Clean cup, clean cup,

Move dowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwn!

Spinning!

I've been spinning a lot this last week. It's been so nice to be behind the wheel again!

Last summer, a friend of mine gave me some fur she'd brushed off her Golden Retriever. I finally broke into that bag and was delighted to find that it was super easy to spin!

Here's the finished yarn, plied with a creamy alpaca.

I got about 268 yds of a sport/dk weight yarn. The Golden Retriever didn't spin quite as evenly as I would have liked so I decided to just go with it and spin a more rustic looking yarn. I'm pretty pleased with it. The mini skein in the back is a 3-ply of Golden Retriever, alpaca, and angora.

Today I have been working on some Sanguine Gryphon that I've had in my stash since I bought my wheel two years ago. I have two very different 4oz bumps from her "Ravenswood" colorway.

The one on the left is the one I'm spinning right now. It's so pretty!

This fiber is a blend of 65% Superwash Merino and 35% Silk.

I plan to spin them both and then ply them together. I think it will make a gorgeous 2-ply yarn.



This was my progress as of this afternoon. This bobbin is almost full now - I hope to finish it up by tomorrow afternoon so I can start right away on the other one.

I'm so anxious to see how they'll look together!

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As far as knitting goes, I'm working on another Cassidy (ravelry link) sweater. I'm using Berroco Ultra Alpaca in a turquoise color. It's so soft and looks beautiful with all the cables of that design.

Back to the wheel!

Medal!

I won two Ravelympics medals for my Catriona: one for Sweater Board Cross and one for Cable Cross Country.

Even though it sometimes got a bit hectic (my own perfectionist and picky-ness issues bit me in the bum quite a number of times), I thoroughly enjoyed participating in this year's Ravelympics.

Whew! Now to take a bit of a break and work on low-pressure/no-deadline projects. :)

2010 Ravelympics Catriona

I finished!! It turned out perfectly, I'm so happy with it.

Pattern: Catriona (Ravelry link)
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Rialto DK
Needles, US 2, 3, 4, 5 Addi Turbos, various lengths
Started: Feb 14, 2010 (2 day late start due to change of yarn)
Finished: Feb 26, 2010
Team: Team Knitter's Palette

I love it!

It was so fun knitting while watching the Olympics and to also see all of the many beautiful things that others were making. What a fun event to be involved in!

I finished with two days to spare. Yay!

Can't wait to wear it!


PS - Here's a picture of my "assistant" who was by my side during the knitting and photographing of this vest: my Golden Retriever, Jackson. He's 13 months old now and SUCH a sweetheart!

Drive-by posting!

Literally. ;)

We're in the car on the way back from Wisconsin. Lots of nice knitting time on my Ravelympics 2010 project!

I changed my mind about the red Kathmandu DK I originally chose. That yarn is lovely, just not lovely for this particular pattern. I'm now knitting it with Debbie Bliss Rialto. I love it! The stitch definition is amazing and those cables just *pop*!

Back to knitting...

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2010 Olympics and Ravelympics

It's almost time! Coverage starts tonight and I'm so excited. I don't get too jazzed up about the Summer Olympics but I adore the Winter Olympics. I just think the events and the sports are more exciting.

And this year there's the added bonus of competing in the 2010 Ravelympics. The LYS I work at has a team, Team Knitter's Palette, and a bunch of us who work/shop/gather there are "competing". I'm so excited about starting tonight!

For my project, I went around and around on choices before settling on something. I thought about the Fireside Sweater (ravelry link) and bought the yarn (yummy Malabrigo!), but then thought that might be a bit overzealous a goal. Then I thought about designing a sweater that has been kicking around in my head for a couple of weeks. That still seems like a lofty goal as there's always a bit of ripping reknitting with designing. Finally I decided on Catriona (ravelry link), a Debbie Bliss design. I love the unusual yet gorgeous cables!

I'll be knitting my vest in Kathmandu DK, color Ruby. It's a beautiful shade of red, slightly muted, and tweedy. MMmmmmmm tweed. I swatched a couple of days ago and recalculated measurements for my gauge. The Kathmandu DK is slightly heavier than Debbie Bliss Rialto (pattern yarn) but from my math, the XS should come out to fit a 34-35" bust. Just right!

I also charted out the cable panels. They're written in the pattern only - who wants to knit cables without a chart? Not me. I hand drew the chart - thought about doing one in Excel, but this one's already done and I've got it printed on the back of the pattern. Good enough.

Now to just wait until 8 p.m. tonight to cast on while watching the Opening Ceremonies!

OMG OMG!!

I've been nominated for a BOBBY! (Ravelry award.)

I didn't even know!

CLICK HERE to go to the page. Mine is the white skein of Alpaca named ".Handspun: Alpaca / by myyarns"

SOOO EXCITING!