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Well, this year has been pretty busy so far!! I’ve been off the internet for about a month!! I started preparing for my church wedding, which took place on February 28 (we had a civil ceremony on leap year ’08 so the 28th was as close as we could get to an anniversary), in the beginning of February. Yes, I know, nothing like waiting for the last minute…but I find that I do my best work while under pressure!!
For the wedding, I knit my top and spun & knit my shawl in February. The top, Silk Ribbed Corset by Annie Modesitt, turned out sooooo well! (I knit this same top with a coordinating shrug for my maid of honor, but that was done last year!) I used Artyarns Regal Silk in the color of Snow. Suggestion: if you are going to make part of an outfit it is best to give more lead-time than me to shop for other parts of the outfit! I was running around like a mad woman looking for a skirt and shoes that didn’t completely clash – less than a week before the wedding! (Why is it so difficult to find cream/off-white in the beginning of spring…everything was black?!?) I also ended up spinning the yarn for the shawl because I couldn’t find any non-clashing yarn in any LYSs!
The shawl, Toe The Line Shawl by Chrissy Gardiner, also turned out to be awesome!! I am really in love with it, my most favorite wedding item (and the top is 100% silk and flattering to my robust frame – hard to beat). As already mentioned, I spun the yarn for this little gem. 
I used a little more than ½ a pound of Merino for a two-ply ~fingering-weight. In one of the plies I added some gold flecks (I have no idea what the actual product is called, but it looks like gold flecks). It was a beautiful fiber and spun into a beautiful yarn. It didn’t end up as thin as I wanted, it just didn’t want to be lace-weight. However, I was glad it didn’t once that I saw the finished item!
Now, I am going through a bajillion photos and catching up on all the things I put off while I had my knitting, spinning, knitting marathon that was February! Today or tomorrow I hope to get back on FaceBook, I went cold turkey off that otherwise I would have gotten married in the nude! ‘Nuff said!!! Now, I must get back to all these photos!!
Apparently I am a bad blogger. I haven't been moved to write anything. Since my last blog much has happened in my life, although not much has happened with fiber!
We made it through the election (whoo hoo!). We made it through family Thanksgiving at my parents house. I went on a trip to Florida for just shy of 2 weeks (drove down there with my Baba to visit my uncle). We made it through family Christmas and quiet New Year.
Jimmy is still fighting kidney failure. He's had some great days, some ok days and some unbelievably awful days. At the moment he's in the middle of a bad streak. He developed a secondary infection and is currently on the second antibiotic after the first had no effect. The vet is constantly amazed by his will to live - I have my fingers crossed that it continues, but I live in fear that every day is the last day.
All that has happened in a fiber way is that I cast on the Au Naturel Cardie (#24) from Knit'n Style June 2008. I am using Southwest Trading Company's Bamboo (color: Special). I am liking the pattern but am not all that crazy with the yarn at this point. Perhaps when it is finished I'll like it more, but in knitting it I am finding that it snags way to easily and way to often, and it splits often. I am also unhappy with the fact that every skein used so far has had knots in it - how freaking annoying!!
Au Naturel Cardie
From previous posts...Camel Silk Blend
Boobie Socks
Since my first/last post, I spun some very nice camel/silk (60/40) roving. It turned out a beautiful fingering weight two-ply yarn, ~800 yards. I am very pleased with it. I’ve also started learning how to machine knit – and am finding it much more enjoyable than I had anticipated. The process isn’t as relaxing as hand knitting, but it much more likely to provide instant gratification with the completion of a project. So far I’ve made two baby hats and a pair of booties. I got half through making a braided rib hat, but hated the yarn and stopped at about two-thirds done. I haven’t gotten more than a few or several rows done on the Spiral Coriolis socks and I haven’t done anything on the throw still on my loom!I have already taken photos of spinning project, but nothing yet of the machine knitting – nor have I gotten the spinning photos off my camera. I will do that soon.More personally, Jimmy has taken a turn for the worse. We have a vet appointment tomorrow and I am afraid the vet is going to say that Jimmy doesn’t have any more time left. Today I am spending all my time with Jimmy; he is now lying by my side. It pains my heart a great deal to know that this may be our last day together – although I am daring to hope that there is some other medication combination that will enable him to remain with me longer.
As my profile says, I am a knitter, spinner and weaver!
So, this month I finished the Booby Socks (yarn=Trekking Sport in pink). I really liked knitting these socks, however I think the guage is too loose - I like my socks to be firm. I can't add a photo of the project because I wore them before I took a photo and I haven't washed them yet (waiting for a full load)! As soon as I take a photo, I'll post it.
I cast on Coriolis, Pattern from New Pathways for Sock Knitters: Book One by Cat Bordhi, with Trekking XXL, color 165. I am almost ready to start the short rows for my heel. And, by the way, check out the cute little container for the sock project! it's an "Any Kine" Caddy!
I also started a woven throw/shawl (you'd have to fold it in half to use as a shawl, but I'm making it thin enough to do that). I'm calling it Coffee and Cream. It is a plaid using 4 colors that remind me of coffee and cream, woven using my Spriggs 5-foot Adjustable Square Frame Loom from Carol Leigh's Hillcreek Fiber Studio.
That's all I've done with any fiber. I've not spun in a while - I'm in a bit of a spinning funk I guess, because I do love to spin! I hope my funk ends soon.
I've started listening to podcasts, which I'm liking. It breaks up my listening to audio books, which I really love doing while working with fiber!
One of my dogs, Jimmy James, was diagnosed with kidney failure in June. He was given a few weeks to live at that point - I am happy to say that he is still alive and doing much better!! I spend a lot of my time with him, more so than the rest of my dogs, monitoring his eating, drinking, bowel/urine functions plus giving meds and hydrotherapy. In addition, I am more consumed with cuddling with him than ever before because I'm afraid every day will be his last.
