Comp screwed

So I haven't posted in my blog in a while and was checking my email and saw a comment for a post that I never remembered writing. I went back through and saw that I had that new post and a whole slew of rude emails sent out to my friends and contacts. I apologize if anyone got any of those emails, and for anything changed in other posts that I didn't realize.

Turns out that a previous friend of mine wormed their way into my google mail account and my blog. All my passwords have been changed now, I really apologize to anyone who got those e-mails or read the really offensive post she wrote.

In other news I'm about to start working on Christmas presents which should include a few new patterns this year!

My Branching Out scarf is crawling along at a snails pace. I do a few repeats here and there and drop it. Most everything for me now has been dropped since christmas is around the corner.

Leave me a comment or send me an e-mail at glowhooks AT gmail DOT com about whether you guys want to see knitting or crochet patterns or both!

Update

I just realized in one of the pictures below you can start to see dark marks on the treadles of my wheel from where my feet sit. I thought that my camera picked them up and you couldn't actually see them, but you can. Mainly? I'm a bare footer. I hate shoes, they hurt my feet and make my toes go numb. I've knit one pair of socks and was completely baffled as to what to do with them. I don't usually wear shoes so... what does someone who doesn't wear shoes do with socks?

I decided they could be worn around the house, and they're great on the carpet, though I am a bit prone to falling on the linoleum and wood.

Anyway, I found the receipt for my wheel, and it wasn't 320! The whole purchase was $320, the actual wheel only cost $290, but I bought some alpaca with it and with VA sales tax it came out to $321.05 total. Aside from my fiance's XBox 360 I've never spent that much money at once before.

Yesterday I spun up 311 yards of wool. It varies from lace weight to worsted weight, and hits everything in between. I made it like that so that hopefully it will be turned into a felting project, either by me or someone else. Its a local wool and it has a significant amount of guard hairs in it, so it isn't suitable for next to the skin wear (unless you are a masochist or you have someone you really want to torture)but I'm not sure if it would be good for next to the skin wear even if it didn't have the guard hairs. Well anyway I don't feel like messing with pictures at the moment (i've got some nicer fiber to spin) but I will update with them later if I have the chance!

A Long Absence

I'm terribly sorry for my extended absence. I'm a bit disappointed, business on Etsy has not taken off as I expected it too, Though 3 of my skeins sold, I was left with two. Dream and Meadow. Dream has been made into one pair of socks and I still have half the ball left. I'm debating on what to do with meadow as I'm not SUPER fond of how it turned out and I didn't expect it to sell in the first place.

Whats new hmmm. SPINNING!!! I started spinning on a spindle and I fell in LOVE. I haven't been spinning lately (I haven't really done much fiber crafting at all lately though its picking up a bit more now) But hopefully that will pick up soon. I took a spinning class at my LYS a few months ago and bough a wheel in May ^.^.

Its a Baynes Double Treadle and I adore it! I got it for $320.00 with a finish on it, its been used but it just came out of the shop when I got it and it had most of its leather parts replaced then. I could use a new drive band (I'm a bit worried about the current one snapping) But other than that I have no complaints!

It's actually about that time of year I need to start Christmas Presents. Last year I didn't start until november and wound up finishing my grandmothers Christmas preset Christmas morning, and that was crochet not knit which is much faster. I haven't decided what I am making everyone yet BUT most likely it will be handspun and hand dyed.


Heres the handspun/ hand dyed that I knit a cabled hat with ( I hate it, I made it too small and I refuse to frog it, It will just have to stretch *stubborn*) and some handspun alpaca that is full of smoosh and love and soft and I hate the pattern. Its my first lace pattern and to be honest the design just sinks into the yarn so I may frog it and decide something else to do with it. (I really wanted it for me, but maybe moms Christmas Present) The alpaca (brown and black) scarf is supposed to be the "Branching Out" scarf from knitty.
Well I shall update as soon as I find / develop christmas gift patterns!

dyeing-to sell

So I dyed some more yarn yesterday (5 skeins) with some acid dye this time, and these ones will be going on my etsy shop. I tried to post this yesterday but unfortunately my internet took a crap on me until earlier today. My etsy shop is not set up yet so if you go dont expect to see these up for sale yet, I'm still in the process of reskeining them. They should be up in the next couple days, at the same time I'll put them up on ravelry for all to see. anyway on to the pics!


Here they are drying and here are the first four skeins. They turned out about how I wanted, not the GREATEST, but not horrible either.

Heres the last one, it really did not turn out how I wanted but it still looks decent enough that I hope it sells.
My Etsy shop will be up and running as soon as I figure out shipping and all that jazz. Blogger is being stupid as it wont let me post more then 1 picture at a time. This is getting posted at a 11:00 pm and I've been working on posting it since 9. =\ Damn you blogger.

More Dyeing!

Here is the other skein I dyed with the skein for myself, (I forgot to put it up earlier) This is for my BF it was supposed to be mountain dew (didn't really turn out that way) but he still likes it enough for me to knit him a hat with.

First Dyeing Experience!

Well I've had an interesting past few days. BF got me a new computer case for valentines day(he plans on upgrading my whole comp, don't ask why as I have no idea) and I dyed my first skein of yarn! YAY!!! Well here come pictures ^.^





While I was dyeing it.While it was hanging to dry.
and the finished product!!! I'm very proud of myself, I now just have to decide what to make with it. Tomorrow I'll be dyeing my other hank of yarn for my bf in mountain dew colors >.< I told him I would make him a hat ^.^ I may do the same for me.

The ever confusing stripey squishey blanket (of doom)

I'm not sure if I'm just really weird (highly likely) or if this happens to other people too. I'm currently knitting an afghan in garter stitch in strips, with Wool Ease Thick & Quick. I've noticed with the navy strips, I have no problems, my tension is even, and I can knock out the full strip in just about an hour.

However...the green(Lemongrass) strips, are entirely different. I cannot sit and knit through the whole strip. I knit a row, get up walk around my house a bit, sit back down and knit another row and repeat, effectively taking me about 10 hours to complete a strip. I imagine that that is a large part of my tension issues, but even on the one or two occasions that I have sat down and sat through the whole strip, my tension is still wonky.

I don't usually pay attention to my knitting when I knit the navy stripes, I just sit and knit, and don't really look at it until I'm nearing the end of the stripe and need to cast off. But with the green stripes its almost like i pay too much attention to my tension and wind up attempting to ensure proper tension so I wind up with really wonky tension from all the tightening then not paying attention then tightening again.

WHY THE GREEN. o.O I must be just very weird.


Completely random post I realize by the way.

The I Hate my Sister Scarf: PATTERN

The I Hate My Sister Scarf, PATTERN:

First I really dont hate my sister, shes just...horribly annoying, obnoxious and all things that sisters tend to be. anyway on with the pattern!

WW Yarn
Red Heart Black, and Red Heart Shaded browns
5.5mm Hook

CH 220 turn
with COLOR A (Shaded Browns)SC in each chain across turn,
with COLOR B(Black) and HDC in each SC across,turn
with COLOR A(Shaded Browns), DC in each Chain across, turn
with COLOR B(black), DC in each chain across, turn (ALTERNATIVE: TRIPLE CROCHET)
with COLOR A(Shaded browns) DC in eacn chain across, turn
with color B(black) HDC in each chain across, turn
with color A(shaded browns) SC in each chain across, end and weave in ends.

You can easily mix the stitches up the different sized stitches.

Fringe: easy just take about 8 inch lenghts of yarn (I did three sets of 5 eight inch lengths, you can do more or less) and loop on where you'd like. I just aimed for the ends and middle ^.^

For The Snow Scarf PATTERN

For the snow scarf pattern:
WW yarn, red heart Earth and Sky were the colors I used.
9MM hook.

scarf body:
Chain 21, turn
SC in second ch from hook and in each ch across (20 SC)
repeat until length desired minus fringe and about 2 inches.
CH 2 Turn, 1 puff stitch (with 5 DC) CH 1, repeat 10 times.

(I'll get to the other row of puffs in the beginning, just know you do NOT start with a row of puffs, you add both rows of puff stitch on AFTER you have finished all the SC and woven in your ends from that)

FRINGE:
turn, chain 20, skip 3 puffs, slip stitch
turn, chain 20, skip 4 puffs, slip stitch
turn, chain 20, skip final 3 puffs and slip stitch to end.

now heres where it gets a bit confusing, I'll include a picture to show how i did this (i honestly could not figure out ANY other way to do it)

Step 1:
chain 10, slip stitch to the other 10th chain or peak.

Step 2:
chain 20, slip stitch to 10 chain in the skip 4 puffs group.

Step 3:
chain 20, slip stitch to final 10th chain in the last peak.

Now for the row of puffs on the other end. Reminder, you're going to be going into you're original chain 20 so if you aren't really used to working into the other side of the chain it may be a bit difficult. however heres how i did it:
join in yarn like you would when changing colors, chain one(that should ensure you have a ch 2, if not, make sure you have a ch 2) and continue across with the steps for the puffs and the fringe above.

tassels:
cut 5 pieces of yarn per tassel to 8 inches, fold over and loop onto your chains. If you have any questions email me at glowhooks@gmail.com and I will try and get back to you the best I can and help as best I can.


Finishing (optional):

take a soft bristle brush and brush one side of the scarf to soften the yarn and make it look fuzzy, you can do both sides or none at all, (i was in a hurry so only did one side, plus my arm got tired of brushing the scarf =\)