Merry Christmas, Happy Birthday!

My friend Kristina's birthday is today, Christmas Day, and this year is a big one. I'll give you a hint: it starts with 4. Did you wonder why I wasn't showing much spinning lately? That's because I was spinning a secret! I gave Kristina this skein of handspun for her special birthday. It's 248 yards (114 g) of 2-ply wool from a roving called "Heidi's Blues" (the sheep is named Heidi). I got this at the Knitters' Day Out market back in September. It's not perfect, but it felt good enough to gift, and I'm proud of it. I wonder what she will knit with it... Today we're at home, just the four of us, and we're all having a ball. Boy 1 is deep into Mario Kart on the Wii, Boy 2 is hippity-hopping and scooter-ing around the house, and S and I are reading books about our various hobbies. Here's a collage of my knitting-related stuff:

Kristina sent me a pair of mittens that she knit from the Jamie Harmon yarn we love so much (we both made the mystery reversible hat from Jamie Harmon yarn earlier this fall, and this yarn matches my hat perfectly). The mittens fit great and are soooo cozy. She also knit mini stocking hat ornaments for our whole family (note the initials) - aren't they adorable? They are knit from the same yarn as our Christmas stockings. Thanks, Kristina!

S went all out and jumped on that Knitting Daily offer for the Knitter's Holiday Pack (sale now over, I checked), which included a bag full of knitting books and magazines, including the season one Knitting Daily TV on DVD and an audiobook (this one). Franklin's book has me giggling already, and those stitch cards from Harmony are really cool. So much more portable than the actual stitch dictionary. The Knitter's Holiday Pack also included Knit Fix, Knitter's Companion (which I already own but it's good to stash to give to a new knitter someday), Scarf Style (I've admired this book so many times but didn't own it), and several back issues of magazines, a Knitting Daily tape measure, and a Knitting Daily canvas messenger bag. I can't believe how much great stuff came bundled together in that package. In addition to the big package, I also got the Knitty 2009 calendar and the new Harlot book.

So now, I've got to get off the computer and go read. Merry Christmas, everyone, and I hope you have the best day!

Project updates

Things have been pretty busy here, so the blog has been quiet. That does not mean there has been no fiber, though! Here are some project updates:

Katie's socks

I started knitting Katie's 3-year-old birthday socks and am 3/4 done. I'm using the Coriolis construction from Cat Bordhi's New Pathways for Sock Knitters, in Tess' Designer Yarns "Super Socks and Baby" yarn that Kristina purchased at MDSW. The colorway might be "spring garden," but it wasn't marked and I'm not sure (it looks like some of the other spring gardens in Ravelry, though). They are going well. I thought I wanted to do a picot edge on the cuff, and I tried to adapt the picot bind-off from the Fetching fingerless mitts pattern, but it looks weird. I'll pull it out and do something else.

Spinning

Sunday evening, I pulled out the wheel and did some spinning. I'm still working on "Heidi's Blues" and a new photo wouldn't really tell you much. I decided to start a new bobbin. In an attempt to not end up with a lot of leftover singles, I weighed bobbin #1 with its singles, then weighed empty bobbin #2, and weighed enough fiber to bring it up to the weight of #1. When I'm done spinning the pile of measured fiber on the piano, I'll try making some 2-ply. It's harder for me to get a really smooth single out of this fiber. It's grippy.

Koolhaas

Speaking of spinning, remember the grey Coopworth handspun that I wanted to knit right away to see if there was anything to be learned by knitting with my handspun? It turned out to be too bulky for the Habitat hat (so I used Julia for the hat, instead). I swatched the Koolhaas pattern with the grey yarn and decided I didn't have the right needles. A Knit Picks order was placed. The needles have arrived, but I haven't cast on for the hat yet. I hope that this one will fit Sharon's head a bit better.

Holiday Gifts (the magazine)

The Koolhaas pattern originally appeared in the 2007 issue of Interweave Knits' Holiday Gifts. Has anyone gotten the 2008 issue yet? I wasn't planning to visit my LYS anytime soon and it's a 25-minute drive from my house, so I thought I'd order it online. But the shipping cost drove me away - IK charges $4.50 to mail a $7.99 magazine! I emailed my LYS (The Mannings) to see what they charge to shipping it out to me, but I haven't heard back yet. If anyone local is heading there soon, let me know - I'd love to have you pick up that issue for me.

Holiday Gifts (the presents)

Now that I'm done with the Habitat hat, I thought I would use the leftover Julia yarn (about 1/2 ball) to make one of those adorable sweater ornaments that Berroco designed. My mom is nuts about Christmas, and even nuttier about decorating her tree - one of these would be a great gift for her.

I'm also planning to make Sharon a bag for Christmas. She wants a felted bag with a special fabric lining. She has chosen the fabric from an online store (ReproDepot) and wants the yarn to match the fabric. We need to get the fabric asap so I can decide which yarn to use. We have a sketch scribbled on the back of a Ping's placement. Now all I have to do is work out the design details. Should be fun! Here is the fabric:

Election

Did you vote yet? For the first time ever, I stood in a line to vote today - about 10 people were ahead of me at my local municipal building. I have never not gone directly to the table before. It was exciting! Local Democrats are abuzz about the lawn sign in our front yard. Check it out (part 1 and part 2).

Heidi's Blues

I started spinning some of the roving that I bought at Knitters' Day Out a few weeks ago - this is called Heidi's Blues (the name of the sheep is Heidi) and I bought it from Gurdy Run Woolen Mill located in Halifax, PA.

Dave, I put the penny in for you. Does that help with scale?

It is mesmerizing to see how the colors come off of the roving and twist into yarn. This fiber isn't super super soft, but that's okay, because then it might get away from me. It's kind of grippy. This means that I'm not always spinning the same diameter, but I'm working on it. Still very much a novice spinner!

We haven't had a hard frost yet, so the begonias are still going strong. They look nice with the Ladybug, yes?