individuals in Plurk. We can share pictures of our projects, our fiber finds, and our furry, four-legged friends. We help each other learn new techniques, new shopping resources, and new links of interest. Most of all we encourage and support each other, like friends are supposed to. You to can be a part of this fiber love fest if you would like to meet me there!

So I don't foresee me slowing down on the Plurk time in the near future. I am going to have to find a way to strike a balance between plurking and my crafts, because I have been missing the feel of yarn slipping through my fingers and my needles clicking away. Wish me luck.

Nanner Socks!

Let me ask you this: Have you heard enough about Plurk from me yet? Well, an amazing and generous designer with whom I plurk, Wendy Johnson, designed a sock pattern to represent the dancing banana emoticon that we plurkers seem to be fascinated with and she shared it with me. Yes, ME! I am so honored and grateful.

Last night (actually in the wee hours of the morning...insomniac, ugh) I decided that I would make my socks in Cascade Heritage Paints. The colorway is not named but is a blue/green/purple variegation. I don't own the size 0 circs, so I am casting onto dpns. I googled a toe up cast on and settled on Judy's Magic Cast-on . It took me 2 attempts, but I have the first sock on my needles and have started the increases for the toe!

Now, if anyone has ever read my blog, you know that I said I was going to try not to start another project until I completed the dreaded afghan, but I just couldn't resist! Nanner socks are plurk related, so they feed into my newest addition plurklectly, umm...I mean perfectly.

Also, my wonderful brothers stopped in this afternoon to visit. This is always a treat, because they are funny and interesting people and I love them dearly. I am truly blessed as far as my family is concerned. Well, while they were here I was making my 2nd attempt at casting on for the socks. I mentioned how much easier it would be if I had the circs, so my youngest brother has offered to get them. I told him that I could get by without them but he won't listen. He and the rest of my family have this incredible generosity gene that I wish I could afford to reciprocate. I just hope they all know how much they are appreciated and loved.