musindigo

I invested in a new camera.

The one I was using did the job but it’s five years old and a little shaky and flaky at times.

So, as luck would have it (but these days, it’s not terribly hard to find some suitable deal, I find), a company I like to deal with had a deal on the camera brand I like (Fujifilm) when I started looking for a new one.  I’ve had it for a little while and really appreciate some of the features like the anti-shake and fairly decent video capabilities, as well as its ability to to function in lower light situations than my old camera which did its best work in natural light.

I first bought my previous digital to capture still life shots, mostly of florals, and because we were expecting the little guy.  I used to do watercolours back then, and coloured pencil work, but I haven’t really done any at all since the birth of Sam.  However, he is going to be in school full time this fall so I’m hoping I can put my typical knitting startitis aside every once in a while and maybe sit still long enough to produce a few watercolours or other paintings now and again.  Having the new camera  has also woken up a little spark in me sort of aiming in such a direction as well.

So while I haven’t taken gardening shots, really, for years (it’s hard to think about photography when you have your eyeballs thinking about different colourways of hand-dyed yarn every waking minute), today and recently I’ve captured a few shots from the garden which some day might become some sort of floral still-life paintings.

But even if they don’t, I’m sure I will quite enjoy the photos on their own.  I haven’t really done photography seriously since university when my old Pentax ME was still working.  I like how the shots come out nicely clear and detailed and I really like the brilliant colour.

And, I’m pretty impressed with my garden this year, and what I’ve managed, considering I’m not always feeling like gardening but it really has come together nicely enough.   Sometimes I think gardening is more about have time to really think about it than anything.  And with this year being a little on the tough side at times, the little crisp spots of colour go a long way.

I’m happy to report some knitting has made it off the needles.

A little lacey shoulder shawl I’m pleased to have knitted out of one skein of the Asherah alpaca-merino lace.  I’m working on a beaded version and a pattern will be available soon.

Back to gardening…

The roses are nearly finished.  They took a beating the other day when we had downpours, but a few are still showing off nice punchy colour:

I didn’t count the blossoms but I’m betting on around a hundred or so.

And, the Silver Lace is going absolutely nuts this year:

I know vines are not everyone’s cup of tea but I really appreciate the extra shade this one allows.

And, my prized white hydrangea.  A few weeks back, it looked like this:

Today it looks like this, slightly mangled.  Yesterday it was sprawled all over the steps to the right due to heavy rain.  :(  It’s now held in place by a little netting at the bottom and I hope it’s enough to help it stay upright.

Unfortunately, there were a few broken stems.  Several blossoms have come into the house with me where I can enjoy them.

This one resides in a anniversary glass gifted in honour of my parents’ silver anniversary.  I thought it was a pretty combination.

And, no, it’s not my anniversary (that was last month).  But, it’s June.  It’s bound to be someone’s anniversary.  Happy Anniversary.

Tags: finished, gallery, knitting, lace, life, patterns

Why, quite a bit, actually.  Spinning has gone very well lately; quite a few FOs coming off the bobbins.

Like this - Freckleface ‘Gypsy’, 80/20 merino/silk roving

spun into

this 3-ply light fingering weight, 104g / 415 yards (I also wound up with 69 yds of 2-ply laceweight).  Isn’t it interesting sometimes how the yarn really isn’t at all like the original roving?  I did deliberately attempt to break up the colour runs in this, however, splitting each third of roving into quarters before spinning.  I am quite tickled with it, actually.  The plan is to knit a simple lace scarf (like the Raha Scarf by Nancy Bush) which would leave me enough left for a cowl or some fingerless mittens.

And then, I decided to spin up a little batt leftover from a show in the fall.  It had a mixture of fibres, alpaca, merino and silk.  I typically forgot to take a photo pre-spinning since it was one of those sort of impulsive projects started on a whim one evening.  I plied it with a single of gorgeous Wooly Wonka  Silverback Roving - alpaca, bamboo + angelina (just absolutely divine stuff - too nice to spin, almost).

It turned out quite sweet, if I say so myself:

I spun it so it would transition from a rich seaglass blue to a gray blue to golden (72g / 283 yds), light fingering laceweight, plied looser than normal for lots of drape.  Currently it’s being knit into a lacey cowl.  I had the project in mind while spinning and it’s proving to be a perfect match.

And, most recently,   this -

-showing 3 of 8 skeins spun over the holidays (finished on Jan.3rd).  This is an ultimate achievement for me.  I’ve always wanted to spin enough yarn for a sweater.  This is the first time I’ve managed to do so.  It’s quite a mix:  about 50% red fibre (alpaca, border leicester and tunis) + 40% shetland + 10% green, blue, rust and black corridale which I carded together.  I spun it sportweight, softly with a deliberately drapey yet stretchy hand.  I’ve got about 520gs and close to 1400 yds.

Because I want to knit

Kelmscott, which I’ve been totally enamoured by since it first showed up on my screen in the Winter’09 Twist Collective.  I’m not sure I will knit the collar since it’s quite formal that way.  But, we’ll see.  Currently, what you see above is total progress on the sweater (2″ of one front).

The red roving project, as it came to be known, was quite an undertaking but a nice quiet focus amidst the crazy holiday activity, which was a good thing, given the need for deliberate focus has become imperative as of late.  It is nice to be able to find the time to focus on such large-scale projects  because in recent years I’ve been far too busy to really allow for such things.  (And, of course, I’m a fickle knitter and spinner, prone to startitis to begin with).  But, not these days.

Late 2009 brought some changes (as every year does for most of us) which are going to carry on into 2010.  In a recent post I mentioned about seeking medical advice for some unexplainable oddities.  Hence the required focus and balance.

For a while, I thought it was related to the stress of having a busy schedule and not quite enough downtime.  I expected, given some time, things would just sort of clear up and I would wake up one morning feeling just fine (has not yet happened).  I thought a weekend away would work wonders (it didn’t).  It became loud and clear over a period of short months I would need to change my expectations of what I generally was used to business-wise and how I conducted daily activities.  Time to face facts.  I’m told it’s likely fibromyalgia + something.  Or it could just be something. The ’something’ is proving to be difficult to nail down and receiving specialist treatment is proving to be a time-consuming process (that is, getting to see a specialist is taking long).

Because all of this is happening behind the scenes, so to speak, and because I’ve received requests, I just wanted to let folks know I will not be offering clubs this year (as far as I know); I have also elected to not reserve booth space at any shows.  This is quite disappointing since I very much enjoy meeting folks, never mind it’s fun seeing other vendors who I’ve become friendly with (and never mind the enjoyment of adding goodies to my stash - but perhaps I will be able attend some shows and just enjoy the shopping side for once).

I will, however, be continuing to dye in small batches, fill small wholesale orders and I will also continue to publish designs.  Although some things will take longer to put together than they have in the past, other things may come together more quickly with the schedule being less jam-packed.

It has all been rather eye-opening.  I am quite used to walking miles with the dog and working 10-14 hours in a day if required, filling gaps with personal activities.  This, at the moment, is a thing of the past.  A balanced schedule is a requirement.  No more willy nilly.

I am grateful to family and friends who have stepped in to help me to continue working.  I am grateful I’ve been working from home for years which has enabled me to jiggle things a bit, rather than forcing an abrupt career malfunction.

And, the major upside is more time to spin and knit since I’m being forced to slow things down (ironic, isn’t it?  getting more by slowing down?).  This is something I’ve wanted (what fibre addict wouldn’t?).  So, I’m taking it.  I’ve always believed in being opportunistic.  And, IMO, the therapeutic value is priceless.  :)

And, I am expecting with some time, some sort of treatment may become available.  All of this could, at some point, become a non-issue.

So, in a nutshell, this is how 2010 begins.  C’est la vie, as they say.  Onwards and upwards.  Knit (spin, dye) on.

Happy New Year to you and yours.  I’m looking forward to the Olympics.  Are you?

Tags: finished, knitting, life, oceanwind knits, projects, spinning, wip, work in progress

Sometimes, as mentioned in the last post, you get what you wish for.  Sometimes, in strange ways.

One of the things I am most often lamenting about is a lack of ‘personal’ knitting time due to other obligations (like work and boys needing their mother’s support and a need for sleep).

I knew coming into this fall, things were going to be walking a fairly thin line between meeting obligations and commitments and going off the rails at breakneck speed.  I managed to experience both.  Sometimes simultaneously.  However, there was not much to be done about it other than work through it.  I really did not have much control over the timing of so many things and I really became quite disappointed as to how I was unable to keep things rolling along at a more reasonable pace.

Thankfully most folks have been understanding and I truly appreciate everyone’s consideration and patience over the last few months.

My fall came on blasting.  Aside from trying (sometimes in vain due to a majorly wet  September and October which increased drying time substantially making dyeing quite problematic) to fill orders for wholesale, clubs and retail, I was dyeing to prepare for two shows only weeks apart.  In between the shows I managed, like I do most falls, to pick up a flu bug which knocked me out for days on end.  Our youngest was diagnosed with asthma in late September after a scary abrupt respiratory illness, probably related to the same bug.  In mid-October, it became pretty clear to me that the ‘little things’ irking me physically were not so little anymore and I should probably take note and get checked over.   This evolved into attending multiple medical appointments and tests, some hours away, which really take their toll on a work schedule.  I am still working through the medical system to really define what’s going on in this department.  A few weeks ago, my dad had heart surgery (he is doing excellent).

So, after feeling quite over-extended, finally things have settled down to a point where I feel I am once again in control and I’ve worked diligently to get to such a point.  This, after everything, is quite a blessing.

The other blessing (aside from my incredible family who step in when needed and the support of friends), amongst all the chaos of September and October and early November, was a sudden surge of ‘personal’ knitting time (hence, what I often wish for, I now had);  I found myself in the passenger seat on long car trips, in waiting rooms and just generally unable to work due to many factors, leaving me with time on (in?) my hands.  So, out came the spinning wheel and the needles.  An oasis which I could focus on when I wasn’t forced to be resting.  And, glee, because, not being very prolific in the FO department - I tend to be a process knitter and lose focus with other obligations - I actually had things flying off the needles.  :)  Yay!

So, this (Waterloo Wools South African Wool, purchased at the KW Knitter’s Fair) -

became this:

Which became these (Whistlpea Knits Basic Cabled Mittens) -

I also managed to churn out two of these -

in four different colourways of Noro Silk Garden Sock (two colourways each).  The pattern is Dianna.  It is a rare thing for me to knit something twice, but I loved how this pattern works up and the process was rather soothing.  (The border on the first one is the border from the Half Square Shawl, Victorian Lace Today).

This one has gone to live with Anne, who I’m sure has sore email ears (eyes?) a lot of days due to someone’s harping on a regular basis (I wonder who? ;)).  I also finished up quite a few bobbins of handspun (as of yet unphoto-ed) and managed to sort of figure out the workings of my new-to-me CSM (this one is going to require quite the learning curve but I’m starting to get it).

So, with any luck, and hopefully not at the same expense and stress level of the past several months, the FOs will continue.  We will see.

Tags: finished, knits, knitting, life, projects, roving, spinning, wool, yarn

I’m not really sure how it got to be August, but it is.  It happened.

Lately the days just fill up and flow together.

This is not necessarily a bad thing (I can be heard remarking that one of my biggest fears in life is being bored;  I certainly don’t need to be concerned about it at all these days).

And, I quite like when there is concrete physical evidence of productivity.  As of late, it’s been pretty good around here on that level.

A few notables:

For the past year, we’ve been anticipating some sort of diagnosis for the youngest, given his development is not typical for his age level and hasn’t been for some time.  In July, we received a diagnosis of high level autism.  This is good.  It allows all of us to move forward with confidence we’ve been practicing activities and setting up programs which are going to be helpful for him and have been helpful.  We are on the right track.

In the knitting arena, I’ve gotten a few things off the needles in good time (I can’t show you one of them because it’s the design for the September installment of the ETL Club via Woolgirl).  I am also dyeing the yarn (still a work in progress) for the same installment.  This has been a little challenging this summer (as has been dyeing in general) with our weather patterns in southwestern Ontario leaning towards high humidity and more rain than normal.  But, we’re managing.

This, however, I can show you, now that it’s in the hands of its intended:

Earlier in the year, I was invited to participate in this year’s Handspun Scarf Exchange.  Basically, the premise is to entice spinners to knit with their handspun.  This was good incentive for me; it is the first FO knitted out of my handspun.  I have dabbled and dreamed and prospected with my handspun but have never achieved and full, in the flesh, completed knitted item.

I think it came out fairly well.

I really enjoyed the whole process, as well.  You receive fibre to spin from the intended owner, and likewise, someone else in the group receives your fibre.  You have no idea who you’re spinning/knitting for until the end of the alotted timeframe.

So, I’m not sure who dyed this fibre; I know only it is a merino silk.  Very nice to work with.  It was spun on the Ladybug at 9:1.  My intention was laceweight/light fingering, but with a little bit of bounce, not too drapey but with some ability to show lace patterning.  Larkin requested a wider scarf, and not too long and skinny.  I found Anne’s Butternut Scarf pattern and it seemed to fit the bill.  I think I was also attracted to that pattern in particular because the Anne’s sample was knitted with handspun as well.

Other yarn specs:

Plied 9:1; the roving was divided into 32 smaller ‘nests’ before spinning to spread the colouring around and shorten some of the longer colour runs.  Resulting yardage:  skein #1 - 2.8 oz/80g/405 yds; skein #2 - 1.3 oz/38g/195 yds.  I was hoping for around 600 yds and in the end, that’s exactly what I wound up with.

It really all came together perfectly.

Of course, now I would like one just like this for myself.  :)

Anyhow, finally got around to blogging!  I have more knitting/spinning to share but my hopes are I will be able to squeeze in another blog post fairly soon.

Tags: finished, knitting, lace, life, projects, spinning, yarn

Finally completed the shop update (a little later than sooner).  As usual (typically, with boys in the house) there have been a few unpredicted events around here;  the most notable being the teenager developing an inclusion cyst on the side of his face which had to be attended to.  Thankfully, he is on the mend and it probably will not require surgery at this point in time.

I’ve also been trying to pretty up the gardens outside while the weather co-operates but we are still under frost warning for tonight.  Hopefully the trend will soon give way to more springy temps which stick around.  It’s been a roller-coaster ride lately.

A few new introductions:

A fingerless glove pattern - “Whither Mitts” and its companion yarn, “BFL Sport“:

As well, a few new things in spinning:   Learn-to-spin-kits, Exotic Drop-Spindles and Fancy Batts.

Last but not least - sign ups for the Oceanwind Knits Fibre Club ‘09 are open!  See all the details here.  6 options available.  Shipments begin in July.

All of the newbies can be browsed in the ‘new’ section of the shop.

I’ve only got one skein remaining of the new ‘Seabreez‘ - the lace vultures lovers gobbled it up at the Frolic.  There will be more as soon as I can get my hands on some new base yarn stock.

I’ve also managed some non-work knitting which I am keen to share - hopefully next time around.  And, spinning, too.

Happy Spring!

Tags: boys, dyeing, finished, life, oceanwind knits, patterns, spinning, yarn

Feels like I’ve been on another planet for the last week or so (the Frolic seems to have that effect on me, never mind acquiring a bit of a cold afterwards). However, here we have two new ladies, now available:

Ms. Lutea

and,

Ms. Tilia

(click title links to be taken to more info about either pattern).

Watch for more new goodies as the week progresses.

Happy Spring!

Tags: finished, knit design, knitting, lace, oceanwind knits, patterns, projects

Are these not just the cutest?

They are like little pets.  Colorful bits of hand-dyed, hand-carded mulberry silk, in several colourful flavours.  :)  I would like to keep them all for my personal little pet collection but I will be carding them with some hand-dyed alpaca and merino and bringing them to the Frolic next weekend.  Time is flying.  It will be here fast!

Now that the weather is finally getting nice - yesterday was the first day since last fall I felt was balmy enough to hang freshly dyed out to dry.   And the warmer weather is adding a bit of energy that’s been lacking around here - all the long snowy days kind of get to you after a while.  Now it’s spring!  I’m hoping officially here since I have mosquitoes instead of snowflakes dancing around the front porch (yes, this is Ontario - from snowflakes to black flies in less than a week).

Today I saw a butterfly which I also feel bodes well.

I can see my dad putting his snow-blower away for the winter across the road… I think that’s a good sign, too.

I am really looking forward to the Frolic.  Many new vendors this year, too, although I don’t really get to shop (which is probably not a bad thing for my pocketbook since the takings are usually phenomenal).

The last several months have been spent putting things together.  I’ve got several new designs and lots of spinning goodies this year.

I thought I would share a few tastes of the new lotus shawl (still not officially named… it will come to me sometime soon in the middle of the nigh, I’m sure).

I will have kits for this at the Frolic in hand-dyed laceweight merino in lots of spring colourways.

So, I’d better get back to knitting, dyeing and carding… still lots to do!

I may, a little later, park on the front porch with the laptop for a change of scene… always a sure sign of spring around here.  :)

Tags: dyeing, finished, knit design, knitting, lace, oceanwind knits, patterns, projects, roving, spinning, yarn

Just a few new things posted to Oceanwind Knits today.  More soon!

Check out what’s new.

Tags: dyeing, lace, oceanwind knits, wool, yarn

So it’s nearly the end of March.

Yup, occurs to me today.

I guess time flies when you’re busy. I should know that by now!

OK. So, since last time, I’ve (obviously) been rebuilding websites but, what else? When I try to analyze, it’s all a blur so it’s hard to say, specifically.

We’ve had our share of bugs (again - I think working from home has lowered our resistance to some bugs now that Sam is in JK - poor Sammy had pneumonia + ear infection a little while back).

Boys finished hockey last weekend. It wasn’t a stellar year for Ben’s Bantam team but I guess every year is different.

But I do know there was a usual flurry of dyeing and designing and knitting and spinning.

This is the first skein off the Ladybug, hand-dyed merino, 2-ply, about fingering weight.

It’s fairly even but there are a few spots where it’s a little oddly plied since I am still getting used to the wheel.  But, getting used to it is fun.  :)

This is the first (still unfinished) skein of 50/30/20 alpaca/mohair/wool from Wellington Fibres, spun on the Victoria.  It comes pin-drafted so it practically spins itself!  It’s awesome.  I love it.  188 yds/70g, light fingering.  I have a lot of it.  I am pretty sure I will have enough for a large lace project once it’s all spun up.

Then there is this stuff (which is as amazing as it looks, believe me)- Australian Merino, intense deep colours, soft and smooth.  Just perfect (really).  It’s from Spiraldyed by Jacinta Leishman.

It doesn’t really show up well in this photo, but spun up, it’s just gorgeous.  I have one skein plied, 320 yds/96gs.  I’m hoping to knit a rectangular wrap of some sort from it.

So, how are all those sweaters coming, you ask?  Believe it or not, I have buttons in hand for the Tangled.  I do not know what the hold-up is, other than I like to be in a certain mood (calm is always good!) to place and sew on buttons and I haven’t felt that lately.  But, one of these days, there will be buttons.

I’ve finished the body of Wisteria and am working on the sleeves.

And, I’ve managed to sneak in a Noro sweater (in soothing stockinette) which is nearly off the needles.  With any luck it won’t take me too long to finish off the bands and sew on buttons.  ;)

I am working on a few new designs, too:

This one, above, is nearly off the needles already.  I may actually get it published before my deadline (which is the DKC Frolic in Toronto, the last week of April).  In any event, I hope to have them both debuting at the Frolic with kits available, along with a few other goodies.

Hopefully I will have at least one shop update before then, too.

Hope everyone is well.  Happy spring!

Tags: dyeing, finished, knit design, knitting, lace, oceanwind knits, patterns, projects, roving, spinning, sweater, wool, work in progress, yarn

A new design.  :)

This one was my baby for what seems like forever.  I kind of fitzed around with it in my head and otherwise (noodling around through stitch pattern books, thinking about what I wanted to represent, wanting to grab some of that Van Goghesque feel of the yarn colour-way, doing up arm-lengths of swatches… finally deciding on three lace patterns out of a zillion, making them all work together and adjusting repeat widths/lengths, charting, determining how many and how often and calculating yardage… I felt like I was sleeping with this shawl design for a good chunk of a year).  At the same time, I was really in love with it.

When it was all said and done, I needed a drink lol.  I was left wondering for a while if it was really off the needles and blocked and folded neatly in a special spot on my work-shelf.

It was a lot of fun to photograph (even some curious onlookers from the neighbourhood came driving slowly along peering at me out there in the park).  I got some early long wished-for snow (which is still around, under many further layers of later snow… did I wish too hard?) and found a fab crabapple tree to complement the blues of the yarn.  It was semi-overcast and a little breezy but not too much of either and if I was careful I was able to avoid photo-ing my footprints.  (Some photos taken indoors, too).

Anyhow, without further long-windedness -

Here is the Longest Night Shawl, AKA the ‘Solstice Shawl’ between Anne, and I.  (I’m sure she must have gotten tired of hearing about it.  ;))

Further photos available here (my Rav project page) and on the pattern page at Ravelry.  Download from my Rav shop or in the Oceanwind Knits Shop.

Tags: knit design, knitting, patterns, snow, winter