Misc. Knitty Bits

I am glad I caught up on my knitting project babble & pics. That is progress. Now for the various babble bits.

Swifts!

Paul made me two swifts. I need to take pics when I have them set up. They are pretty cool. They are the windmill type. I figured that would work better. He did a really great job though of course, he isn't happy with them. *shakes head*

Carrie/Dharmafey from the Socks in the City podcast mentioned on Ravelry that she uses two skeins to help with her dyeing. I figured I would give that a try.

I was hoping that it would work for creating a long skein. It didn't honestly. I tried but it was not working for the long skein. They work beautifully for a typical hand dyed skein though. It just doesn't work for creating a super long skein for self striping yarn. I really think I need to create a warping board that is bigger to see it that will help.

I dyed a smaller skein batch of the Sarah Yarn's 100% bamboo yarn during my vacation. I did it in various greens with a little bit of blue. The thought is to make my sister-in-law Jennifer some socks for Xmas. She doesn't like wool as she gets too hot.

Thing is, my sister-in-law Tee is making her some socks already with some Panda Cotton in Roses. Which is actually my fault! *laugh* Jennifer mentioned that Tee *might* make her some socks. I thought Jennifer said Tee *was* making her socks. *chuckle* Ooops.

Tee is a super-experienced knitter. So of course, the socks she is making are looking really good honestly. So I am hesitant. I also feel like I have been taking on a lot of knitting for the holidays. I will see. If they get done, great. If not, no worries. *smile* Or hey, give Tee the yarn and she can make them for Jennifer? *laugh* (Just kidding if you read this Tee.)

NY Sheep & Wool

I am excited that NY Sheep & Wool is so close! *wiggles happily* I am going up this Saturday. Spending the day, though not staying overnight.

I really do hope I don't get too overwhelmed. It does seem like there is so much to see.

I have been reading the Ravelry boards about it. Getting lots of helpful hints for the NYS&W newbie.

The consensus seems to be:

You can't see everything so don't stress it.

I know I want to see everything, but good to know I probably won't.

Buy things you like when you see them.

They probably won't be there when you go back.

Bring cash.

Not all the vendors take credit cards. (And hey, it is probably better not to get into too much trouble frankly!)

Wear mud resistant shoes.

It is a fair ground. So if it has rained at all recently, it will be muddy.

Take lunch & snacks with you.

The food lines can be really long. So it helps not to spend time online. And hey, more money for fiber. Though I may not be strict about that. I love lamb and all. And you can rarely get it. But I heard the lamb burgers are like hockey pucks. So I will definitely skip those.

The fried artichokes are worth the wait.

Might have to find out... *grin*

Get there as early as you can.

Things sell out throughout the day. The later in the day you get there, the less vendors have. Though I know Paul isn't getting up at 7 am no matter how much I want him to!

I am sure there is more.

I want to go to a couple of the after parties. Seems that Morehouse has one. They are the people I got my nifty dragon scarf pattern from which I love.

The Ravelry folks are talking about having one. But there haven't been any details posted yet. I doubt I will go as Paul will kinda want to do other things with the evening.

He will probably spend the day at the Aerodrome museum. It actually looks cool. Though they won't have the air show this Saturday. It seems that stopped this last weekend.

Missing the Yarn Harlot

I am sad. The Yarn Harlot and a bunch of other authors will at NYS&W on Sunday, but not Saturday. I am going on Saturday so I won't get to see the Yarn Harlot speak. On the other hand, more shopping time, right? *grin*

I do want to see her speak sometime. But she has just finished up a new book so I suspect she will be doing the rounds again when the new book is released. Her publisher really does seem to have her working hard.

The Never-Ending Scarf

I really think the cable scarf for Kyle is the bane of my knitting. I am knitting at least 8 rows a day. It is my homework. And it takes about 15 minutes for the 4 rows. I am guessing I am a very slow knitter. Thing is, I was praying it would be long enough at the 4 skein mark so I could use the last skein for a hat. No such luck. I can't recall if Kyle wraps his neck once or twice. But either way, it just isn't long enough to wrap. It would be fine without a wrap. But I know how he wears his scarves. So I have started #5. *sigh*

Mind you, it isn't terribly challenging. It is just taking soooo long.

There should be a link on the side with a pic and such so long as I am working on it. *Love* that I have my works in progress from Raverly in my side bar. Soooo cool.

Teaching a Coworker to Knit

I spent my lunch hour trying to teach a coworker to knit! I really hope I explained things well. I am not sure if I did.

She ordered a cupcake kit from Etsy. I have the same kit which I am planning to do for my neice for Xmas. Thing is, the vendor shipped the completed purse. The coworker's daughter loved it so much she didn't want her to return it. Mind you, she isn't sure if she could have gotten the order wrong anyhow. And given it was a Friday at 5:30 when I was talking to her about ordering it, it could have easily been mixed up.

Instead I am doing a hat with her. She has a 4 month old son who is wearing 24 month old clothing! He is a big boy. He was 10+ pounds at birth. She doesn't have little babies! All three of her kids have been 10+ pounds. Wow. *shivers*

So I figure we can do a rectangle that will become a hat. I mean, I found a scarf a good starting project. But the Yarn Harlot and others say that is a lot for a beginner to take on. The hat should be small enough to be manageable.

I hope it comes out alright. I took the measurement for a 24 month old head, added 1/2-1" and did it according to the gauge. She is knitting kinda tight. Which I so get as I did too. But I think it should still work. Hey, we can always add a panel if it comes out too small and say it is a design element, right? *grin*

Okay. I think that mostly catches me up with any new stuff. Not sure but I am heading off very soon either way. The NYC Homebrew club is meeting tonight. Paul and I haven't gone in ages. So I figured it would be fun. Off to that.

I think I might have too many expensive hobbies between knitting, beer & bellydance. Though have to say, it has been ages since I have gotten to bellydance class, much less spent money on it. Ah well. Maybe I will get to class *this* week!