Project Bags and Some Custom Spinning

I've been doing a bit more sewing to get some of the new quilted project bags up into the shop. I also wanted to send a quilted project bag to my swap partner, and packages needed to be sent out this week. So, yesterday I finished up 3 bags I had been working on, and put 2 of them in the shop and sent one to my swap partner.

The Princess and the Pea is my absolute favorite of the three bags I made:

Made with Heather Ross' original Far, Far Away fabric line on double gauze 

back of bag 

lining of the bag is quilting cotton

I put this bag up in the shop last night, and it was snatched up by someone fairly quickly. And then I got a message from someone else asking if I could make another one....I pieced together the outside today and had just enough fabric. 

Next up is a bag made from Heather Ross' Far, Far Away 2 line:

Why, yes...I am obsessed with Heather Ross fabrics.

This is the bag that's on it's way to my swap partner!

Then, for those who aren't up for all the whimsy:

This one is up for sale in the etsy shop. 

Close up of the lining

I've also been really busy working on custom spinning orders since we got back into town.

775 yards of gorgeously soft merino in sport-weight. 

Spun from roving dyed by FLUFF Fibers in colorway Greyscale.

I wish you could reach through the screen and squish those skeins. I've spun quite a bit of merino from various dyers, but this was by far the softest most lofty merino I've come across. The resulting yarn is soooo airy and light. 

250 yards of Merino/Angora (80/20) spun at a dk weight. 

Dyed by JulieSpins in colorway "Lipstick in the Snow"

The angora gave this skein a lovely, fuzzy halo and I think it's going to look awesome knit up! 

On the knitting front, I've been plugging away at a pair of Cookie A. socks, or sock rather. I'm still on the leg of the first sock. But they are going to be AWESOME when they're done. I swear. I'll try and remember to take a picture of the sock-in-progress tomorrow. 

In other news, we're expecting a SNOW STORM. A whole 2-4 inches. I've been hearing about the impending snowstorm all week on the news. Granted, many other parts of Oregon are expecting a couple of feet....but 2-4 inches on the valley floor is a huge deal. Not to mention the "Record Low Temperatures" which will be in the 20s. I'm not sure I'll ever get used to the NW making such a huge deal about temps below 30 degrees and snowfall beyond an inch! 

I'll be sure to update you about the record temperatures and crazy, debilitating snowfall! 

Love,

liz :)

Hagg Lake Mud Run

Seth ran his first ultra race of the season on Saturday, the Hagg Lake 50K. The course is notorious for being ridiculously muddy, and this year was no exception. Actually, rumor has it that the course was muddier than it has been in at least 3 or 4 years.

We left the house at some absurd hour of the morning (just for clarity, anything before 6am is absurdly early) and drove up the back roads to Hagg Lake. It's been unseasonably cold here, and the roads were coated in a thin layer of ice once we got closer to the lake. It made me miss the salt trucks of the northeast!

Once we arrived, we parked in parking lot down the road and walked down the trail to the pavilion (which had portable heaters-yay!) with Sailor dragging us along. Truth be told, he was dragging Seth. I was wearing Uggs with no traction and would have most likely been taken down into the mud.

It was a pretty chilly start to the race and running through the iced over parking lot looked pretty challenging!

Seth waiting for the race to start

Runners at the starting line

The race started with a 3 mile out-and-back up a hill and then back down.

Seth running back past the pavilion after the out-and-back

After the out-and-back, the race ran 2 laps around the lake. Usually, I try and make it to all the aid stations...but there was no parking at the second aid station, so I skipped by it and went directly to the third aid station. Since I was there so early, I worked on a little sock knitting until I thought that Seth might be headed up the road soon. 

Seth coming into the third aid station (about 13 miles in)

After fueling up, the runners headed back down towards the lake

Seth finishing up the first lap

The weather was perfect for running, and the lake was gorgeous in the sunshine:

While I was waiting for Seth to finish, there were a bunch of runners washing off in the lake, I can only imagine how chilly the water was!

Brrrr!

Seth finished in 6 hours! 

All the runners who came across the finish line were COVERED in mud, and Seth was no exception:

There's a reason the website is "haggmud.com"!

Are you sick of pictures of Seth running yet?! 

I don't have any fun knitting or spinning pictures to show off, but should have some tomorrow! I just finished spinning 8 ounces of the softest, most gorgeous merino for a custom job and am working on some beautiful merino/angora that should be done today! 

Love,

liz :)

I'm Baaaaack!

Phew. It's been a while, hasn't it?! I have lots to share, so make sure you are sitting down. :)

The first exciting thing I want to share, is a photo of Seth's Dad in the sweater I made him. When we arrived in Rochester for Jonathon's wedding, we drove to the hotel just so he could have the sweater to wear to the rehearsal. He proudly told EVERYONE at the rehearsal that he was wearing a handknit sweater.

It fits him perfectly, and has been "rock climbing tested" in Vegas.

Seth's brother Jonathon got married while we were home, and had a beautiful wedding in Rochester.

Jacky and Jonathon during one of the readings during the ceremony

Seth, Matt, Jacky, Jonathon, Desi, and Mark Arrow

Their cake cutting was especially entertaining! 

We had quite the eventful trip home which also included a 50th Birthday Party for my Aunt Kathleen. The party was in a loft owned by one of Kathleen and Bob's friends and it was a GREAT celebration. 

I have quite a few photos from the party, but I think this one pretty much sums it up. Kathleen looked like she was having a fantastic time surrounded by friends from all facets of her life (and her huge family, of course!). 

Today is Kathleen's real birthday....so....

HAPPY 50th BIRTHDAY KATHLEEN!

And now, onto the knitting. There has been quite a bit of knitting and I have a bunch of small projects to show off!

So....before we left for the great white north, I realized that my lone pair of handknit mittens were looking a little sad (after wearing them every day for several winters in Maine) and a new pair was in order. I had finished 1/2 the pair before we left and vowed to knit the other one on the plane. Planes put me to sleep, so I didn't finish the second mitten until the night of the wedding! But, they were finished in time for the cold snap that happened while we were home. 

Pattern: Clap! Mittens by Kim Haesemeyer

Yarn: Handspun yarn (spun by me!) from JulieSpins Polwarth Roving

Modifications: My gauge was off since I was using sportweight yarn instead of fingering weight, so I knit a size smaller than I typically would have. But other than that, I followed the pattern exactly. 

I need to knit more with handspun...I'm so pleased with how these came out!

I've also been working on several baby gifts for someone I know who will be using cloth diapers. 

Pattern: EviePants All-in-One by Marilyn Porter

Yarn: Bear and Pants Cestari Fine Scrappies (I purchased a set of 5 mini-skeins of scrappies from another raveler)

Modifications: None. This pattern is completely customizable and so I just followed the directions for exactly what I wanted. They still need an i-cord for the waist, but I haven't decided what yarn to use yet.

The soaker was also made from the EviePants pattern and knit with Bear & Pants scrappies. It took exactly 2 ounces of yarn to knit the newborn sized soaker. Cute, eh?!

The last thing I have to share is a hat I made for John, who watched Sailor while we were gone. I made a scarf for his wife last time they dog-sat, and so I thought John needed a handknit this time around. 

Pattern: Man Hat by Haven Leavitt

Yarn: Three Irish Girls Galenas Chunky in colorway Riordan 

Modifications: None.

I LOVE the way this colorway knit up. It's manly, but still interesting. And I'll definitely be using the Man Hat pattern again. The whole hat knit up in just a few hours and would be a great hat for those people living in New England! ;) 

I think that's it for now! I just cast-on for a sweater that I'm pretty excited about and have some custom spinning I'm working on. Oh-and a couple of new bags that will be going up in the shop once they're done. 

Seth is running a 50K race on Saturday, so I'll be sure to snap a bunch of photos to post next time!

Love,

liz :)

Grumpy...

Knitting is a fickle friend liz.... you invest all this money in the most fabulous yarns, you spend HOURS doing and re-doing (because you can't seem to follow a darn pattern) the pattern and you end up with a sweater that looks awesome but fits TERRIBLY.

I can't bring myself frog it... yet... and I dont want to block it because I'm afraid of the outcome...  The top is loose and the bottom is snug... dang it.  My boobs look enormous.  All the buttons pull...  

I think I'm going to bring it to my mom and see how it fits her...  She likes things loose...

But regardless here are some pics: 

Detail on the neckline...

Front

Back...

But as you know, this isn't the only thing happening in Vermont these days....  We had a wee bit of snow arrive yesterday and I got a for-real-snow-day!!!  

Well I had more to share but we are out of our storage for photos??  So I'm off to take a shower.  Have a safe trip!  See you next week!!

Tidelines Socks

I finished my first pair of socks of 2011! Just in time for our trip :)

Pattern: Tidelines by Anne Hanson

Yarn: Three Irish Girls Kells Sport in "Kate"

Modifications: I made the leg shorter and only did 4 less repeats than the pattern called for. I also decreased more stitches on the toe than called for in the pattern (mostly because I probably should have done an extra pattern repeat or two on the foot). 

I love how bright and obnoxious they are :) 

Fun stripes on the bottom of the foot.

Well, that's all for now! I'm off to try and get some sleep before we head up to the airport in the wee hours of the morning!

Love,

liz :)