Fibers Update

As promised, this post will be an update on everything that has been going on in my world fiber-wise.

First off, I finally finished another scarf on my loom. I like to call it the "brick-by-brick" scarf because it alternates black and red. It looked like bricks to me when I was making it, in any case. What do you think? It end has a twill pattern that switches directions in the black section and is a bit stiff while the middle is just a loose plain weave alternating the colors. It was my first time I had tried weaving loosely, and it is very nice to wear.

The end of the "Brick-by-Brick" Scarf.

The middle pattern and majority of the "Brick-by-Brick" Scarf.

After I finished that scarf, I taught my mother-in-law to weave. She loved it! It only took her one afternoon to finish her scarf because she was enjoying playing around with the loom so much. I don't have a picture of her scarf, but it is beautiful and very well crafted, especially considering it was her first time.

Learning to weave.

 These next two pictures are the scarf I have started on my loom right now. I'm using Caron Simply Soft Paints and it is turning out beautifully. I might see if I can get it finished this week so that my mother-in-law can have a chance to weave another scarf before Luke and I move out.

On my next woven scarf I plan on using the yarn below. I found it at Joann's and have been looking forward to weaving with some type of ribbon for a while now. It has a wonderful feel to it and will hopefully weave well.

Okay, now for the rest of the update from yesterday's adventure. A few of the girls from my knitting group and I went to the local fibers festival after the ACS walk. There were llamas and angora bunnies there that people could pet and all sorts of unspun fiber, yarn, and other products to buy. I didn't have any cash or my checkbook with me, so I had to borrow money from a friend. There were just so many amazing things there that I couldn't resist. We walked around for a while and I finally decided to buy some fiber that one of my friends is going to spin into yarn for me and a ski shuttle made by a man who does woodcarving. There were door prizes there, but I wasn't going to sign up because I didn't come in the main door...luckily I was convinced to sign up and ended up winning a scarf. It's 100% wool and is scratchy to me, so I won't probably wear it very often/at all. It might end up getting gifted to someone in the future.

The doorprize I won.

The tag on my doorprize.

The ski shuttle with the man's business card.
His woodworking is amazing and extremely well crafted.

Full look of my new ski shuttle.

The fiber I couldn't leave without.
It's in its bag so that you can see its contents.

The different fibers I bought to be spun.

A close up of the fiber I couldn't live without. It is sparkly, soft, and SO beautiful.

Here's a picture of Pippin. Just for fun.
Disclaimer: I did not make that blanket.

Right now I am making an enterlac knitted blanket in addition to the scarf that is currently on the loom. I think that covers just about everything recent....Oh! I almost forgot! I crocheted a bunch of the shell headbands to sell for donations at the knit-a-thon fundraiser we did for ACS. I've made several more, but I still have to weave in the ends before I can sell/donate/wear them. I have friends who think I should sell them on Etsy, but I don't have an account on there yet and don't know if I really want to have to deal with figuring out how to ship them. Do you guys have any suggestions, ideas, or advice on that?

Until next time,

~Andromeda

Non-fibers Update

Well now, it has been a very long time since I've posted on here. I hope you guys haven't been too disappointed. :P I am now employed at a local child care center working with one-year-olds on weekday afternoons, so I no longer sit on the couch all day and goof off. It's good, because I was gaining too much weight and was getting bored of having no set routine. In any case, both of those things have been resolved. I love working with the children! We have an awesome class to work with, but I probably won't say anything else about it. We aren't really supposed to discuss the children with other people, and I imagine posting stories about them online would be why that rule is in place. :) Luke is doing well too. He got a job at Kroger in the meat department. He's still looking for his career job, but he's making good money and has room for advancement if takes a while to find a job more suited to his field of study.

Also we have officially found an apartment and signed the lease for it! I won't tell you all of the crazy details that went along with that process, but I will say that God's hand has definitely been guiding us through everything. The apartment is 2 bedrooms and 1.5 bathrooms, so I will have a separate room to keep Pippin from having unsupervised access to my yarn and anything else we don't want her destroying. She is pretty good about not causing trouble when we are in the room with her, but sometimes she can't control herself and tries to eat my lovely projects and supplies. She is a cat after all! In any case, we will be moving in a few weeks and will no longer be living with my mother-in-law. *excitement dance* Don't get me wrong, I love my in-laws and we all get along really well, but it is nice when you are married to be able to have your own place. Plus Pippin tends to bully my mother-in-law's cat, Whiskers, so it will be nice for him to get his home back. The only things we have to do before we move in are get Pippin her annual Rabies shot, set up utilities, and pack up the stuff that isn't already in storage. Oh, and learn how to plan meals better so that we don't eat out so much. lol

Wow, I just checked my old posts and have nothing about the knitting group! I suppose I'll have to start from the beginning on that. When we moved to the area, I was looking for a yarn related group to join so that I would know more people and begin to make friends. I was very lonely. For a little while I was going to two a week, one on Friday nights at a local yarn store and the other on Monday nights at a local coffee shop. I liked both pretty well, but the one on Friday nights was at an awkward time for eating dinner and the women are outside of my generation. That's not normally a problem, but it was far enough removed that I didn't understand most of the references they made and was usually lost during the social conversations. Now that I have my job I wouldn't be able to go to that one even if I was still trying to, but it was fun to meet all of the people there. The knitting group on Monday night is more varied in age; I am still the youngest in the group, but several of the people are closer to my stage in life. And I understand more of the references that are brought up. So, I decided to continue going there and have made some awesome friends!

This month has been Breast Cancer Awareness Month, so the knitting group has been raising funds for ACS (the American Cancer Society). We had a 'knit-a-thon' near the beginning of the month to help with our fundraising and were featured in a local newspaper! It was pretty exciting. Hmmm...maybe I can find a picture from that...hold on a second. Nevermind, I'll have to do that in a different post because this one is getting too long. In any case, we raised quite a bit that night and with other donations we ended up exceeding our fundraising goal. We raised $1083.81 for breast cancer research! Woo! The 5-mile walk in Nashville was yesterday, so needless to say, my legs feel like pudding. Only a few of us were able to make it out there, but it was definitely a wonderful experience. Afterwards we went to a fibers festival that was held nearby, but that will have to wait for my "Fibers Update" post later today. :)

Until next time,

~Andromeda