erin knits

I buy fiber.

I knit, occasionally. I was in a bit of a slump, but it’s all comin’ back! These are a pair of shorts for A and also a test knit for Marilyn of EviePants for her all-in-one pattern coming out this summer. Yarn is Comfort Wool Co. “High Tide” on Nova Bulky dyed by Lauren.

And, I spin.

And then I spin some more.

And some more.

I spin so much, that my son has resorted to feeding himself with the bones he finds in the dog toy basket. I am a fail mama!

Okay, so it’s not that bad, but I needed to share that photo because it cracks me up. But yeah, I’ve been spinning like a crazy person. I’m having a hard time finding a good balance between knitting and spinning, hence the slight break taken from knitting. That said, though, the knitting is coming back – maybe my blogging practices will, too!

Hello again, blogland! What’s new and exciting?

We’ve been pretty relaxed around here, to be honest. I’ve been stashing up some more gorgeous spinning fiber and finishing up my straggly WIPs.

This isn’t quite a final photo, but here’s a pair of YYMN longies that I’ve finished up for a customer in Nurturing Threads’ “Starling” colourway on Cestari. They felt like they took ages, but I’m so pleased with the results! I think that they turned out excellently. She was hoping for something a little different, so we went with a textured stripe pattern, utilizing the quilted lattice stitch also seen in the Springtime in Hollis sweater. I think they’re loads of fun!

I’ve also finished up a project for me! This is a wurm hat knit up in my own handspun. Original fiber from Funky Carolina, “A Different Exclamation” on BFL/Silk. Delicious to spin AND to knit. I need moar.

Some modeled shots for your amusement.

I dyed yarn last week, too! Just the beginner-ish kool-aid & a crockpot method, but I think it turned out pretty well! The skein on the right was the first one I did and came out reaaaaallly semi-solid, rather than the variegated look I was going for. The Law of Red learned, (which is the fact that it eats everything and goes a lot farther than any other colour) I went back and came out with the skein on the left, which went much better. Now I’m out of blank yarn, though. I have a sad feeling this could be an addictive habit. Oi.

And finally, here’s my lastest spinning WIP. More FLUFF – a merino/silk blend this time in their “Explore” colourway. Very yummy!

Anyway, going to go work on the second bobbin of that, so have a wonderful Wednesday!

What’s new, what’s new?

Not a lot, since my last post. Although, the dotCA and Comfort Wool‘s Knit Night stocking are both live! Lots of goodies still available.

Anyway! I’ve come to a realization over the past little while. I need to cook more. Well, we need to cook more, to be perfectly honest.

So, blogland! I cry out to you for your favorite recipes! We’re not a big seafood family, fish is okay, but beyond that I’m pretty open to ideas. I’ve got The Pioneer Woman on my shortlist, so I’m going to try out some of her stuff hopefully this week, but I’m on the search for more ideas! Share with me, my lovelies!

I’ve definitely been keeping busy this month.

In shop news, I’m stocking a springtime in hollis sweater at Comfort Wool on the 29th for Knit Night, which involves a really amazing group of ladies, and I must admit that I was totally honored to be asked to participate. <3

The May stocking of dotCA is also just right around the corner and there’s some great stuff going up over there, as well.

In more local news, spring has definitely shown up to stay. It’s been absolutely gorgeous the past couple of weeks! The kick off of barbeque season for sure! My perennials are starting to pop back up for the year and the plum tree that I planted last spring looks like it’s going to have a gorgeous flowering sometime in the next little while. I’m really stoked that most of my trees and shrubs look to have survived the winter. Score one for me!

Summer is also fast approaching. We might be venturing down through Washington state and the Oregon coast in July; any recommendations for must-see-attractions? I’ve been googling, but I want to make sure that I don’t miss anything amazing.

You might remember that last winter I picked up an old spinning wheel from the local classifieds super cheap. It was really more of an exercise in “someday, I’ll…” than any real drive to begin spinning. I went to a meeting of the local Spinners & Weavers Guild, took one lonely lesson with one of the wonderful ladies, and then found out that I was pregnant with A. For those first couple of months, pretty much ALL of my hobbies went to the wayside and I slept a lot. After that, I was preoccupied with knitting sweet little baby items and my lonely ol’ wheel sat in the corner of a spare bedroom and collected dust.

Spinning is really just an excuse to love colour; to experience colour.

Over the past few months, spinning and I have begun to spend a lot more time together. I haven’t gone for another lesson, but started fumbling my way through with what I remembered from that first lesson, and some great tutorials on YouTube. At that first lesson, the woman who was teaching me recommended a couple of sources for cheap fiber that would be great to learn on. I took her advice, and purchased some.

It was wool, and while I admit that I’m a huge sucker for wool (in fact, I muchmuchmuch prefer wool to acrylic and cotton yarns), when I tried spinning it, I ran into the same problem I ran into when I really started knitting: I’m sort of a snob. Not in the sense that I look down on people for their own choices, but I, myself, much prefer to work with what a lot of people refer to as “snobby” materials.  Though I recognize that all fibres have a place in the fibre community, they’re just not all for me.

I’d simply come to the same conclusion regarding spinning fibre that I had regarding my yarn preferences. I shouldn’t have been shocked; when I first branched out into the Wide World of Wool a few years ago, I was pretty shocked to see that “wool” wasn’t really just “wool” at all. In fact, “wool” soon became synonymous with “erin loves”. So, shortly after realizing that I wasn’t a huge fan of the “learning fibre” I’d bought to practice on, I recalled that I had purchased a braid of handpainted roving from an etsy seller I’m fond of that I had been hoarding away for when I was a “good” spinner.

One day, I said to hell with it, and pulled out the good stuff. What a difference that made. Using a fibre that was beautiful, soft, and really just fun made the experience so much more enjoyable that I started buying up beautiful fibres and never looked back. As the woman who owns a local yarn shop told me when I brought her my second skein of handspun to share my excitement “there’s no such thing as an ugly handspun”; they’re simply unique.

Now, I’m sure everyone has a wool experience that is less than stellar. Maybe an old sweater, or a vest from forever-ago, and it made you think that wool = horriblescratchygarmentofdeath. Well, ladies and gentlemen, I’ve got news for you:

Today’s wool ain’t your grandmama’s itchy, scratchy, rustic wool of yesteryear.

(Well, I mean, it isn’t always your grandmama’s wool. Even rustic wools have their place in my heart.) There’s so many varieties that are really quite the opposite; they’re more the strip down and roll in me naked kind of wools. Blend one of those softer wools (like, say, merino) with silk? Delicious. Bamboo? Also delicious! Cashmere? I’m happier than a teenage girl with a shirtless, sparkly vampire. That’s my weakness.

Blend merino with silk AND cashmere? That's my ambrosia - edible or not!

The funny thing? I have an infant. I live in the oilpatch. I spend most of my time in jeans and simple tops, but show me a luxury fibre or yarn and my brain just doesn’t care. That’s my indulgence. I don’t buy expensive coffee all that often, I don’t get my nails done, or spend much on clothes for myself (though, I will admit I’m long overdue for a post-partum shopping trip); I buy inappropriately gorgeous yarn and fiber, love it out of its mailing envelope, photograph it for posterity, and hoard it away in bins wait patiently until the perfect project comes along.

And then, I love it all over again.

That this third WP installation in as many days sticks around.

For some reason, everything I touch that involves any kind of code this week has just exploded in my hands.

SO! Fingers crossed, ladies and gents.

Real content is pending.

Until my opening!

Previews are up on the HC store, but I like to share, so I’ll post them here, too!

I also participated in a Yarn for Woolies swap on the Hyenacart forums, and knit up these for my partner:

I had a semi-custom listed on the HC Haiti Relief cart from February 14th-21st, and am working on that as we speak – I hope to have it finished up by the end of the week, so I’ll post photos soon!

Aside from knitting, things really have been mostly uneventful. A keeps growing (and we’re pretty sure he’s got some teeth coming in), and I’m kind of in denial that he’ll be 6 months old in a couple of weeks. It’s crazy!

With summer finally rolling around up here, I’ve been keeping myself busy. Last weekend, my dad and I trekked to a somewhat-local greenhouse about half and hour out of town; it was endearingly chaotic, especially in comparison with the local greenhouse that I usually frequent. While there was a semblance of organization, it was minimal. Just a general groupings rather than the more specific categorization-and-alphabetizing I was used to. However, it was well worth it! I finally managed to pick up some annuals to fill the huge planter that I got earlier this year.

Annuals are somewhat new to my amateur gardening hands. I’m generally a big fan of simplicity, and with my tendency to be easily distracted, the majority of my garden is made up of perennials. Still, it’s nice to jump into new territory from time to time while I wait for the perennials to mature and develop their own sense of chaos. I’m an impatient gardener, so it’s always satisfying to me when things just suddenly grow and bloom of their own accord.

As an aside, I’ve been finishing up a few projects. I cast off the edge of my Liesl in Sundara’s Ruby Port ASM that I ordered from the Year in Color however many months ago. I need to finish up a couple of inches on the sleeves, but beyond that, it’s done! Only downside being the fact that I started it according to pre-pregnancy measurements, so the fit is a little awkward with my belly starting to stick out. I’ve also resumed work on my Jessie Lambdin shawl — yes, I know. How many times have you heard that one? Hahaha! But I really have! Puttering away on the leaf edging, which is tedious, but worth it. Continuing with the project wrap-ups, I got the scraps of Dream in Color Strange Harvest that I need to finish up the edging of my Tulip Baby Cardigan, and the Baby Surprise Jacket that I finished a few weeks ago just needs buttons! It’s almost time to start something new.

How are everyone else’s summers progressing?

There have been better days.

My aunt passed away this morning. I’m still trying to pretend that I’ll just wake up,
it all feels like a bad dream. She was one of those people who just loved everyone–
loved everything, even. I hope she knows how much she’ll be missed. I hope she knows
how much she was loved. How much we all wish it was just a bad joke…

We’re going to miss you Auntie Marlene. Love you.

      Well.

      I guess this means that I have to learn, now.

Did I mention that it’s been deemed in great condition by a local member of  the Spinner & Weaver’s Guild–AND that I only paid $60.00 for it?! It does need a flyer, but other than that seems good to go. Anyone know where to get a standard flyer for an Ashford Traditional? (I just need the cheap one, for now, and maybe some bobbins. )

What excitement!