Phinally a Phattie: my quarter-yearly catch up post

happy veterans day everyone :)

it seems as though i always think i'm somehow going to miraculously start having time to post here regularly but life always seems to have a different plan.  most recently i moved a month ago AND just finished up my midterms last week so needless to say things have been rather hectic in my life haha.  I'm finally returning to Cal State University Long Beach to finish up my bachelors degree after about 10 years of life getting in the way and it's really good to be back but definitely an adjustment to say the least.  i've been at community college for most of the past 10 years slowly chipping away at my general ed. requirements but now i get to take all the fun classes actually related to my major.  getting used to a full time class load again, and foolishly moving out mid semester, has kept me pretty busy but since i had a lovely 3 day weekend due to veterans day today i figured i should take some time out to update my blog ^-^

the most awesomest of news is that i'm finally a contributor to the Phat Fiber Sampler Box after years of being a devoted fan!  the month of October was my first time contributing and the theme was "Dia de los Muertos" which was a totally rad theme to get in on for my first month.  for those of you who aren't familiar with Phat Fiber, this wonderful woman named Jessie had the brilliant idea of gathering up a bunch of samples from indie artisans and consolidating them into a great sampler box that she sells every month.  there are stitches boxes full of yarn samples for the strictly knitly, fluff boxes full of fiber samples for all the spinsters, and mixed boxes with a combo of both for those of us who are bi-craftual.  and of course all the boxes have great little extras like knitting patters, stitch markers, buttons, sometimes yarn gauges and orafice hooks, heck sometimes you're even lucky enough to get a hand sewn project bag or a spindle!  it all depends on what the contributors happen to be sending in that month.  the whole idea is that you get to try little samples of yarns and fibers from many different indie artisans before you buy them, so you know what you'll be paying for.  the woman really is a genius and i love the way she's brought together the indie fiber artist community and given us a great way to get our products out there, as well as giving knitters and spinners everywhere a chance to try before they buy.  if you'd like more info on Phat Fiber check out their website www.phatfiber.com  there are links to the phat fiber blog, lots of info on how to buy the boxes and how to become a contributor as well as info about current contributors like me :)

 {fiber samples for October}

I did both fiber and handsewn samples for my first month because i was just so excited by the theme and wanted to contribute enough samples to earn myself a contributor box.  i'm really happy with how the fiber turned out, that pic i found for inspiration was just great and i wanted to do something different from the bright neon colors of sugar skulls that so many people were doing.

 {hand sewn samples for October}

my hand sewn samples were little teeny reversible stitch marker bags in this awesome Dia de los Muertos fabric i found which match with the Big n' lil box bag sets i sewed for my shop.  i'm excited that 3 of the 4 sets i made have already sold i just have one set left in the pink colorway.  

{full sized box bag sets}

And even with the stress of moving and midterms i actually did manage to get the minimum amount of samples sent in for the month of November as well, which has a "Harvest Festival" theme.  i suppose my samples are a bit more Octoberish seeing as how i went with this awesome pic of the Beltane Fire Society's Samhuinn Festival below:

 {inspiration pic for November}

But once again, trying not to run with the pack, i wanted to do something a bit different from what "Harvest Festival" brings to mind for most people, falling leaves, pumpkins, apple reds and the like.  Samhuinn (the holiday most people think of as being the precursor of our modern Halloween) is a harvest festival after all though so it was actually very much on theme with the November box.  i'm pretty happy with the way my samples turned out, this time i opted to dye up some top and hand card my samples with some amazing firey firestar.

{fiber samples for November}

i wish i'd been able to take a better pic of this sample, this one just doesn't do it justice, it's a nice blend of yellow and orange falkland i dyed, mixed with a jet black commercially dyed merino and that awesome firestar.  as soon as i get the full size carded up i'll take some much better pics.

i'm already working on my samples for the December box as well and i have an awesome inspiration pic for the "Nordic Culture" themed box, but i'll save that for my next post.  i'm going to try to motivate myself to blog more now that i have exciting Phat Fiber news to blog every month so i need to save some material for next time hehe.  I'll probably be blogging about that once i get my samples dyed up.

{sock blocker keychain}

And because i like to have a least a little knitting news in every post here's my latest FO, an adorable little sock blocker keychain.  i received the keychain, pattern and yarn from trishaknittin in the Silly About Swaps group on Ravelry for my birthday a few months ago and knit this cute little sock up right away, as well as another one in a variegated green.  i've seen these little sock blocker keychains for years but never had one of my own so i was so excited to receive this gift.  I actually had a totally awesome birthday this year thanks in part to all the wonderful and generous people in the Silly About Swaps group.  it's a pretty small swapping group that i can't remember how i stumbled upon but the people there are really friendly and welcoming.  even though i was a relatively new member people were very kind in gifting me lots of awesome patterns and sending me little birthday treasures for the Birthday Swap 

if you're a swap lover like me and you're tired of your normal swapping haunts you should come by silly about swaps and check out the fun :)

well now that i've caught you all up on my life and fiber arts exploits over the past few months i'm off to finish my homework and start working on the 2 term papers i have due in about a month.  happy knitting/crocheting/spinning/dyeing/carding/prepping to you all and with any luck i actually WILL start posting regularly to my blog now haha

~carla

catching up once again and a Labor Day sale

well well well....

what a trying few months it has been since i last posted here.  i've been battling a back injury for the past few years now, but i ended up getting seriously hurt at the end of May this year and have been completely sidelined, unable to work and on disability.  at least this time i have a darn good excuse for not keeping up on my blog lol.  i don't know if any of you out there have ever had to deal with a slipped disc, but i tell you it's been the most painful experience of my life.  my particular slipped disc was putting severe pressure on my sciatic nerve and for a few months i was in so much pain i literally could not sit for any period at all, and couldn't sleep but a few hours at a time without waking up in extreme pain and having to hobble around for hours before it subsided enough for me to get back to sleep.  i'm really not the kind of person to seek pain medication, but the pain was so bad it was just unbearable and i ended up in the ER 5 times over the course of just a few weeks before my mom offered to pay for me to see a real doctor who prescribed me something for the long term pain i faced. 


however,  i'm doing much better now although still not 100%, but i'm waiting on a county sponsored insurance before i can see if i'm going to need surgery.  at the very least i'm not in constant excruciating pain anymore and can sit for reasonable periods of time to keep up with my blog again.

 {"Gangrene" socks}

during this period of disability i've come to realize i just don't knit as much as i used to.  and since this did start out as a knitting/crochet blog i figured i'd share my latest knitting FO, my Gangrene Socks.  it's really the "Peacock Rib Socks" pattern by Jocelyn Blair, but of course i almost exclusively knit with my own handspun these days so i named my socks after the yarn i spun for them which i had already named Gangrene.

 {Peacock Rib}

below you can see one skein of my handspun gangrene yarn.  spun from a nice blend of 75/25 Merino/Nylon from Heavenly Fibers on Etsy.  Leilani has got some wonderful fiber in her shop and i snagged this lovely stuff at the beginning of this year specifically to spin for socks.  this is my 3rd pair of handspun socks and i'm really proud of how both the yarn and the socks turned out .

 {Gangrene handspun}

i'm also really excited that i'm finally well enough to do more dyeing.  i've really gotten into dyeing and fiber prep this year but sadly was injured shortly after my first few dyeing experiments so i haven't been able to add much to the shop recently.  yesterday i had a wonderful day dyeing and added 4 new braids to my shop in various fibers.  below is some Shetland, my first time dyeing this fiber and i have to say i love the way it takes color.

 {Shetland variegated gradient in greens and blues}

 {Shetland variegated gradient in reds browns and purples}

i did have my first dyeing mishap though on the braid below (of course it had to be the Merino/Silk right?)  you can't see in this particular picture but a few drops of the purple made their way into the green sections so i'm practically giving that one away. i couldn't in good conscience charge full price for a braid with such a big "oopsy"

{80/20 Merino/Tussah Silk in a green to purple spoted gradient}

it's funny, i always have an idea of what i want the dyed fiber to look like in the end, and usually i get there but sometimes i'm a little surprised by the finished product.  that was the case with this fiber here which i've dubbed "Giraffe Gradient."  i had no idea when i was finished dyeing it that it would look so much like a giraffe hehe.  i think it's probably my favorite dye job of the day.






since it's a holiday weekend i've got a sale going on at petite vache designs on Etsy right now, just use coupon code LABOR10 to get 10% off your entire order, less shipping, now through Midnight on Tuesday the 4th.  and now that i'm finally able to sit again i'm also planning to sew up some more of my boxbag sets because those things went like hotcakes!  if you liked them and missed out be on the lookout for more coming soon.


i hope everyone's having a great holiday weekend, happy knitting, crocheting, spinning, dyeing and fiber prepping to all!

~carla

                                                   

FREE online workship, knitting FO and shop update

so, i realized that i rarely mention knitting these days on my blog. this DID start out as a knitting/crochet blog and has recently gravitated more toward spinning and sewing. in an effort to rectify this little oversight i give you my latest knitting FO, this totally cute little shrug.

i'm not sure exactly how it happened, but somehow i ended up on an email list for Craftsy.com and a few weeks ago i got an email invite to do a free workshop featuring this One Skein Knit Shrug pattern by Stefanie Japel. this workshop is still free as of today, November 3rd at 5pm Pacific time!! if i were you i'd head on over there right now and sign up before they come to their senses and start charging for this workshop again. just click the link above that says "One Skein Knit Shrug" and it should take you straight there :)

{ me modeling my new handknit, handspun shrug }

the pattern suggested a single skein of Cascade 220, but seeing as how i've got a closet full of my own handspun that i never do anything with i decided to go digging and this is what i came up with

{ 75/25 BFL/Silk - 261yds approx. worsted weight }

this yarn has been sitting around in my stash since i first got serious about spinning over a year ago, which should really be a crime because it's so incredibly soft due to the mix of silk and BFL. although, maybe i should be glad i hadn't used it for anything until now because it really was the perfect yarn for this pattern. you can see in the pic it's a little thick and thin and i was concerned that might show in the finished product, but as you can see from the closeup below it actually produced a pretty even looking fabric. especially since this pic is pre-blocking (i actually still haven't blocked it yet hehe)

{ closeup to show detail }

i ended up finishing this in 4 days with about 10 yards left over to make a matching cuff or bow or whatever i think up to use it for xD

not only is this pattern really a really cute, quick, fun knit, the workshop format online atCraftsy.com was really cool. once you sign into the workshop you progress through several pages of instruction with lots of photos that show you exactly how to do everything step by step. and you can also get involved in discussion with everyone else that's taking the workshop, and even ask questions and get responses from the designer herself.

i really think Craftsy has a great idea with these new workshops. there are a few sewing workshops they have for sale that i'm seriously considering buying.

and speaking of sewing i've got some awesome little additions to my shop as of today

{ itty bitty boxy bag: skinny rectangle - black white red }

i'm proud to pronounce that i am once again putting my sewing skills to good use and sewing a new line of mini box bags for my shop. they're really all purpose, handly little bags that i can envision being used for everything form makeup or notions storage to an actual purse for those times when you just want to take a few essential things with you

{ itty bitty boxy bag: fat rectangle - dusty ping and mauve }

so far i've got 2 different sizes, the skinny rectangle and the fat rectangle, each one is just about big enough to hold a travel set of knitting/crochet notions, a handful of spools of thread, just enough makeup/keys/ID to get you through a trip to the store and back.

you can see these two bags on sale in my etsy shop, as well as get all the information about the exact size and materials i used.

well that's all for today folks. check back soon because i'm going to have an in depth review of those banana and ramie fibers i talked about a few weeks ago ^.^

happy knitting/crocheting/spinning/sewing/crafting

~carla

exotic and luxury fibers, and a little sewing too :)

i got another great package from Girl Meets Spindle a few weeks ago, as you can see below

{ i really do love the way she packages her fiber }

i've had my eye on some of the luxury and exotic fibers in Rachel's shop for quite some time now and so i decided to buy myself a little birthday treat in the form of 2 luxurious oz of 50/50 royal baby alpaca/cashmere, and also a few half ounce samples of Ramie and Banana fibers.

{ 1/2oz steel blue Banana fiber }

i really love the halo on this banana fiber, and it's much softer than i expected. i'm still not exactly sure which part of the banana plant this fiber comes from, but my friend Justin was over the day i got my package and he's now demanding a banana fiber beanie from me xD

{ 1/2oz Ramie fiber in "Winter Morn" }

now, i'm sure some of you are wondering "what the heck is 'Ramei' fiber?" well i honestly didn't even know exactly what it was when i bought it, so i just googled it right now and got this interesting little tid bit:

"Ramie, also known as “China Grass”, is a flowering plant native to eastern Asia. For centuries, ramie fiber has been used for making fabrics and clothing. In fact, ramie has been used for clothes since at least 5000 - 3000 BC in Egypt.

Ramie fibers are one of the strongest natural fibers. Ramie can be up to 8 times stronger than cotton, and is even stronger when wet."

this too is much softer fiber than i had anticipated, and has a similar whispy

halo to the banana fiber.

{ 2oz 50% Royal Baby Alpaca, 50% Cashmere in colorway "Molten Metals" }

but of course the crown jewel of my birthday fiber shmorgasborg is this sinfully luxurious alpaca/cashmere blend fiber. i haven't even had the heart to spin it yet i've just been taking it out to stare at it longingly and stroke it's unbelievable softness hehe

i'm not even sure of how i'm going to spin it yet or what i'm going to make with it, but i think for now i'll just keep it as a fibery pet ^-^

{ my very first hand sewn needle/notions organizer }

and last but not least i'm excited to report that i've actually been bitten by the sewing bug lately. to make a long story short i recently got into Steampunk fashion, which is basically like late 19th century late victorian kinda stuff. i really wanted to get a pair of bloomers, but i just wasn't willing to pay what people were asking on Etsy, not when i knew i could sew them myself with the help of my trusty sewing machine ^^

{ crochet hooks and stitch holders }

needless to say the pics you see in front of you are NOT bloomers xD

i had a bit of a fiasco with trying to get the correct measurements and my first bloomers attempt were far too small :( but i've since bought some new fabric and will be making another attempt soon. in the mean time though i sewed this awesome little needle/notions organizer from some scraps left over from one of my Underworld Swap projects.

{ DPNs }

i created my own pattern for this using my limited sewing knowledge and thought it came out great, although next time i think i'll use a thiner fabric, this stuff was almost felt like and it make doing some of the top stitching a bit tough. if there are any seamstresses out there who would like me to share the pattern with them i'd be more than happy to do so just leave me a comment here with your email and i'll get back to you :)

{ all tied up }

if all goes well this week i should have some pics of bloomers to share, as well as the usual spinning/knitting related goodness.

have a great weekend everyone ^^/

peace&love

~carla

spinning and knitting a nebula

{ "nebula in the garden" - i'm not sure why this one pic came out so big :} :scratches head in puzzlement:: }

happy saturday everyone ^-^

i've been quite a busy little bee since my last post here. i finished spinning up that beyond gorgeous cotton fiber from Girl Meets Spindle and i was so smitten with the end result that i had to knit it up right away into a cowl. and THEN i still had a teensie little bit of yarn left over so i just HAD to knit myself up a new bow to go with my cowl :)

{ nebula up close }

i just realized i forgot to take some decent pics of just the cowl so you can see the stitch pattern and all that goodness but here's one i took earlier with me modeling it.

{ lol that you can see my work shirt logo in the pic...i'm not the greatest camerawoman xD }

and it seems that i've developed a thing for bows lately. i think i wear them because i'm jealous i can't wear hats since my hair is too poofy. i totally need to knit and felt myself one of those little teeny steampunk hats that just clip on to your hair to further abate my hat envy (upcoming design idea maybe??)

i honestly can't wait to see what Girl Meets Spindle dyes up next! i hope she keeps dying this awesome pima cotton roving though, it was totally worth the frustration of dropping my spindle a million times to spin it :P

and that's not all i've been up to :3 i'm also test knitting my "doomsday mitts" pattern right now as i knit up a pair for a swap i'm involved in that i shall tell you all about next time (gotta save something to blog another day)

i hope everyone's having a great weekend :)

~carla

katydids and fingerless mitts

i had really hoped to be blogging again sooner but this year has been a tough year for me health wise. i injured my back at the end of last year and it seems to be having a hard time healing because i re-injured it again a few weeks ago and was actually laid out on my bed for a week :(

but fortunately i'm feeling better so i can finally stand to sit in my computer chair long enough to get a blog post done ^.^

so what is a katydid?

i was tending to my garden a few weeks ago, accompanied by my friend Dave, when suddenly he points to some flowers and say "what is that?" i took a close look at it and i honestly had no clue what it was, i'd never seen one before, but it looked like some kind of grasshopper.

so we got on google and did some research to find that this little guy is a Katydid. i have to admit i had no idea what a Katydid was, i'd never heard of them or seen one, but there are 2 of them that seem to have taken up residence in my garden now. i see them back there almost every day now, chewing on those bright yellow flowers ^.^

on to knitting news, i'm glad to announce that i've finally finished knitting my Doomsday Mitts:

i designed these mitts especially for this gorgeous gradient yarn i spun because i wanted to be able to make the cuffs as long as i could go and waste as little of my yarn as possible. it was a bit of a challenge designing top down gloves, most knitters would know that gloves are almost exclusively worked from the cuff down to the fingers. the thumb gusset had to be cast on instead of bound off so i had to scour the internet for techniques to acheive that.

i'm really excited for how they've turned out and now i just have to wait until it gets cold enough for me to actually wear them, hehe. i also need to try to remember HOW i knit them so i can write the pattern out (oops, i probably should have been doing that as i went ::facepalm::)

i've also been slowly plugging away at spinning up some absolutely devine cotton fibre i got from Girl Meets Spindle.

{ Girl Meets Spindle 100% Pima Cotton - Nebula }

anyone who's ever spun with cotton can tell you just how frustrating it is to spin with, but this stuff is really not so bad. i'd be lying if i said i hadn't heard my spindle drop more often than when spinning wool, but not nearly as much as other cotton i've tried.

i'm actually done with the spinning now and have moved on to plying so i should have some FO pics of this yarn very soon. i can't wait to get it plied and skeined up, just look at those colors!

and i leave you all today with this awesome reflection i saw on my wall about a week ago. as far as i can tell the sun was being reflected off a van window outside and in through my sliding glass door. there are some poorly manicured bushes in the path of the beam that projected this really cool image. it took me a while to figure out where it was coming from, but now i just hope that van will park there again sometime so i can see it again ^.^

happy labor day weekend everyone, and happy knitting/spinning too!

~carla

the tour de fleece is over :(

man i am really bad at keeping up with this blog xD

i know i said i was making my triumphant return to blogging at the end of June, but then the tour de fleece started and shortly after that a houseguest from the far off land of Ohio arrived so i've been swamped ever since.

but i DO have a wide array of spinning FO pics from the tour for your viewing pleasure ^.^

{ Metal Rabbit - 3.4oz, BFL }

this was my first finished yarn of the tour. this BFL was bought from Play At Life Fiber Arts as a set of sister batts, one black, one orangy/salmony gradient. it is so incredibly soft and squooshy, i'm not sure i even want to knit something with it. i might just have to save it to pet and smoosh as stress relief xD

{ Habitable Moon - 4oz, Polwarth }

and here's my first Polwarth yarn. i purchased a Polwarth roving/combed top combo pack from Friends in Fiber because i never knew there was a difference between roving and combed top. the two words are used pretty much interchangeably even though they are actually 2 different preparations of wool. combed top is the preparation you usually see in braids in most indie dyer shops on Etsy. roving, however, is a preparation that is pulled into 1 long length of fiber that's usually wrapped into a ball. it have to admit that i prefered the combed top preparation for spinning, i found the roving to be a bit neppier, but maybe that was just that particular roving.

{ Chocolate Caramel Ice cream - 47 grams, 100% Merino }

this fiber is actually left over from last years tour de fleece and i used it as practice for spinning a 3 ply laceweight yarn. i was unsuccessful at getting an even laceweight, but i think i came pretty close overall ^^

{Fishbowl - 1/4 oz, 100% Mulberry Silk }

i think this little sample was my favorite spin of the tour. the colors are sublime, thanks to Girl Meets Spindle. if you're a spinner and you haven't checked out this shop yet go do it nao! i'm in love with her colors and luxury fibers.

{handspun hair - my hair}

i guess i went a little spin crazy this tour because i actually won a prize for spinning a most unusual substance - my hair! i was evening it up a little bit one day during the tour, and i looked down at the hair clippings and my brain equated it as fiber so i had to try to spin with it. i have to admit i'm surprised i was able to spin it but it did work, even if it's just a teeny sample. my hair doesn't grow very fast

{ Forest Floor - 3.2oz, Falkland }

i actually started spinning this during the tour but didn't get to finish until after tour was over :(

this was a tour of exploring new fibers for me, first the Polwarth, then the Mulberry Silk, and then this Falkland. i got this fluffy Falkland from Felting Sunshine, i really love her rich, saturated colors.

{ Fawl Shawl - my first full sized shawl! }

i loved this yarn so much that i had to take a break from spinning to knit this Monarch Shawl. I think i'll tell you all about my adventures in shawl knitting next time though. have a wonderful weekend everyone ^^/

~carla

day 8: beleive it or not, i do still knit!

Tour de Fleece day 16:






i had a pretty busy sunday, a lot of cleaning up around the house and playing with my friend Justin's dogs, but i did manage to get some progress done on my Gale's Art Crayon Box roving. with just about a week left of the tour this will probably be the last yarn i get done, which will bring my tour total to 4. not bad for a rookie spindler i must say, although i do quite feel like a little fish in a big pond with all the wheel spinners cranking out skeins after skein of gorgeous yarn. i'm definitely going to have to save up for a wheel, not only to be able to spin faster but to spare my poor aching shoulder.


and while i'll admit that since i got bitten by the spinning bug i haven't been doing very much knitting, i have been slowly chipping away at some WIP's like this Banana Split Vertex:

i used 8 different samples from the April "all creatures great and small" Phat Fiber box, and while i had them all lined up to see that the colors would go together i realized that each of the different yarns i used corresponds to the color of a layer of a banana split. i've hyperlinked all the shops so you can just click on the names and you'll be redirected there.

Banana - "Mallard Duckling" from Desired Haven Farm

Vanilla ice cream - "Sheeps Night Out" from Sandy's Palette

Butterscotch syrup - "Honey Bee" from Comfed out Kaiser

Hot Fudge - "Chocolate Dreams" from Moonlight and Laughter plied with "Chocolate Ganache" From The Fuzzy Bunny

Whipped Cream - "Rustic Roving" from Bitsy Knits

Nuts - "Spring Peepers" from Fiber Diversions

and the Cherry on Top - "Lady Bug" from WC Mercantile

i took this pic pre-blocking because i was just so excited to finally have it done. This project spent the last 2 weeks at a friends house where i had forgotten all about it due to all the TdF excitement. all it needed was the crochet border which i finished last night.

aside from this FO i'm also working on a pair of cabled mary jane style slippers which i'll probably post progress pics of tomorrow.

and that's all for today folks, except to say that today was the first day in a week it wasn't swelteringly hot here! it's been such a nice change of pace, i only hope it lasts as long as possible .

ttfn ^^/

~Carla

day 2 of my month long blog-a-thon

Tour de Fleece Day 10:

today is a day of rest for the Tour de Fleece (and Tour de France) but that hasn't stopped me from spinning, knitting, and sewing up a storm! i recently decided to sew up some of my circular needle holders for sale in my Etsy shop since whenever i've offered them in swaps they've been snatched up pretty quickly. i'm also considering offering my handspun in my Etsy shop too, but it's so hard to part with!

and for those of you who remember that lovely colorchanging turquoise/black yarn i spun i have a pic of the little mini scarf i knit with it.

the pattern is Vertex by Galia Lael and it can be found on Ravelry here. i only had 130 yards to work with, so it is rather small, but i love the way the color change effect turned out. i'll probably spin a bunch more yarns like this, i've just been on a color changing kick lately.

and speaking of which i've just ordered this gorgeous fibre pack to that end.

i found it at The Rainbow Room on Etsy (probably my fav new Etsy shop.) this is the "Peacock" fibre pack, i think it's going to make one hell of an awesome color changing yarn...i may even have to make another Vertex with this once i'm done spinning it!

well that's all for today folks, i'll probably be finishing my latests spinning WIP tonight or tomorrow so be sure to look out for pics of the FO ^.^

peace & love

~Carla

it's House Cup time again!!!

yay! i'm FINALLY done with my finals for school, and not a moment too soon because the Harry Potter Knitting and Crochet House Cup competition is on again ^.^

i didn't compete last term because i just had too many things going on in my life at the time, but now that school is done and i have nothing more to do this summer than look for a decent job i've finally got some time to participate again. the first month of competition actually fell on the month of all my finals, but somehow or another i actually managed to complete projects for it, so i thought i'd post a little picture montage for you all to see.

{Defense Against the Dark Arts homework}

for those of you who don't know what the HPKCHC is, it's a competition group on Ravelry where you're sorted into one of the 4 houses, just like in the Harry Potter books/movies. we have volunteer "Professors" who post fibre arts assignments in different magical disciplines and all the houses knit and crochet items to compete for points and the title of "House Cup Champions." I am a Ravenclaw, and there were some great assignments this first month. the one pictured above and below is my project for Defense Against the Dark Arts.

{AKA Clover Leaf Scarf}

i swear that the forces of darkness were actually working against me when i tried knitting this scarf, because i only managed to get halfway through the pattern before it disappeared from the Elann.com website! luckily, all my design experience really saved my butt, because i was able to reverse engineer the last half of it and it came out looking pretty good actually, considering this was my first time knitting on the bias.

{Dragon Scale Headband - made for Charms}

this next project is actually my very first project using my own handspun yarn! i was super excited about this one, some of you might recognize the yarn i used from my last post about spinning. it's one of the two yarns on my spindles that i posted a picture of. i modified a pattern for a dragonscale cuff because i wanted to use up all of the yarn i had spun and i think it came out looking pretty good. the silk in the yarn gives it a bit of a reptilian, scaley sheen in spots so it was the perfect yarn for this pattern.

{petite vache delaine - made for History of Magic}

and ofc, being the cow lover that i am, i couldn't resist the urge to make another tiny cow for one of my classes. this time i used a wool fingering weight yarn, in lieu of gold metallic embroidery thread i used for my original petite vache dorée. it also gave me a chance to test knit the pattern for this little cow (only took me about a year lol) so that i'll be able to post it in my pattern store on Ravelry soon. and this time around i even gave my little cow a tiny collar complete with bell!

{fire coming out of a monkey's head - Ancient Runes homework}

this project is probably my most abstract interpretation of an assignment so far. in Ancient Runes we were asked to create something inspired by a Norse Mythological Creature, or something inspired by Futhark Runes. i chose to do both, this little camera sock is inspired by the Norse Fire Giants, particularly Surtur, and by a Gorillaz song from which it takes it's name. the lyrics of the song describe a mountain called "Monkey" that spews forth fire to cleanse the world of the evils of greed and glutony, much like the Norse Fire Giants cleanse the world with fire after all the gods have died in the battle at Ragnarok.

the faire isle design is comprised almost entirely of the Futhark Rune "Kenaz" which looks very similar to one of these "<" this was also my first faire isle design (or maybe technically "faux" isle, since i used a variegated yarn to acheive the colorwork.) and it was very much needed because my poor camera has been sitting around my room naked and collecting dust since christmas.

{black + white =/= grey - a cowl for charms in June}

this last project is my first project for June classes, all the others i turned in in May. this is also my 2nd project using my own handspun yarn. i was lucky enough to get doubles of this sample in my April PhatFiber boxes, so i had enough yarn to make this cute lil cowl/cuff thingy. i used the pattern "Cashmere Cuff" by Jessica Vaughan, with a few modifications, and was able to use up exactly the 41.8 yards i had spun. i'm so glad that i've been able to use up the entire skein of my handspun yarns in the projects i've used them for. so much of my heart and soul goes into spinning them it would kill me to have just a few yards left over and nothing to do with them.

and speaking of handspun...

{colorchanging handspun - turquoise to black}

here is my latest spinning FO, a colorchanging merino wool yarn, single ply, and about fingering to sport/DK weight. this is the largest amount of yarn i've ever spun in a single skein and i'm quite proud of it. i even got the colors to distribute pretty evenly so there it's almost equal parts turquoise, black, and a mix of the two. i'll be using this loveliness to knit a Vertex shawl for the KAL in the PhatFiber group.

i think i might actually be starting to like spinning almost more than knitting! i say almost because knitting WITH yarn i've spun is definItely more fulfilling than just spinning or knitting with store bought yarn. i can't wait to see how this latest colorchanging yarn is going to knit up!

and on that note, i'm outta here for the night. i hope everyone is having a great beginning to their summer, and getting plenty of crafting time in. after all, if we didn't craft, we'd probably all go crazy right?

ttfn

~Carla