Quality Control

Scipio does a quality check on the latest batch of woolen mice.

Fleece Search Continues

All the white Devon top is spun into singles, waiting to be plied. But I already know it isn't the wool I'm looking for. While there were some very long fiber lengths in the top, there were also some very short fibers. And kemp. I did try combing a handful, and that did improve things. Hey, if I'm going to comb wool, I'd rather start from fleece. The Devon is also very chalky. Since the armchair project will likely need pounds of yarn, I'd rather work with something I like. The way I figure it, liking what I'm spinning greatly increases the odds that I'll actually finish the spinning for this project. I'm hoping to try some Lincoln wool soon, I have great expectations.
 

really terrible cell phone pic

It's been a week since I've had any project on my needles, so when a friend mentioned she likes the toys I knit for my cat, I snatched up some yarn and needles. One wooly mouse, coming right up. Maybe even two. Another project ready to start is the Keyhole Sand Dollar (Ravelry link) dishcloth. When I saw the one Kelie knit up, it just charmed the pants off me. I need many of these hanging around, I just do. In different, beachy colors.

Water lilies = smile

Fall Cleaning and Mini-Stash Busting

For some reason, Fall is when I get the urge to tidy things up. But most of the tidying is happening in the yard. The last few days were warm and dry, and I've been trimming branches and clearing out dead growth. I wonder what type of winter we'll have?

With the the cardigan finished, and the phone cozy waiting for me to decide what type of strap to add, I decided to do a little stash busting. (This is a type of tidying up, too.) I've an odd assortment of little bits of hand spun yarns; test samples and what not. I'm tired of keeping track of them and decided to knit some kitty toys. The goal is two-fold; no make that 3-fold; use up yarn bits, work on something simple and mindless, and hopefully give the cat something to play with that will keep him out of my yarn stash. Every time I open the stash containing closet, he runs in and tries to steal yarn. And he doesn't just steal it, once he runs off with it he bites it and tries to disembowel it with his back feet. Naughty Scipio.

While I was knitting these, Scipio kept trying to steal the yarn. Now, he ignores them. Stinker.

Whether or not Weather

Yesterday I was checking out the weather forecast for the upcoming days, and was very surprised to see a chance of showers and or thunderstorms for today. Okay, so no big deal for other areas, but in Southern California we don't get much rain. And the forecast only called for 30%, which is like the Magic 8 Ball coming up with a "Don't count on it" response. So I was caught off guard when I heard the big KABOOM of thunder and looked outside to see it pouring rain, and a slightly soggy dog sitting by the door. But the rain really lasted only long enough to wet the surface, and that's probably all the rain we'll see here for at least a month.

Rain and cool weather, well I nearly dashed to don my freshly made sweater, but then decided it wasn't really that cold in the house. But, thank goodness my new project is nearly done,

for I wouldn't want my mobile to get chilly. This is my Mobile Phone Cozy, and I whipped it up on Saturday in an attempt to use up odd bits of my hand spun yarn and practice some color work. I wanted some quick gratification too, so I held the yarn double stranded. The lower, zig-zaggy stripe is slipped stitch, and the bigger stuff is stranded. This results in an extremely heavy weight  cozy, that in an emergency can double as a hand warmer, or even a toe warmer. I'm pretty sure it weighs more than the phone. Now the cozy needs a strap, for those days when my garments have no pockets.

Continuing my quest to use up hand spun stash, I've started on a kitty toy for Scipio. Using some not so fine alpaca yarn. I like to think him having his own wooly toys will keep him away from my wooly stash, but I know better. Right now, Scipio seems to be going through a "what shall I do to vex her now?" phase. For both his sake and mine, as well as the appearance of my furniture, I hope he outgrows it soon.

Lastly, here is a picture of the expanded size Seaglass Wrap. I continue to work on it here and there, and amaze myself with how I can still make mistakes on something so simple. Its good work for conversations, car rides or TV watching.