July Spin-In

Hello, one and all! Last Friday, Mary T. hosted a July Spin-In! Who came? Me, Mary, and Sherrie E. Though the count was small, we all got a lot done and had quite a joyful time as we worked on our various projects. And Sherrie was kind enough to bring some scrumptuous hot applesauce with cream. Mmmmmmm...... Below are some pics.

This is Sherrie carding out some yellow wool for needle felting.

The end result was a pile of little fluffs of yellow that reminded us of baby chicks!

This is Mary T. showing off a pair of beautiful handspun, handknit socks she recently finished.

This is a shot of Mary's buttery colored Falkland (in the foreground) and the fun red and purple Rameldale that I'm spinning (in the background).

Coming up next weekend is the "Would you like to be a pioneer?" workshop as well as Jazz in the Valley. Mary and Wendy have been asked to spin down at the pioneer workshop. I was going to go as well, but with family coming, I'll only be visiting. But I shall take pictures!

So It's 105 Degrees Out...

And I'm still knitting and spinning! LOL! Despite the heat, my thoughts are always on the winter and what I can create to keep me and the people I care about warm. This weekend I had the lovely privaledge to spin with Mary T. and Jenelle. Mary is working hard to finish some Falkland wool in a beautiful natural cream color while Jenelle was trying her hand with Firestar, Merino, and Mohair. The result is a fun and slubby boucle that I am excited to see knit up! I worked on the rest of the merino I used to create the little tea cozy. Also, I've been working at making a pattern for the tea cozy and will soon have it up here for sale. I will have more information soon. If you think you might like one, please post a comment or email me at laruecraft@yahoo.com so I can get a feel of how many to print up. :)

Other things I did this weekend was knit a pair of baby booties. I don't know who for or why, but the pattern was just too cute to let slide by without trying. So here are the specs:

NAME: T-Strap Booties

SOURCE: KnitSimple, Spring/Summer 2007 issue

YARN: Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino (left over yarn from the Bazaar Socks I made awhile ago)

NEEDLES: Size 6 circulars and a G/6 crochet hook

Another project I finished this weekend is a felted backpack. I started it in December or January and knitted it all up, but kept forgetting about it when I was over at Mary's. I have a front load washer, which doesn't allow the option of felting. So finally this weekend I managed to remember it and got the pieces felted and all sewn together. Take a look.

NAME: Checks & Spirals Backpack

SOURCE: Felt It! by Maggie Pace

YARN: Philosopher's Wool and Cascade 220

NEEDLES: #11 26" circulars and #11 double points for the I-Cord

I also finished a pair of socks that I started about three months ago and went to the farmer's market and got some beautful Sweet Peas, Larkspur, and Daisies to pretty up my dining room table. And I spoke with my dearest Matthew on the phone for a very long time and enjoyed every second of it! (Picture me smiling big and blushing!!!) And I played a significant amount of Doom 3. There is some satisfaction in blasting demons away. LOL! Even if only in a video game! :)

Making Do

One of the greatest things about living on a limited budget is the ability to make do with what you have or what you can get for a $1 or less. It's a farmgirl trait that, although I've never been a farmgirl and only a borderline country chic, I have been happily blessed with. This weekend, after the joy of ridding myself of years of items that have been given to me or I've splurged on only to discover that I truly had no use for them, I took a look at what I do own and what I can do to make it different. I had purchased 7 yards of green ticking (for $3.99) to make a slipcover for my couch, but since I scored a free slipcover, I no longer needed that. But what every couch does need is a host of pillows to accomodate any kind of relaxation. So, using the green ticking and an old pillow and some left over buttons from a previous project I made a pillow. Then, I realized I had yards and yards of twill tape and a drawer full of Stampin Up stuff. So here's the result. I have two other pillows that I will be making knitted covers for. I haven't decided if I will be designing the covers myself or using a pattern.

My other project this weekend involved the yarn I finished to create my tea cozy. And I also completed the tea cozy itself. I used size four double points to create the main body of the cozy and the little flower on top. The bottom I created using a size G crochet hook and portions of a very old pattern I found while I was cleaning out the garage for the yard sale.

Yard Sale Saturday!

Today Mary, me, and several others had a lovely yard sale! I made out well and found homes for several knick knacks and other items so I wouldn't have to haul them down to the local Goodwill. And I scored a slipcover for my love seat for free! It's creamy rose patterned brocade and fits my couch perfectly! Now I won't have to make a slipcover for it! YEAH! Also, I bought a nifty Starbucks Co. bag that will tote around my knitting quite nicely. And a great book by Winston Churchill regarding the Revolution. I'm anxious to start reading it!

Also, I finished the alpaca doily that I started last week. It was so fun to knit and I realized that I enjoy knitting things for my home. I spend a lot of time knitting things to wear and don't think of all the awesome things I could be knitting for my home. So now I have plans to knit some pillow covers to go on my couch as well as a few more doilies to pretty up some of my tables and such. Oh, and the pictures are of my brother, Ben, on the left and my dad's wedding on the right, though you can only see me and my brother and part of Doreen, my stepmom.

Favorite Things

WOW! Where to begin? It seems like so much has changed in my life in the last two weeks. First, I have rediscovered my love of tea and changed over to black tea in the morning instead of drinking coffee so much. It's been fun trying new and exotic flavors and the picture to the right shows the ones that are my favorites. It's so relaxing to get out the tea tray and my china and tea pot and just brew up a cup of goodness in the morning instead of rushing through the line at Starbucks on my way to work.

Something else I've discovered this last week is actually a someone. A very handsome, Godly, and goofy someone who makes me smile more than I have smiled in a very long time, who makes me think about the hard things, and who is incredibly comfortable to be around. And if you're reading this, Matthew, I am talking about you! Hehehe...

Also, I've finished the alpaca lace scarf. It was so fun to knit and it was actually cold enough last week to wear it. It's so soft! Here's a close up of the pink lace part.

I ended up with a lot of yarn left over after I finished this project, so I'm using the brown to make lace edging on some pillows and the pink I'm using to make a knitted doily that I discovered in a knitting book from the early '80s. It has a pretty tree design and will look great on the dresser. Also, I'm spinning up some fun wool that Mary T. dyed to make a tea cozy for my Stump Tea Pot. And I've finished designing the slip cover for my couch, I just need to cut it out and sew it all together.

Another past time I love greatly but haven't made time for was rediscovered last weekend. HIKING! I hadn't been out on the trails for years and Mary and I and her 6-year-old son put a lunch together and climbed to the top of Manastash Ridge, which overlooks Ellensburg and Thorp. The hike was difficult, especially with how bad of shape we're both in. But it was fun nevertheless, and we made it to the book at the top and signed our names in it. Here's some pictures:

Cocooned in Lace and God

This week I have begun a new project. Well, several to be honest! I have begun a lace scarf from some alpaca I spun last year and the year before. The pink is a singles that I spun about two years ago and couldn't decide what I wanted to make with it. The brown is 2-ply, but the same wpi as the pink.

The scarf I am knitting from it is the Cocoon Lace Scarf from Evelyn A. Clark (Fiber Trends). I'm using size 7 needles, with the brown for the main body of the scarf and the pink for the scalloped lace border.

I am on the 11th repeat of the pattern now, and am excited to have it finished so I can start on some other things!

Last week I had the pleasure of going thrift store shopping early in the morning while the good stuff was still to be had. My finds were incredible! Several things I have been really praying for and looking hard to find were a couch that is both comfortable and easy to update with slipcovers and a tea tray big enough for my teapot, two tea cups, a creamer dish and a sugar bowl. I found both! The couch for $14.99, as well as enough of the most perfect material to make a slipcover for it for $3.99 and a silver plate tea tray for $1.99! Yeah! But God kept the blessings coming with two paintings, an antique tea strainer, a coffee mug with sheep on it, and several other little tidbits that make me smile whenever I see them! The pic on the right is what my living room looks like now. The quilt that's covering the couch was handmade by my stepmom, Doreen. She's an antique hunting, sewing, knitting nut just like me! :D

This week God has been showing me many things. Mostly to do with where my heart lies and what in it needs to be given up and cleaned out to make room for what He wants for me. Below is Psalm 63: 1-8. It where I want to be. To worship God when my hope is weary and my heart is dry.

O God, You are my God; I shall seek You earnestly; My soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You, In a dry and weary land where there is no water. 2Thus I have seen You in the sanctuary, To see Your power and Your glory. 3Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, My lips will praise You. 4So I will bless You as long as I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name. 5My soul is satisfied as with marrow and fatness, And my mouth offers praises with joyful lips. 6When I remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches, 7For You have been my help, And in the shadow of Your wings I sing for joy. 8My soul clings to You; Your right hand upholds me. (NASB)

Decorating and Yard Work: A break from knitting...sort of!

Accomplishments. Sometimes I can work and work and work and feel like I've gotten nothing done. Other times, like this week, I feel like I've overwhelmed myself with completed projects! I started and finished a hat. It's sooo funny! The first time I knit it, I used size 11 needles and the hat was so big it came down below my nose! So, I tried it again on 9s and it worked like a charm! I don't have a very good pic of it, other than the new one of me and Mary in the About Us area of the blog. It has little ears because it's knit as a square. I got the pattern from Easy Knitted Accessories by Jeanette Trotman and used handspun yarn that was 4 wpi. Though I'm happy to have made it, it was not on the list of things to get done. LOL!

Another thing I finished was the lace scarf to go with my beret. The pattern is a traditional arrowhead lace that I repeated until the scarf wrapped around my neck twice and tied. Then I did two rows of single crochet around the edges to give it a bit of a border and added the same flower from my hat. It was fun to knit and it's been cold enough lately to actually wear it!

Mary has spent the day in the yard, well....yards, hers and mine! LOL!... She managed to mow my front lawn, weed around her flowerbeds and mine, trim up her honeysuckle plant around the arbor, water everything, plant marigolds, and make chocolate chip cookies! She makes me exhausted sometimes and I stay out of the yard as much as possible! Also, she is nearly done with her shrug.

Another project not on my list, but has raised its head again, is the drop spindle project that I started a year ago. The wool is alpaca/mohair/lincoln and very beautiful. Once I have it all spun, I plan on crocheting the short sleeve bolero from the Happy Hooker book. But drop spindling is a slow process when you don't carry it with you everywhere you go! When I started this project, I would spin while I walked to work, or when I was in line at the grocery store, or when I was meeting with friends because I don't have to really look at what I'm doing. But the wind makes it too hard to work on it outside and I put it in my basket and entirely forgot about it. It does make for a nice photo and I think I will enter this one into the fair and see if I can win some cash for it!


The other thing I accomplished this week is that I redecorated my room for under $30! Yeah! The design was heavily influenced by India. It is quite lovely in there now! The orange sarong that I'm using for my curtain makes the entire room washed in a warm sunset glow. :D

Ummmm.... Other accomplishments have to do with breaking free of some things that have been emotionally and mentally eating away at me. They are lies that have been cast on me or that I have brought upon myself and I am giving them to God and replacing them with His truth. It's not easy and everyday these lies jump at me and try to get me to pay attention to them, but so far this week I have managed to keep my eyes where they belong, on the Lord.