New Home Spun Yarn!

I have three new home-spun yarns that I finished plying the other day......... The white yarn is 100% silk two ply and was incredibly simple to spin! The pink and green yarns started out as super wash rovings that I dyed and then spun into two ply skeins. All turned out great and once Blogger is working correctly again, I will post photos:)

Stitch Marker's Received!!

Jeannie and Toni sent mesome great exchanges!
I am hoping that these pictures come through. I have tried to upload them twice! Looks like I will have to upload them later:( Jeannie sent me a fabulous stitch and bitch calendar, markers, sheep tape measure, calculator, note pad, and the list goes on!



Toni gave me some lovely, black and silver markers, the prettiest ball of white yarn, some beads and a fantastic dish cloth! Gals, thank you so much for the exchanges! They were great! I only regret that it took me so darn long to post about them! Will add photos when blogger lets me:)

Bye, Bye Steak:(

OK, for the next two months, I have to give up my favorite food.....
Steak.

Why you ask. Well, I found a georgeous dress for the wedding and I'm not even going to spill what size it was. I love Bill dearly, but I blame him for the weight gain...lol Yeah! Like I have anyone to blame but myself! So, anyhow, I am hoping that when 'the dress' arrives I have to have it Drastically altered...lol Which means I have to forget about eating steak, eat plenty of fruits and veggies, watch the junk stuff, and exerise, exercise, exercise. I'm not starving myself, but I am watching things very closely:)



This is 'The Last Steak'.................. Dang and I love Rib-Eyes marinated in Soy!



At least for a long long while:)

Plying....WooHoo!!!

And here it is! My first attempt at plying! I showed the members of the spinning group last night and they were all very impressed that I did so well my first go round. That got me to thinking that maybe it was a fluke that the first batch turned out soo good.



So last night, I spun more of the same alpaca but in different colors to just check that I am consistent. well guess what! I am! Both attempts are 100% alpaca. I think I might have to start using Etsy to sell some shortly....lol Let me know what you think!

Registering for the Wedding!

OK, I never realized weddings were so crazy...lol I spent all day yesterday registering for the wedding. Gosh it seems like only yesterday that we were engaged! We decided to use Macy's and Target for the registries. It was pretty fun (big fat lie). Luckily I got to do all of it in the comfort of my own home, which was a blessing, because I had no desire to go to the mall! I selected 3 china patterns and had one inparticular that I was very fond of. I showed them to Bill and he actually picked the one I liked the most! Of course, it helped that I said "OOh, isn't that pretty!", when I first saw it...lol Isn't he just great!


I am hoping that we get as many of the towels that I picked out, because the towels we currently have are well beyond thier 'sell by date' and I am looking forward to haveing a towel burning party! And the Kitchen-Aid mixer! I am keeping my fingers crossed on that one! Honestly though, we are really hoping for money, because we are hoping to purchase a few acres out in the country and every little bit helps out.



Tonight I am going with Kim from the spinning/knitting group to another spinning group which meets every first Friday of the month. Really looking forward to this! I am hoping to try out different spinning wheels, so that I can purchase the right forever wheel:) Will write more about it later!

Felted Needle Case!

I am so darn proud of my new little needle case! I made this with alot of left over scrappy yarn. Double stranded and seamless knit, this little bag is long enough to hold what ever long needles I need to take along. And MAN OH MAN is it ever long, Long,LONG! I plan to get a double snap hook so that I can clip in onto my purse or bag and just not worry about it:)






And this is a picture of the Zipper! I have never added a zipper to anything before, so this was just fun. A bit time consuming, but definitely fun. The zipper I used was a touch long for the opening, but I think I did a good job tying it off and trimming it back with out loosing any of the zipper action:)





Here I have stitched on a polymer fish button! I thought it was so cute! And since I was shooting for a beach kind of feel, he fit right in! I got a great idea from another knitter Heidi, which is embroidering on the felted bag. Now, I have to tell you, I have never embroidered! I got on the web and found a site, which I unfortuantely forgot to bookmark , showing embroidery stitches. Last night while going to my first knitting group I tried my first embroidery stitches! I think I did OK, how about you?




OH, now on to the knitting/spinning group....



I had heard that there was a knitting group in town from a yarn shop in a neighboring town and they met at a local Mexican Restraunt on Wen. (Can you follow that? I think I can:) Anyhow, I could never find them try as I might. A few weeks ago, I was watching my Mom's shop for her when a good friend Lynn came in to see my dog Ms. Piper. No one comes in to see me...lol She told me that she was with the group! I really should have known that, because Lynn has sheep! Duh!



Last night was my first night there. All the girls were so friendly and fun and helpful! Gosh! I wish I had found them a long, long time ago! I am hoping that I hear from Kim about going to a spinning group on Friday(tomorrow). I had so much fun! We met at 6pm at Panera and we did not leave until almost 10pm! I think Bill thinks I went out partying..hahaha He had an incredulous look on his face when he said: You can really talk about knitting stuff for almost 4 hours? I think I will have to bring him with me next time...hehehehe*wicked evil grin*

You Are a Golden Retriever Puppy

Tolerant, fun-loving, and patient. You are eager to please - and attached to your frisbee.

What Breed of Puppy Are You?

Seaming Tape...

OK, I am not sure that I will use seaming tape ever again. It took too long and was very difficult to get into the corners with. Of course this is the first time I have ever used it and the first time I have ever made a lining for a bag. Probably not a good idea to combine two first time things. Luckily, the lining turned out just fine and is now stitched safely in the bag. I wanted to add a pocket to the lining, but putting the pieces together was not working out. So, I opted to finish what I had and skip the pocket. It turned out very nice if a little lop-sided. Will post a photo before I mail it off to my partner in Hungary:)



ON to a more interesting topic. Here is what I posted on the ITEIII:



WooHoo...... I am done! The bag is complete with a black lining. I used the seaming tape, which I probably would not advise using to make lining for a bag. It made construction a touch on the complicated side. But, the lining did turn out good:) Guess I just need to break down and get a sewing machine....lol I woud show you the inside, but that is a suprise....hehehe It is packed with all sorts of fun and useful goodies! It will either be put in the mail today (keeping my fingers crossed) or tomorrow! I sure hope my partner likes it as much as I have enjoyed putting it together!

New Bag Update...

I really like how this bag has turned out. I fulled it and thought it looked pretty good after being shaved, but the strap just did not fit because I knit it flat. So I stitched it up using leftover yarn to make a rounded strap..........







After making a trip to get the button, which I love, I saw the cute lace trim and said to myself 'that is what the bag lacks!' After stitching it on, here is the end result.



The red round dot is actually a bobble type thing on the top of the hand strap which I covered with the lace. Now, I am working on the lining. I haven't decided wether to use the seaming iron on tape or stitch it by hand. Will probably use the tape!

International Tote Exchange

I have a partner in Hungary for the International Tote Exchange. I am so excited and am really looking forward to sending the bag to her. This bag is not going to be a large one, so I am including another bag that I will not be posting pictures of until it is finished. I always enjoy a good suprise! I hope she does too!


Working away at the bag. Have spun and dyed. So far so good. Am letting the yarn tell me what it wants to be. This one is going to be fulled and not felted. I think it will turn out great once I am done. I'mnot sure if the closure will be a tab, zipper, or flap though. Any thoughts on this? I am planning on a shoulder strap, so maybe a tab with a horn button closure would look best.....hhhhmm......

Spinning yarn & Kool Aide!!

Well, Monday started out as a long, long day. It was becoming longer by the minute. I was so frustrated as I was going home that evening, that I was about to cry. But there it was! A huge box on my porch! I knew what it was and I ripped the packing open not even caring where the shreds of news paper and cardboard landed. It was my new but used spinning wheel! Ever since that moment, I have been using up those idle seconds of my day spinning away. This is my first skein of corriedale sheep yarn spun on my wheel!





And this yarn is the first yarn that I dyed! And lets not leave out that I also spun it! Dang I am so proud of my self! It was remarkably easy to do too boot! You wash your hank of yarn and let it rest in the rinse water. While the yarn is resting, fill a container/jar with water leaving room to add your yarn. Pour in a cap full of vinegar and add your packet of kool-aide (with out the sugar). Gently add yarn.







Place jar (with yarn in it) in the microwave and heat on high for about 1-2 minutes. MAKE SURE TO WATCH THE YARN IN THE MICROWAVE. Do not let the water boil as this causes the yarn to felt. I watch the yarn until I see a single bubble rise. I then immediately stop the microwave and remove the jar. Leave the jar and yarn along until the water is clear and it has reached room temperature. Then water can be washed & rinsed, spun in the washer and hung out to dry! The fun thing about kool-aide is that you can do this one with kids. It is safe and non-toxic. Not to leave out that my yarns smell like cherries and oranges!!!

Angel Puffies Received!

I have received two great packages! One being my exchange package with Adriane and the other being my Angel Package sent by Maile. The first one from Maile has two sets of markers, a note pad and the kewlest charms! The charms read: 'I love knitting' and 'I love Beading' and I absolutely love them! I do hope that Maile got a giggle out of the cloisenete markers that I sent her. I received her package after I sent mine and I got such a giggle that we both sent almost the same thing...lol






The next puffie is from my Exchange partner Adriane and wow! I got a huge homespun ball of acrylic yarn, two sets of the cutest yarn markers, a dish cloth, bath snow flakes (what a unique idea!), and a HUGE chocolate bar! Yummie! I am not sure how long I can hold out before I devour the chocolate bar. hehehe