A few months ago my friend K suggested a spin-a-long (SAL). The challenge was to combine two different braids of fiber to result in three skeins, one of colorway A, one of a mix of colorways A and B, and one of colorway B. This results in a really neat gradient effect as you’re knitting. Of course, since I have to supersize challenges, I thought it would be a great chance to spin up enough for a sweater. I used this amazing sweater designed by Tanis Lavallee as my inspiration.

Photo Credit: Tanis Lavallee

I had three braids of falkland dyed by Funky Carolina in a bright pink, and I was looking for a way to tone it down, so I ordered three braids of falkland from Fat Cat Knits in the colorway Esther.

So I spun in April, and I spun in May.

First I spun the two colors together to see what they would look like.

Then the pink:

And then the multicolor:

Altogether I now have about 1700 yards of luscious yarn (from 24oz of fiber).

I have two other spins for the month as well.

First up, a club colorway from Two if By Hand, Superwash Merino in the colorway Little Plastic Castle:

And second, an oversized braid from JulieSpins, Falkland in the colorway Spring Tide. I love this one and got 457 yards of squishy goodness, a record for me!

Both of these two skeins are available over in my shop!

That brings my yearly total to 109.1 oz or 6.8 lbs of fiber. Well on my way to my goal of 12 pounds in 2012!

When : Always May 9th

Lost Sock Memorial Day recognizes your drawer full of unmatched socks. Each unmatched sock represents a missing sock. We never throw away our unmatched socks. After all, it may show up someday.

On Lost Sock Memorial Day, we suggest you spend a little time (as little as possible) searching for those missing socks.  After a (very) brief search, and in good “Memorial” spirit, spend a minute reflecting upon how warm and comforting the missing socks were on your stinky toes. Then, by all means, get on with your life. Today is also a good opportunity to toss out all of your unmatched socks.

P.S. It doesn’t matter what happens, if the socks are handknit I’m not throwing them away!

Did I say crafty stuff? This is what 34 looks like with crafty stuff.

The hat is new (the pattern is “Rikke”) and I love it despite the fact that it was in the 90′s this weekend and clearly inappropriate weather for a wool hat.

Other than knitting and spinning, I got to go see the touring production of Jersey Boys for my birthday and then have a delightfully delicious dinner at my favorite Kansas City eatery, Piropos.

Yesterday I ran all kinds of errands and came home and got cracking on getting my spinning and weaving shop ready for the Creative Hand Craft Show this November where I hope to be selling my wares for the first time. I ordered new business cards this morning and I need to get treadling!  My favorite photo from the shoot yesterday? A rainbow of handspun:

And finally, just for a little extra excitement, we spent last night hunkered down in the basement listening to the tornado sirens. There were two tornadoes that touched down in Olathe, two houses caught fire after being struck by lightening, quarter sized hail pelted the area, and we’re still under flash flood watch. Who knew 34 would be such an exciting year?

Him: “I know why you’re sad.”

Me: “You do?”

Him: “Yes. You’re sad because you’re old.”

Me: “Oh.”

Him: “And I’m usually very, very sad because I’m very, very old.”

Yup, that’s my honey. He’s a keeper!

I find my radio habits move in phases. Sometimes I just want news, so I turn on my local NPR station – KCUR.  You’ll know I’m in an NPR phase when all of my stories start, “hey I heard this GREAT story on NPR this morning…”

Other times I’m ready to hear the local and Hollywood gossip, and happy to listen to a variety of stations.

And then other times I’m in music mode. Lately I’ve been VERY music oriented. As in, I switch the station as soon as the one I’m listening to breaks for commercials, or a DJ cuts in. In the last few weeks I’ve found a few songs that just make me happy. Especially with the warm weather, I’ve had fun rolling down the windows, turning up the radio and just enjoying my ride home.

Last week I got in the car and came in on the middle of a song. Most of the music I listen to is current, so I was surprised to hear what I would have sworn was the Police or a Police-cover band. When I heard the tune again, I realized that the singer wasn’t Sting, but that the song certainly reminded me of some of the Police’s hits. I finally gave in to curiosity when I got home one night and googled the song. Turns out I’m not the only one who did a double take.  The video is a little odd, but give the music a listen and see what you think.

The bag I picked up was a whopping 20 ounces of ends so I was pretty sure I could get about 1000 yards of worsted weight out of it, or enough to knit a sweater. But when I started looking at patterns, one in particular jumped out at me, Snowbird by Heidi Kirrmaier.  And wouldn’t you know it, the pattern called for 1450 yards of yarn?  I mentioned my problem in a forum on Ravelry and a wonderfully kind spinner offered to sell me another 8 ounces.

So I began to spin.

And then I spun some more. Okay a lot more.

And when I was done, then I plied. A lot.

Then I knit a swatch… just to see if I was on gauge.

And I was spot on.

So then I began to knit. And knit. And knit some more. Towards the end I got a bit fearful about having enough yardage to make it through the project. I spent a few days frantically knitting faster (because you know that helps when you’re about to run out of yarn!) and then it occurred to me that I might have something in the stash that would help. And I did. I dug out some leftover Blue Moon Fiber Arts Woobu from a vest I made last year. The bamboo in the yarn approximated the shiny silk in the handspun and the colors were a match!

Finally, last week I was done knitting. And I don’t think I’ve loved any sweater that I’ve made more than this one.

The colors. The details. The pockets.

I love this sweater.

Now for those of you who haven’t met her, my mother-in-law happens to be a flower junkie. She has a green thumb, but she is CRAZY about plants that flower. Wes regales me of stories from his childhood of her stopping in various neighborhoods, parking lots, and recreational parks to pull buds or stems off of plants with beautiful flowers to bring them home and coax them to grow.

Anyhow, she brought us this spindly little plant. After a few weeks it was clear that it was root-bound so I dutifully re-potted it and put it in our dining room, which has a southern exposure and receives gentle sunlight throughout the day. I didn’t know how the plant would do given the varying midwest climate, and that I was only familiar with outdoor fuchsia plants in California.

After a few months we had one solitary blossom. And then one more. And the plant grew sending off countless vines.  So we clipped a few, let them soak in a salsa jar filled with water for a few weeks, and planted those cuttings back in the same pot to full the plant.

And my poor mother-in-law who took home 9 of her 10 fuchsia plants has potted and re-potted them and seen nary a blossom.

So you can imagine my surprise in the last few weeks when suddenly what was a tiny sprig a year ago is flourishing and covered in beautiful blossoms. Don’t tell my mother-in-law!

More to come…