The Gabby Knitter

Cursed!

It seems my van is cursed. What are the odds of getting into a car accident and having concrete fly through the window all in the same month.

For us the chances were good.

Yesterday we were going to take Max (our cat) to the groomers and then meet with the insurance guy of the person who hit our car from behind during the accident we were in a few weeks ago. We were driving down the street and this guy was using  a weed whacker and was whacking at the edge of the street. Without realizing it ( he had sound proof headphones on) he had kicked up a chunk of concrete and it went flying through one or our side windows. We pulled over so I could make sure my oldest son was alright because he was sitting right next to the window that shattered.

You can see all the glass on his car seat where he was sitting. Thankfully he was fine no cuts or anything. I took him into the front seat with me then we turned the van around and talked to the weed whacker guy and he called his boss who said he'd take care of it.  I'm hoping tomorrow we'll be able to get it fixed it seems it's been hard to locating the glass. We still haven't fixed the damn thing from the first accident, Sigh.

Because of all the commotion of yesterday I wasn't able to do a Whirling Wednesday post. I did spin up a few of the rovings I dyed, if you'd like to see them they're up in my shop. The new one's are Brianna's Sunset and Strawberry-Peach tea.

and because I can't end this post without a little knitting here is the latest sock I've been working on. The pattern is Merino lace from Favorite Socks and the yarn is from the The Plucky Knitter I'm not sure of the colorway. I have the label upstairs but I'm too lazy right now to go get. This yarn is really soft almost feels like Malabrigo. It's been great comfort knitting.

Goodnight all! 

Sockapalooza 4 swap package

On Friday my swap package came in the mail from my swap pal Laura (sorry I don't know if she has a blog). She knit me a beautiful pair of socks out of Knitpicks Gloss in the Woodland Sage colorway.

Wanna see? I thought so.

Here they are with the beautiful wool/cashmere sock yarn she gifted me with. That yarn is just screaming to be Monkey socks! I actually almost cast on for a pair with this yarn but alas all my size 1 needles have socks on them so I must finish those up first.

This is a better shot and really captures the color of the yarn.

and one without the flash so you can see the detail. The pattern is Spindle from Sensational knitted socks. I love them and they are super soft and cozy. I almost didn't want to take them off but it is still summer and just to hot yet. So they went into the sock basket to await the cooler weather that is just around the corner. Thanks again Laura!

Monkey Swap Questionare

The basics:
Do you consider yourself a beginning sock knitter, an intermediate, or have you been doing this so long you could probably knit a pair in your sleep?  I could probably knit a pair in my sleep.

The measurements:

Shoe Size:  9
Foot circumference: 9 inches    

Foot length: 10 inches

Yarn Preferences:
What colors do you love?  My favorite color is purple, but I also like pinks, greens, browns, blues and reds yellows, and oranges if mixed with other colors.

Do you prefer solids or variegated? I love varigated yarns but for more complicated socks I like a semi-solid yarn.

Do you prefer wool, cotton or acrylic yarn?  wool

What colors would you never wear?  red,orange, and yellow by themselves

What are your favorite brands of yarn? There are so many. My current faves are Dream in color smooshy sock yarn, All things Heather, The Pluckyknitter, Socks that rock, and fleece artist merino

Are there any new brands you would like to try? One of these days I'd like to get my hands on some yarntini. I would also like to try Nature's palette.

Cookie A. Patterns: 
Which of her patterns have you already knit? I have the twisted flower socks on the needles.

Which pattern(s) would you like to knit and don’t already own?  Gothic Spire, Flicker, and Rhiannon

Other pertinent information:

Would you be willing to have an international Monkey Pal or do you prefer one in the US?  I'd prefer US but if you need me to I will ship internationally 

Do you have any allergies?  Just outdoor ones

Will your knitting be exposed to smoke or animals? I have 2 dogs, a cat , and a bunny so it's safe to say my knitting will be exposed to animals but not smoke.

Are you on Ravelry yet? Yes  If you don’t mind having new friends, what is your Ravelry name? Thegabbyknitter

If you'd like to join the Monkey sock swap you have until Aug. 31

Mystery stole is finished!

I finished off the mystery stole last week and took some pictures over the weekend. I found the stole to be incredibly difficult to take pictures of but I gave it my best shot (no pun intended).

The whole stole

he beginning of the stole

the middle

and the wing.

I used Fearless fiber's lace weight in the Miracle colorway. I just love working with this yarn so soft and the colors were just subtle enough as to not mess with the lace pattern and Addi turbo size 5 lace needles.

I had a lot of fun knitting this years Mystery stole. I love how it came out. I wasn't too sure about the wing but now that it's all finished it's the part I like the best. Thanks for another great Mystery stole Melanie !

Now that the Mystery stole is done I decided to cast on for the Morning Glory wrap. I was going to knit the Bee but I really wanted to knit something that I could wear so my step-brother's wedding so the Morning Glory wrap won out.

I finished the purse stitch section last night and I'm getting ready to start the main pattern. The yarn I'm using is Briar Rose , wistful which is a blend of alpaca, merino, and silk. I love working with this yarn so far. Not only are the colors gorgeous but it's sooo soft.

Dishcloth swap goodies

Earlier in the summer I joined the Dog days of summer dishcloth swap. Over the weekend my package arrived from my swap pal.

Here's what was inside when I opened the box.

Here's all the goodies. A beautiful discloth, a little notebook which is great to keep in my purse, a yummy smelling tropical candle, some suntan lotion, also great for the purse. Also 2 skeins of Paton's Grace cotton yarn, a can of cream of coconut for Pina coladas ( Yum ), and some solid lotion that smells just like a lemon drop candy and it's shaped like hands, how cute is that! This swap was a lot of fun. Thanks again Clara for all the goodies!

Whirling Wednesday

This week I decided to play around with singles a little. I knew what the singles looked like after they'd been steamed. I was a little curious to see what they looked like if I soaked them and hung them to dry like I usually do with my plied yarns.

The one on the left was soaked and hung to dry and the one on the left was steamed on my PVC niddy noddy. Both have roughly the same yardage. While the steamed yarn looks smoother the soaked yarn bloomed  and is actually a bit softer. I also kind of like the crimpiness (is that even a word) of that one as well. On the other hand the smoother yarn seems stronger than the soaked one and while it's not as soft (it's not rough either) will probably hold up better. I may have to do some test swatches and see which I like better. What do you think?

Tuesday I stared a pair of handspun socks from the last Spunky club selection. The colorway is celebration and in the beginning I loved how it was working up but then I hit some orange and black and now I don't know how I feel about it. I will continue and see how it goes. I think this is going to be it for the leg. I'm worried that I'll run out of yarn so I think they'll be ankle socks. I'm using the scrolls pattern from More Sensational socks on a size 1 Knitpick's circular.

That about wraps it up. I do want to apologize to my Dishcloth swap pal. She sent me a great package and I told her I would do a thank you post yesterday. I got a little sidetracked finishing the Mystery stole (pictures to come Friday) so I'll post it tomorrow. 

Bare Bob

Bob had his haircut and is feeling much better now.

This is Bob before his haircut (isn't he cute!)

and Bob after. I couldn't get a good shot of him because once the fur comes off he's so excited to be able to move around that I get him to stay still. I don't blame I can only imagine how freeing it must feel to be read of all that wool. I left him a little longer this time because the nights have cooler and I didn't want to have put a sweater on him because he doesn't really like it.

After Bob played in the house for a while he went back to his house

and hid from me. Now he should be all set unitl December. I have yet to spin with Bob's wool but I'm hoping when I go to Rhinebeck that I'll be able to find a nice fleece to mix with it.

Whirling Wednesday

Unfortunately I don't have to time for Whirling Wednesday. It seems Bob the bunny is getting very uncomfortable under all that wool so I have to help him out and start shearing him tonight. I will leave you with a picture of the 4 pounds of fiber I've dyed over the last few days.

The top row is merino and the bottom row is just a good all around wool. Hope you have a great night. Next time I'll have some before and after shots of Bob.

Sock fo!

I finished these sock up a few weeks ago and completely forgot to post them.

The pattern is Embossed leaves from Favorite socks. I used The Knittery's wool/cashmere blend in the orchid colorway and a size 1 Knitpick's circ. I really enjoyed working this pattern. It was fun to knit (especially that star toe!) and they went really fast.  I did finish off another pair of socks but that will have to wait as I haven't gotten around to taking a picture yet.

I finished my first sock for SAM4

The pattern is Flutter-by. I found while cruising around Ravelry and thought it would be great to use with the Wollmeise sock yarn I bought from The Loopy Ewe . It's a really fun and easy pattern and I think it looks great with variegated yarn. It took me a little over a week to knit the first sock so I'm confident I'll have these done on time. That's all I've got for now have a great night all!

Whirling Wednesday

Thanks for all the nice comments and e-mails you all sent. I didn't mean to bum anyone out I just figured if I was going to tell you about the day I mine as well tell you about the whole day. We did have a great time and we have lots of nice pictures to look back on. So on a lighter note lets get to what you came here for.

Handspun yarn!

These are some singles I spun up. I've alway wanted to spin some soft singles but could never get them off the bobbin without breaking. Then I read on Margene's blog how she steamed her singles over a pan of hot water. I tried it and viola beautiful soft singles and no breakage. I even tried to pull it apart and had to give it a pretty good tug before the yarn broke. My first singles are up in my shop. The above skein is flutter by from Spunky Eclectic and the fiber is African fine. It's about a dk weight. It'll be going up in the shop on Friday.

Speaking of Spunky Eclectic. This was the latest Spunky club offering. It's Shetland wool and the colorway its celebration. This was the first time working with the Shetland and I really enjoyed the experience. This yarn is destined for some socks and after seeing Beth's beautiful handspun socks, Jaywalkers might be just the thing.

I also finished plying the Cheeky Monkey singles. I love how this came out. I don't know what it is but I just love browns and pinks together. It might be because it reminds me of ice cream and well I have a serious ice cream addiction.

Now for a few spinning related pictures from Mystic Seaport

This is a wheel they used to spin fiber into yarn to make ropes. That's got to be some rough stuff to spin with.

Now how's that for a bobbin!

That's all for now folks!

Hopefully next Whirling Wednesday I'll have some dyed fibers to show.

Oh I almost forgot my Sockapalooza pal recieved her package to today and she loved the socks. That's always my biggest fear with these kinds of swaps, that they won't like them or that they don't fit, so I'm happy she likes them and they fit. She posted pics on her blog, go check em' out.

Have a great night all!