Travel and progress

Last weekend was hectic and exciting between a visit from my best friend and a visit to the Asheville, North Carolina area for the Southeastern Animal Fiber Fair. I have passed up the chance to go to SAFF the past two years, but this year I went and I am certainly glad I did!

I had the opportunity to meet some new people there, especially some dedicated farmers. I also ran into some people I know, including Liz (Carolina Knits). I spent a lot of time with the alpacas because they are the cutest, someone even brought a little baby! I wish I had taken the time to take more photos, but it was an overwhelming event!

I have been trying to finish some of my older WIPs lately, including my Nymphalidea, which is looking very nice. The colors are starting to grow on me, even though they are unconventional.

I have also been crocheting quite a bit, including starting on this Kitty Nest. I am hoping that it will be large enough for kitty to fit in, she is a very big kitty! I'm using some t-shirt yarn I made last month. I didn't think I would like the process, but it was quick and fun to do! 

You may recognize this yarn, it was a part of a blanket that is no more. I loved how it was looking, but I did not like how the resulting fabric felt, I doubted the ability of it to stay together over time. So I ripped it all out and went for the tried and true granny square style. So far it is looking very nice and I am happy with my decision.

What have you been working on? Have you changed your mind about a pattern recently?

Evergreen sweater

Finally I have finished my self-designed Evergreen sweater!  It has been a rocky road with this project too, considering every time I've mentioned it here it has been with frustration.  But I was looking for a challenge and I got one.

One of the biggest things I struggled with was deciding how I wanted the neckline to look.  Now I wonder why I didn't ask my knitting friends for advice earlier, they all gave me the confidence to keep going with it.  Once I finished the neckline I realized the sleeves were too tiny, but I've been in good company with Audry, somehow it always makes it easier when you know a friend is going through the same mess.

It isn't the most perfect sweater I've ever made, but it is definitely special because I knit it without a pattern (I still cannot believe I get to type this).  This was a huge step for me personally, but I'm not sure if I'll do it again any time soon, I think I prefer following a pattern.  I also wish that I had more of the brown yarn because I would have liked to do more colorwork.

This sweater was knitted in Berroco Ultra Alpaca, one of my all time favorite yarns.  I had been coveting the green colorway for a while and I love it even more knit up.  I also find it hilarious that I finished this alpaca/wool blend knit just in time for spring!  But it snowed here in North Carolina yesterday, so perhaps I'm not too late after all.

Gleefully I get to cross off one of my goals for 2013: Finish Self-Designed Sweater!

Now on to another item on the list...

Pretty Pink Alpaca!

A little while ago I was the lucky winner of a giveaway over at Sara's lovely blog.  Imagine my glee when I found that I had received a beautiful braid of soft, shiny alpaca.  I want to thank her again for being such a fantastic blogging buddy!

As I wrote in a previous post, I enjoyed every moment I spent spinning this fiber and it certainly was worth it in the end:

- Finished: April 26, 2012
- Fiber: 100% alpaca (Gaia's Colours Fibre Arts)
- Spindle: Schacht 3" Hi-Lo drop spindle (2.2 oz.)
- Other Information: 1 skein, 3-ply, ~160 yards, 4 oz., DK weight

Now that I'm finished spinning this lovely fluffiness, I'm not sure what my future plans for it should be. Any ideas?

Also on a more serious note, scrap blanket has declared war on my ability to study for finals.  The current battle is being fought on my desk, and as you can see, the blanket is gaining precious ground...

Busy, but still spinning away.

For some reason I thought that the end of college would be a gentle winding down to the end.  It is actually going to be a wild dash to the end.  Everyday I have been stretched for time and I was really starting to feel worn down and off balance.  I think that we all forget how important it is to stay centered and relaxed sometimes.  So, this weekend I took some time to breathe and relax, and it quickly became the most productive weekend I've had in a while.

Pumpkin's tips for staying centered in life:
- Stay hydrated. Your brain and body work so much better when you drink your 8 glasses a day.  I find it easy to do this when drinking some calming Earl Gray, especially since it gives off such a lovely smell.
- Have a kind friend who bakes you cookies. Lisa has started a tradition of baking me cookies when I get really stressed out.  Yeah, I know, she is awesome.
- Take slow, aimless walks. I always take my camera with me for these because I never know what I might find, butterflies, rainbows, the most beautiful flowers I have ever seen.  It is also fun to just see where you end up, not walking with any particular goal in mind.  Just wander.
- Journal. I love to journal, and I fill them with photographs, memories, triumphs, and challenges.  When I feel stressed I logically map out the stressors and the cure for those stressors, mind mapping is perfect for this.  I always end every entry with a success for the day.
- Keep your microbes happy.  My current area of study is the microbiome, the microbes that live on and inside you.  We all know that they protect you from getting sick and help break down your food.  However, scientists have recently discovered that your gut microbiome may also be responsible for helping you to moderate stress and can improve your mood.  So, be sure to eat yogurt or take probiotic supplements.
- Sleep. Well, we all know that sleep is important, we die without it.  But we all need to be reminded of this every once in a while.

I haven't been knitting a whole lot lately and I blame Sara for sending me the most amazing fiber ever.  All knitting time has now become spinning time since she sent me this wonderful alpaca as the winner of her latest giveaway.

In case it is not obvious from the picture, this stuff is as fluffy as clouds should be and in the most beautiful berry color.  Darn you, Sara, this stuff is addictive!  Seriously though, that woman has the best taste in fiber ever, if you want to see gorgeous handspun, check out her blog.

Have any tips on how you maintain balance and sanity in your world?  Please drop me a line, I would love to hear your suggestions!

I hope everyone is having a happy Monday!

Alpaca Handspun

I'm finally finished with some more alpaca handspun!  I love the colors of undyed alpaca, they are all so natural and soothing.

Thanks for all of your generous feedback on what the yarn should become, I've decided on some nice alpaca mitts!  It will be a colorwork project of some kind (once you become addicted you cannot go back) and I'll likely write the pattern myself because I 've been working on one that would fit this yarn.

Spun: February 2012
Fiber: Alpaca by Alpacas of Wildcat Hollow (100% undyed alpaca)
Spindle: Schacht 3" Hi-Lo drop spindle (2.2 oz.)
Other Information: 1 skein, 2-ply, ~200 yards, 4 oz., DK weight.

I have really enjoyed spinning this yarn as always, because I love alpaca and in particular love the fiber from the lovely couple of Alpacas of Wildcat Hollow.

In retrospect I wish that I had made this 3-ply, but then if I had I wouldn't have been able to combine it in a project with the last batch of alpaca I spun.

Also, I wanted to thank all of you who are being so supportive over my sweater woes.  I just have no patience for poorly written patterns, but I think that I can work around those problems and have a pretty sweater to show for it!

Spinning Away!

I would love to spend some time writing a long, involved post tonight and I love you all.  However, I'm going to have to leave you with a hastily shot phone picture and an abbreviated post.

I'm having one of those special days where I get a burst of crafting momentum that suddenly comes out of nowhere!  Now I am determined to ply this alpaca handspun I've been working on for a while.

I'm sure many of you know exactly what I mean when I say that when the urge to ply happens, do it!  Plying on a drop spindle is very slow and annoying (this is the reason why I want to have a wheel), so when I feel up to plying I take advantage of it.

Besides, I feel so content and happy after a few hours of happy crafting.  All of the stress over homework, thesis, and life in general sort of drift away for a while.  Then when the burst of craftiness is over, I am so much more productive in the rest of my work because I'm so much more relaxed!

Anyways, you will likely find me spindling away for the rest of the day until this yarn is plied.  Then hopefully I'll have a finished project to share!

Also, I wanted some advice.  Usually when I'm working on some handspun I get so many great project ideas for it once I'm done.  This time around I'm completely blank, any ideas of what this 100% alpaca handspun should be?

Alpaca Sweater

There is something so different about knitting for someone else.  First of all, I only knit for people who I know will appreciate it.  Naturally, these are also people that I really care about.  This makes knitting for them both more stressful (it must be perfect!), but also much more satisfying and enjoyable than knitting for myself.

Today I finished the alpaca sweater that I've been knitting for my mother.  I'm very happy with how it came out, now I cannot wait to get it in the mail!

The yarn is Cascade Alpaca Lana D'Oro, which some of you may remember I've had disagreements with.  Although I was disappointed with the yarn when I compared it to the "comparable" Berroco version, when I evaluate the yarn alone, I actually do like it.  One thing that I really liked was the stitch definition, the stitches were butter soft (is that even a proper description?).  Even though it is not even in the same league as Ultra Alpaca, it was still a very soft blend.

The pattern was Graduated Ribbed Top by Maurya McBride from the book Knitter's Stash.  The construction of the sweater would be great for beginners, but the pattern was not written very clearly, which always annoys me (especially when printed in a book!).  The resulting sweater is very simple, and attractive.

I'm currently packing this up to send out, I am very nervous because I hope it fits.  I'm leaving my mom the task of blocking it so she can make her own decisions on the fit.  

Now I need a new project to work on!

Spinning Alpaca

I have still been overburdened with end of semester work lately, but I'm almost done and have so much planned for my month-long break.  I plan on spinning like crazy, dyeing some fiber and yarn for upcoming projects, and finishing some knitting projects I've promised to friends and family.  It will be so wonderful to have some time to slow down and focus on my fiber art for a while without the stress of the lab and classes consuming my time.

Although I find myself horribly busy during the school year, sometimes a certain yarn or fiber comes along that really inspires me and makes me so excited that I find myself sneaking away from my obligations to work on it for a little while every chance I get.  When my awesome friend Lisa sent me some amazing fiber for my birthday, I was so inspired that I very quickly managed to spin it into some lovely handspun.

Natural Alpaca

Spun: December 2011

Roving: 100% undyed alpaca (Alpacas in Wildcat Hollow)

Color: Light brown

Spindle: Schacht 3" Hi-Lo drop spindle (2.2 oz.)

2 ply, ~196.0 yards, 14 WPI (Fingering)

I really love how it came out and I am itching to knit it up into something soft and cozy although I'm not sure what it should be yet.

Have you ever experienced this kind of creative push?