Time Flies.....and so do the stitches

The week has flown by. Where did it go?

Spent time learning to spin on Tuesday. It went better than Monday. At least I got how the treadles work. Handling the yarn is getting better. Practice is definately necessary. Judy was really a nice person and very informative. I learned a lot from her.

Thanksgiving we went out to dinner with family. There were 10 of us and it was an enjoyable dinner. Only problem was that it took forever to get our food. Our reservations were for 1:30 PM and we got out of the restaurant around 4:30 PM. Food was good though and hubby got to eat a turkey dinner. I had crab cakes.

On the knitting front, I am on my last skein of yarn for the shrug. I had hoped to finish it up this week, but that didn't happen. The end is in sight though. I did start on the fingerless gloves on Saturday when I went to knitting class. They should finish up quick enough. The tricky part will be around the thumb. I think I will wait until next Saturday to finish up the one glove.

I also started the Candle Flame shawl from Knitpicks. I have a business trip this week and wanted to take some knitting with me, so I figured that this was light enough and would keep me busy at night. I leave tomorrow and will be back late on Wednesday. I am just hoping for good flights, no delays, and no bad weather.

I'm looking forward to Christmas vacation. Still have a lot to do for Christmas, but I should get through it. I have cookies and a ham ordered and we made our reservations for New Years Eve dinner. Nothing like planning ahead.

Spinnin' Wheel got to go 'round

Ah, Blood, Sweat, and Tears. Brings back great memories. What a group they were!

Yeah, I'm on vacation! As much as I am glad, I feel that this week is going to fly. I remember when I was a child and the time went by so slow! I wish I could put the brakes on now!

Today, I had my first experience with spinning. I tried two different types of wheels: an Ashford traveler and an Ashford Joy. I really liked the Joy. I was able to see my feet better and had a clear view of the bobbin. So, I bought the Joy. It's a combination Birthday and Christmas gift. I got it for a better price with the cover than I saw on the Internet, so my darling husband even let me buy a spinning chair.

The first hard time I had was learning to use the treadles. It took me a little while to get started, but then I got the hang of it. The second part and the most crucial part is twisting the roving to the right thickness and feeding it into the bobbin. You have to get your feet moving just right, let the yarn twist and pull the roving to the right thickness all at the same time. Needless to say, I bought a pound of roving to practice.

Tomorrow, I will be visiting with someone who I met on a Yahoo spinning group. I am sure that spending a couple of hours with her will help get me on track. It is amazing what I have picked up by just reading information on the Internet. Now, I guess the only thing I need yet is a niddy noddy and practice, practice, practice.

On the knitting front, I am diligently working on my shrug. I am determined to finish it this week because I want to start on the Fetching fingerless gloves found on Knitty.com as a Christmas present for my nieces. Plus, I would also like to start on the Candle Flame shawl found on knitpicks.com.

On another good note, I did join the Arctic Lace KAL and was able to order the kit, which includes 2 skeins of qivuit yarn in twilight (a purple color). I won't receive the kit for several weeks, but that is okay. I probably won't be able to start a project with it until Christmas is over.

More to come on my spinning and knitting later this week. Hopefully, I can get this song out of my head by then.

......Talkin' 'bout your troubles it's a cryin' sin.
Ride a painted pony let the spinnin' wheel spin

My Head is Spinning

What a week it has been. First I received an order of books from Barnes and Noble. I got the new Victorian Lace Today and Artic Lace. These are two beautiful books. I am currently reading Artic Lace and really would love to buy the qiviut yarn; however, it is soooo expensive. I may just cave and buy two skeins though. There is a pattern for a beautiful shawl, but it takes 6 skeins. Oh, to be rich!

I finished another dishcloth. This time it was a turkey and I'm currently working on a dishcloth that has a Christmas ornament on it from Harvest Moon Designs. It was a free pattern and is very pretty. I still need to finish the shrug though. One of these days very soon I will just do that.

I have been reading a lot about Spinning and toying with the idea of trying it. Well, I joined a yahoo group called Spinning and got some good direction. I found a local store that sells spinning wheels and gives lessons. I really need to try before I would even think of buying. I also heard from a couple of the members and one lives close to me and we are going to meet up the week of Thanksgiving so she can show me how to spin. Looks like my vacation is filling up fast. One more week to go!

NO Stitches East - But I do have yarn!

It's been a busy week but I finally got through it. Two more weeks and it's Thanksgiving. Time is sure flying. At least I will have vacation that week.

I wanted to go to Stitches East, but alas I couldn't go. Hopefully, they will have it close next year so I can make an attempt to go. But, that didn't stop me from buying yarn. I was quite busy ordering yarn for some future projects:

For Scarves (maybe my so called scarf?) Manos - I just love the colors!

For a shawl - Handmaiden Sea Silk in pumpkin:

For a hat - Brown sheep Burley Spun (Sorry, the colors are dark and a little hard to see).

And, I got my Socks that Rock from the Rockin Sock Club:

Projects I have completed:

THE PONCHO:

Some Dishcloths:

A Cat:

An Apple:

A Pear:

I have also been searching for the pattern for this slipper:

Someone had made this for me years ago and I wanted to attempt to find it. It's on the Needlebettle web site and is called Aunt Alms dorm boot. It appears that the pattern is very close and the person who did the boot for me adjusted it a little.

So, I'm knitting along and getting projects completed. I am still currently working on the shrug. I have passed the half-way mark. Finishing is in sight.

While I have bought quite a bit of yarn for projects, my next project will be Fetching from Knitty.com

I figure that this would make a great Christmas present for my nieces and have been told that they knit up quickly. Quick projects are good right now.

I'm also proud of myself. I believe that I am finally getting the hang of using Flicker with Blogger! I better go back to knitting before my head swells too much.