Knit Night Ho ...

If you happen to be in San Francisco on a Monday night, stop by Panera at 4th & King around 6:30 or so. Several of us are trying to start up a knit night there.

On the knitting front, I've managed to make a pair of Sunday Swing Socks out of some absolutely lovely Colinette Jitterbug in Venezia colorway. I liked the yarn so much I bought more to use for a hat.

I had a private yarn crawl in Northern Washington State last weekend. Managed to find some great patterns, Wildfoote sock yarn, and a odds & ends for my supplies kit (needles and such). Unfortunately, the shops didn't have enough of the yarns I was interested in )-: (We missed out on one shop in Port Townsend because we were looking around a bead store for too long.)

Now I'm digging through my stash trying to match up patterns with suitable yarns.

Fluff

I've been knitting a bit recently - found the pattern of a sock I had nearly completed, so I was finally able to finish the pair.

The biggest news is that I got a Louet Victoria spinning wheel in late May. I haven't had a lot of time to spin, but it is relaxing and productive when I do.

After I bought it, I found out Louet was having a promo for people who bought Victoria or Julia wheels, and managed to get in on the deal. The package arrived yesterday.

I am the proud owner of 9 lbs of assorted fluff - tops and roving to use on my new wheel. Some of it is soft, some of it colorful (dyed), all of it will be a learning experience.

Health

I'm dealing with a few health issues right now. Hopefully I can post again (with pics) in the near future.

Let me just say that pancreatitis stinks and I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. Fortunately, I'm out of hospital and at least able to eat again (-:

Been Busy

Life's been crazy recently, hence the lack of posts.

I have, however, managed to weave two scarves, spin on a drop spindle, spin on a wheel (for the first time - and I got to keep the yarn), and continue to affirm that I love working with fiber.

As soon as I find my camera, pics will follow of the complete works.

Weaving

When I came back from Stitches with my drop spindle, Steve predicted I would have a wheel within a year. My quick response was no ... a loom.

Two days ago I got an Ashford Knitter's Loom (20"), and I love it.

Years ago I did a bit of simple weaving for a woman I babysat for, but I was a bit slow weaving, so that ended rather quickly. However, I still remember a few bits about it - mostly how to keep the edges from drawing in.

So now I am weaving. Steve thinks it's cool; I think it will help me get rid of some of my stash!

Progress

Well, I haven't put my entire list up on Ravelry yet, but I've already had four sales! Three are completed, one is pending payment. I'm feeling pretty good about that.

The big reason for the whole destash is that I just have too much, and I bought yarn for projects that I later decided not to make, or decided that perhaps I didn't like the color, or bought too much.

I hope things will pick up once I finish putting things up online.

Now, if I could just find a buyer for my old DSLR!

Stitches

So, Stitches West is over for this year. It was a lot of fun and I'm glad I went. One of the best parts was running into all the people I used to hang out with at knitting meet-ups and the guild. It's really great when people are genuinely glad to see you.

I managed to escape from Stitches with only a modest amount of loot. I bough 2 skeins from Brooks Farm (wool/silk/viscose) in pale grey/yellow/green; 3 skeins (540 grams) of Kauni in a denim/green colorway; 10 skeins of Noro Silk Garden. The last two were from Webs, so I got a discount.

I'm also venturing into the world of spinning. I bought a drop spindle and some roving at Urban Fauna. Definitely not very good, yet, but getting some of the results I wanted.

Steve predicts that I will have a spinning wheel by the end of the year. I predict I will have some sort of loom (-:

In post-Stitches news, I made my first destash sale on Ravelry today. Had to set up a PayPal account to do it...welcome to technology!