Me bad blogger

Recently I have became notorious for not updating my blog. I know - me so bad.

It's just that a lot of my knitting and spinning activities are now posted and recorded on Ravelry. I find that I will log all my purchases there and neglect my poor, lonely blog.

In the recent months, I have been matched up with an awesome secret pal and her pirate cats. They spoil me to no ends! I have received 2 packages from here which leaves me gob-smacked and rediculously giddy. Her packages are wonderful and indulgent!

This was the first package

This was the 2nd oneI can't wait to find out who she is!

Every year I convinced my hubby that the money I am dropping at the Kitchener - Waterloo knitter's fair is an early birthday present for myself. That's the only way I can justified spending that much money on fibre. Every year when my birthday rolls around in October - I conviently forget every time.

This year I had an awesome time. I took $200 in cash with me and spent it all. I left there with 3 dimes, 4 pennies and a quarter!

I was very happy to see more vendors this year and more spinning items. Me so happy!

SP 14 Questionnaire

What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely not like? I love wool and natural fiber, especially ones that are very soft and lofty. I do not knit with acrylics. Sometime I will use a blended wool/acrylic if I am knitting for babies or kids.

What do you use to store your needles/hooks in? I only use circular needles for all my knittings and I keep it in a Della Q pouch that was made especially for it.

How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced? I have been knitting for 3 years and was self taught. I was pregnant with my 2nd baby when I had the urge to knit him a hat and booties. I would consider myself to be intermediate/Advanced.

Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list? no

What’s your favorite scent? Citrus, powder and peppermint

Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy? Not really but every now and then, I will crave chocolates and I will eat it in pounds. I love Milk Chocolate with Almonds

What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin? I am a fledgling spinner. I bought my first wheel in April (Schact Ladybug) and I recently started dyeing my own roving.

What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD) I like the typical top 40's

What’s your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can’t stand? I love muted colours and neutral. I don't particular like anything that is neon.

What is your family situation? Do you have any pets? I am happily married for 6 years with 2 kids. (3 years old boy and 5 years old daughter). Aside from 2 fishs, we do not have any other pets.

Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos? I wear Scarves, hats and mittens. Not poncho

What is/are your favorite item/s to knit? I love knitting Socks and Sweaters

What are you knitting right now? Socks

Do you like to receive handmade gifts? Yes

Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic? I am a die-hard addi turbo fan

Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift? Yes, both

How old is your oldest UFO? 2 years

What is your favorite holiday? What winter holiday do you observe? Any holiday that requires a day off from work is my favorite! But if I have to pick, it would be Christmas.

Is there anything that you collect? I don't Collect - I hoard! LOL.. Actually, just fiber at the moment.

Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have? I have been wanting the "Teach yourself visually: hand-dye" and "Colors in Spinning" and "Spinner's Companion". I subscribe to Verena Knitting.

Are there any new techniques you’d like to learn? Knitting socks from the toe up

Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements? Yes and I wear a size 8 shoes

When is your birthday? October 5

Are you on Ravelry? If so, what’s your ID? Yes and I am joyja

Flowers from my garden

I love it when my garden gives me pretty flowers to cut. I feel very Martha Stewart today.

An Urban Myth

The Mother of All Knitting Book!

For all you serious knitters out there, the title speaks for itself.

I can't beleive that I am the proud new owner of this book!

Broken Hopes and Dreams

It's been a while since I was able to post something on this blog. It is because I have been so busy running around with the kids. My hubby broke his leg/ankle while playing soccer 2 weeks ago. Ever since then he has been limping around and seeking pity attention any chance he can get.

I am now the sole chauffeur for the household at the moment since Hubby broke his right ankle and can't drive. So now I am a full time cook, bather, playtime monitor, sweeper, clothes changer, diaper changer, laudryest, chauffeur, hotel executive and wife. I didn't realize what a help hubby was until he went off and crippled himself.

I felt sorry for his toes since might freeze to death so I knitted him this:

I called it the Crippled Toe Coverer.

Also, since Spring is coming and I guess it's that time again to shed off the winter weight - well, in my case, the last 10 years weight, I got myself a fitness program. On Sunday I joined a walking group. Since I am not one to start anything moderately (like buying a wheel before knowing how to spin), I did a power 10k walk on my first outing.

I developed muscle sore in places I didn't even know existed. I went from pain, to sever pain, to a dull numbness and eventually losing all coordination and motor skills. I limped the last 2k back and almost collasped into my car. I'm suppose to be doing this every Sunday morning. Wow - I am looking forward to next week already (can you sense the enthusiasm in my voice)

Here's my fitness plan -

Sunday Morning - 5-10k walk / Monday Night - Cardio Latin Dance 1 hour / Tuesday- Yoga (I'm not sure how I would do in this class since I can't even bend down to touch my f*#~!ing knees) / Wednesday - Ball room Dancing 1.5 hours

That should do it. I should be able to drop those 50- lbs by November. If not, I just be another fat person with extensively cute Yoga outfits. My hubby is convinced that the reason I joined a yoga class is because I want to shop at lululemon. I'm afraid he's right.

SP Revealed

I finally found out who has been my secret pal for the last 3 months. Agnes had sent me an awesome package.Cute Chocolates, Green Tea Gummies, a Kitchener stitch Dog Tag, Merino/Bamboo roving and a cute card.

For the last couple of packages, I was totally convinced that she is a bit psychic since she always manage to get me something that I have been drooling for. Now I am totally convinced that she had hacked into my computer, installed a software to track the websites that I have been to and bought the stuff just to freak me out.

Just weeks ago, I was on Robyn's Nest website checking out the Kitchener Stitch Dog Tags and thought to myself that it was complete genius. Every time I need to graft my socks, I would haul out my big knitting How-to books since I can never remember how to set it up. Now I can have the instructions in my knitting bag all the time. I even added the item to my cart but never check it out. Imagine my squeal when I saw it!

Now for the Roving. She got me a beautiful merino/bamboo roving in "Lagoon" colorway. Ok, here's the even more freaky part. For the last 3 weeks, I have been putting together the itinerary for our family vacation in Thailand in November. This is going to be a $10,000 once in a life time trip. We are going to Bangkok, Chiang Mai , and Phuket.

I have just finished confirming and booking our kayak tour of the Andaman Sea and Caves. We will be kayaking into this "lagoon".

Trust me, the water is really that colour. It is milky green from the limestone.

Absolutely amazing! That can't be just a coincidence.

I think I will spin this up and save it for the knitting on the 24 hour plane ride I will be taking to get there.

Thank you Agnes! For your kindness and your thoughtfulness!

A Picture At Last!

Last month I finally finished Hubby's Fair Isle sweater, after much searching for the additional yarn with the exact dye lot to finish a measly 2 inches of the last sleeve. Max loves it. He tends to like classic and traditional design sweater. I think he must have worn it at least three times since I gave it to him.

However, getting him to model so I can take a picture of him is a whole other story. He would come up with excuses like that his hair is messy, he haven't shaved yet or he's not wearing any pants. I'm convinced that he just loathe the idea of being featured in my blog and Ravelry album.

So when he emerged from our bedroom this morning wearing it, I grabbed my camera. I finally caught up with him outside when he was taking the trash out.

I may have to start withdrawing his hand knitted items if he continues to refuse being photograph with it.

Lately I haven't had the urge to knit any socks. I have 5 socks on the go right now and they are all in different stages of completion. I shouldn't even cast on another sock right now. I should just pick any of the WIPs and start knitting. I shouldn't even be allow near another socks yarn until I finish at least one sock, let alone a pair.

Oh well, this was casted on nonetheless.I think this should be an exception since this is knitted from my own first Fingering Weight that was hand spun from Dottie (my ladybug wheel). Sooner or later, my hand spun will need to be knitted because if it doesn't, then it would beat the purpose, right?

I also got some dyeing done this week. These are 50 gram/2 oz of merino. I think I need to buy different color dyes since all of my dye works are starting to look alike.

Count Your Blessings

Every now and then, you come across a tragic story in the news that you can't help but shed quiet tears and say a small prayer.

Three days ago, a 31 year old father along with his two children, (Girl 5 and Boy 2) were killed instantly in a car accident. His wife was not with them as she had to work. Three precious lives had ended so early and tragically. My heart breaks for the woman that lost her whole family in an instant.

It makes me stop and think about my own family. Everyday we rush around going to work, school, and errands. I'm constantly frazzled and annoyed. I don't take the time to savour the moment anymore. It's a shame that it took a tragic story to realize that these wonderful moments can be taken away from me at anytime.

Please take the time to say "I love you" everyday, linger a little longer on those hugs, and shower everyone in your family with kisses every chance you get. You never know when it would be your last.

February 14th

Happy Valentine's Day!

She's Here!

After weeks of anticipations, she's finally here.

I am please to introduce to you the newest member of our family ................ Dottie!

Squirrel Cage Swift

Ever since I have been knitting and spinning, I have a whole different level of appreciation for a handcrafted items. Of course, I still support Costco and still buy my items from mass productions of Pottery Barns but every now and then, I like unique things.

While browsing the internet, I have come across a truly unique item. An elderly who has been knitting all her life was starting to sell off some of her knitting notions because she might be moving out of her home and into a more smaller place since all of her kids have flown the coup.

One of the many things that she had for sale was a Squirrel Cage Swift. Most knitters are more familiar with the umbrella swift which is more portable and main stream. However, this is a stationary swift and it is vertical.

It is fashioned with 2 squirrel-like cage right on top of each other (hence the name) that moves up and down depending on the size of your hank. Both cage turns simultaneously when the yarn is being winded into a ball, either by hand or ball-winder.

This particular model was hand-crafted by a local woodturner right here in Niagara Falls back in 1983. He had fashioned it after seeing an antique model in England.

When asked how much she is selling it for, she told me that she only wanted to get what she had paid for back in 1983..............$75.

Well - I felt like I just hit a little old lady over the head and ran off with her purse.

Same job

During Knit Night last night, I found myself sitting next to another knitter who’s other life is a Director of Communication at a large corporation. We started to reminisced about how similar both of our jobs is to one another.

As a sales professional in the hospitality field, I am often described as a professional Bull-S*#!%ter. We are taught early on in our career to always put a positive spin in our hotel's short-comings. Over the years, I had practically eliminated certain words from my vocabulary only to replace it with a more “positive” one.

Below are some examples:

Small = Cozy
Small = Intimate
Sparse = Contemporary
Loud = Lends great acoustic qualities
Hot = Comfortably Warm
Impersonal = Lofty and Airy
Silly = Whimsical
Boring = Classic and Traditional

After having so many years of putting a spin on my words, I found myself lending that ability to describe my own knitting.

Scratchy = Rustic
A bad handspun = Designer yarn
A sweater riddled with mistakes = an original design
Obsessive = Focused
Logging on Ravelry 164th time that day = Keeping current with changing trends
A drunken knit night = staff meetings
Cheap wool = Eco-wool
10 balls of cheap, scratchy, rainbow-color tweed wool = It was on sale

Who knew that a Director of Sales and a Knitter would have the same job description?

Still Sick

Yes, it's 4 days later and I am still sick. Not only am I sick, but the whole family is sick. I didn't realize how annoying other people's whining can be aside from youself. This house is so contaminated that all delivery boys (midnight Chinese food and Pizza) are urged to where a HazMat suit before knocking this door.

In the mist of my pharmaceutical high, I learned to Navajo ply.This was my first attempt. A worst weight Corriedale / 100 yards.

The next one turned out a bit better. This is a DK weight Corriedale at 176 yards.

All this plying and spinning is making my head hurts and my stomach growling. I wonder if the local mexican restaurant deliver?

Home with the Sickies

I'm home sick today. At last count, I am running a fever of 101, chills, pounding headache and mild hallucinations.

Everything hurts. My flesh hurts, my retina hurts, my teeths, even my nails hurt. Yet, I can't let this precious free time slip by without being productive.



It took 3 extra strength Tylenol, a shot of cough medicine and anti-histamine to mustered up my strength but I got this on the bobbin my 9am.

Corriedale Top that I dyed myself last weekend.

Funny how I always find that reserve energy for something I truly believe in.

Now if you would excuse me, I have to go find that left lung I coughed up not too long ago and take myself back to bed.

***Edit to add - As I was lying in bed contemplating whether I should have Benalyn, Advil Sinus & Flu or Nyquil for lunch, I heard a knock. Look what the FEDEX man bought me

Over 10 lbs of fine Merino and BFL roving. I got 5 lbs of each. I was able to find a wholesaler who agreed to sell it to me as long as I buy at least 10 lbs each time. I think I will go take off my pajama so I can roll around naked in them.

A SP surprise

In the most coldest and snowiest (is that even a word?), our postman preservered and delivered this

The smoochiest socks yarn and the book that I have been drooling over awhile. Wow! My secret pal did it again - she went into my head (must be a scary moment) and intuitively know that I have been lusting after this book ever since it was published a few weeks ago.

Oh super thanks!!!!

it goes on and on

I'm not really obsessed, you know:




I can stop anytime I want to...............

It's not like I spend all my time dyeing.......It's perfectly healthy to be this focus on your hobbies .................I am demonstrating absolute normal behavior............

Oh, god, I need more! More, I tell you!

Lady Dye

Well, after enough convincing my hubby, ie: begging, withholding the wifely duty and threatening, I finally put in an order with my LYS for the Schacht Ladybug Wheel. I don't know when it would be arriving, possibly 2-3 weeks? In the meantime, I looked into dyeing my own roving to help take the edge off.

After consulting Ravelry, various blogs and Youtube, I was ready to start dyeing. A lot of dyer uses Jacquard Acid Dye and I have no idea where to buy it in Canada so I settled for Dylon Cold Dyes that you can pick up at Fabricland for 3 bucks.

After reading the instructions from Dylon on how to dye wool - I said to myself, "Screw it, I'll just wing it". Can you tell I'm not much of an instruction follower? I went out to the dollar store and armed myself with squeeze bottles, gloves and a bunch of newspaper.

This is my "studio" - my kitchen floor

I tapped some dye into my squeeze bottles. No science, just tap....tap.....tap. Filled it with an inch of hot water, stir and filled the rest of it with vinegar. And I just start squeezing it on the wools.

No Rhymes, no Reason. It was quite fun.

Afterward, I wrapped it up into a little roll and stuck it in the steamer

Put the lid on and steamed for 30-40 min. Or about that since I was watching a re-run of Friends and totally was not watching the time.

After a while, the whole house smells like steamed vinegar and sheep. YUCK! I will be sure to remember to open the window next time.

Afterward, I dropped the rolls sans plastic into a sink full of hot water with a bit of liquid dishwater detergent and let it sit for 15 min.

After it cools down, released the water and transfer it to a lukewarm rinse water for another 15 min. Having a double sink really helps too

After about 15 min, I squeezed all the water out, ran the roving in the spin cycle of my machine (not for the faint of heart) and hung it on the curtain rod of the bathroom to dry over night.

It turned out pretty decent the next morning. My first three roving:

4 oz. Corriedale Top

2 oz. Corriedale Top

2 oz. Corriedale Top

hhhmmmmm.... I can really get into this!

A letter not sent

Dear IT Guy,

Please rest assured that Ravelry.com is not another fetish porn site. It is an invaluable resource for the fibre enthusiasts. I realized that the abuse of internet privileges is highly frowned upon in our company but I am positive that this website does not contain any viral symptoms that may effect the software of our establishment. The system may sometime possibly become slow or stagnant due to the overwhelming exposure to pictures of gorgeous, hand-painted wools.

However, I can assure you that this will prove to be beneficial to our technologies. I firmly believe that our Servers and Hardwares will be compatible with each other if they are exposed daily to natural elements.

I also would like to point out that daily log in time to Ravelry will result in a more productive and happy workers. Please see our Director of Human Resource (who is also a knitter) for confirmation. This will be the equivalent to the IT department logging into pcworld.com.

I would personally appreciate it if you could re-consider blocking Ravelry from our firewall since over-stressed employees with pointy sticks does not bode well for harmonious working conditions.

Sincerely,
Joy

PS – I would appreciate it if you can re-call that nasty memo sent to my boss about me.

PSS – Also, please tell the IT department to stop giving me weird glances in the lunchroom.

Scratching an Itch

After becoming emotionally involved with a spinning wheel, I called around on Friday to see if any LYS or guild would rent out a wheel so I can play with it over the weekend. My LYS has a Louet Victoria demo wheels which can be rented out weekly. I was ecstatic because the Louet has a similar design to the Ladybug.

I'd also bought this to start me off:

A bit ambitious, don't you think? So, on Friday night, I assembled the wheel and set off to spin armed with nothing else other than my wits and sheer determination.

Four hours later, I had pieces of felted wool flying all over the house, developed a tick in my left eye, and my mother would wash my mouth with bleach if she heard the filth that was coming out of my mouth. At 2 am, I admitted defeat and dragged myself to bed in frustration.

When I woke up, I took a quick inventory of my body. Both my legs were number from treadling (who needs an exercise bike when you can spin?), both of my fingers were chapped and it resembled a 3rd degree carpet burn. I was thinking to myself that this investment on a rental had just saved me $600 because I HATE it!!!!

After coffee, breakfast and a clear head, I figure I will give it another chance. So I drove over to the library. While the kids played in the play area, I checked out these:

After reading a few chapters, I had a "Oh, I get it" moment. So I tried again. Starting with drafting the fibre.
These are from Fleece Artist Merino Roving. Ok, all you spinners out there...Don't Laugh... because at first I was trying to spin directly from the roving without drafting of any kind.

After a while, I was starting to get the hang of it. My feet was able to keep a steady rhythm and my hands were able to manipulate the fibre. Soon I got this on the bobbin:After washing and setting, I ended up with this:
I absolutely LOVE this! Schacht LadyBug... here I come!!!!! Now if only I can persuade Hubby since he is completely convinced that I will hate it!

Cute as a bug

I have a new love in my life.

No, I am not having a hot, illicit affair, nor is it the new Addi Click (but I'm sure I will soon be jumping on that bandwagon anyway) nor is it a rare and exquisite Wollmeise in the perfect colour. No, my new fascination is more weirder than that. It's the Ladybug Spinning Wheel by Schacht

Why is it weird? I mean, anyone who loves yarn and fibre this much will eventually want to spin and own her own spinning wheel. It's a natural progression, right?

It's weird because I really don't want to spin. I am perfectly happy with my yarns that comes in a beautiful wound skeins with glossy labels that I can get at the store. Why bother to stoop and bend over a wheel so I can produce 3o gram of crappy, lumpy yarns? I have always been a secure knitter. I know that my love affair with fibre will always be yarns that is arranged neatly by color-coded shelf in a shop.

I first laid eyes on this wheel in September when I attended a fibre fair. This wheel had just came out and there were spinners test-driving it and oohing and aahing over it. I remember thinking to myself that this is like "the IKEA" of the spinning wheel. It's streamline and it's bright colour attracted me. I started to imagine myself sitting there and miraculously knowing how to use it.

Of course, I have nothing against the old-style, fairy tale spinning wheel. I mean, Sleeping Beauty can prick her little fingers on it all she wants but it never going to appeal to me. Those kind of wheels reminds me of an old-fashion, Dutch Pennsylvanian woman in the 18th century that would use it. For the Ladybug, I picture a sassy, modern woman.

Now, let's get one thing straight. I don't know how to spin. Only came within 10 feet of a real wheel once, can't drop a spindle if my life depends on it (nor do I want to). However, I find myself obsessing and longing for this wheel purely for it's aesthetic qualities.

I wonder if $600 is too much money to spend on a piece of furniture that does nothing more than go round and round?