Criminally Short Attention Span

I have recently developed an obsession with Amigurumi.  It was probably inevitable.  They’re cute, occasionally creepy, and have big eyes.

 

I also have a shorter attention span than is needed to maintain a successful blog, so I started a tumblr account.

 

These two facts are related – the tumblr will be mostly for my amigurumi needs.  I am not shutting this blog down, but you can find more regular updates at WeeBeastie.

 

Also, check out my newest craft-crush, Croshame.  She makes wonderfully twisted little amis. Check out her (now viral) Exorcist Ami.

 

 

UFO Roundup

I was inspired by the Spinning Fishwife‘s UFO Sighting blogpost, so here’s my rundown.

The Heartland Shawl knit in Shetland wool from sheep which were raised by my family and handspun by my step-mom (how’s that for sourcing your fiber?).  I frogged this F***er twice, and ended up coming back to the same lifeline too many times for the yarn to handle.  Right now it’s in time out until I get more lace knitting under my belt. I really want to make something worthy of being an heirloom.  Someday I want to bore WeeSprite’s kids by telling them that this shawl started out as sheep in my back yard, when I was a dumb kid and didn’t know how cool it was and how much I would want sheep when I was 25. (Or maybe alpaca, but I digress)

Traveling Woman knit in Plain & Fancy sportweight (ravelry link).  This is what I decided to make to get better at lace.  Mom made two of these (and won a ribbon for one) and suddenly everyone from Knit Night was at the P & F booth at the Estes Wool Market.  She’s such a pusher.

I love this pattern, and I think the only reason I’ve slacked off on it is because I don’t have the same abundance of knitting time as I had when WeeSprite was napping half the day away.  I want to finish this one once Giftmas knitting is finished.

These are the Sugar Maple socks from 2-at-a-Time Socks knit in Berroco Comfort Sock. I love the yarn, I love the concept of knitting two socks at a time, I hated this pattern.  I don’t know if I missed some key part of the errata (there’s a lot of it), or if I was just too dumb, but when it came time to pick up stitches for the gusset, everything fell apart.  I pulled the needle out of it when I desperately wanted my Addi Turbo for something else, so this is headed for the frog pond.

Anarchist (Rav link) from Pretty in Punk knit in Lamb’s Pride. I only have to finish the strap, chain crochet the pieces together, and felt this thing. My only defense is the strap is booooooooring. I should suck it up and finish this.

To Dye For (rav link again) from Stitch n Bitch knit with Textiles a Mano mohair.  This was my first major knitting project. I started it in 2007.  The front and back pieces are finished, and all I have to do is sew them together and knit the sleeves.  I have been scared to do so because (1) I never checked gauge, (2) it took so long (and it’s been so long) that my gauge may have probably has changed between pieces, and will be different again whenever I do the sleeves (3) I’m not as small as I was back then.  My solution is to ignore it until I lose weight, then check the gauge on both pieces and see what happens.

That’s it! My entire UnFinished Object pile.  I’m sure I’ll finish them all (except the sweater) as soon as I’m done with Christmas knitting. Stop laughing. And don’t look at my queue! Shoo shoo!

A Corner of One’s Own

Recently, Mr. ManlyMan and I finally got the time and motivation to finish unpacking our new house.  I always end up in this stage – I’ve been living somewhere for a few months, but there are still boxes skulking in corners and under piles of clothes.  At some point a desperate search for a book or winter coat results in a final unpacking (or a dumping of everything on the bed).  Whatever caused it this time, the Final Unpacking resulted in a very cute room for WeeSprite, and a craft corner for myself!

blurry crib corner

slipper making in progress

The Craft Corner.  It’s possibly the best thing ever (short of an entire craft room… someday, someday).  I have a desk, and several plastic bins of knitting and sewing stash.  I have room for my sewing machine (the one I learned to sew on, passed down from Mom).  I have tools in logical places were I can find them.

stash closet

I have discovered an amazing property of the dedicated crafting space – it gives off it’s own force of creativity.  Maybe it’s the fact that I don’t have to spend a half hour of setup before I can start a project. Maybe it’s knowing where everything is.  I like to think it’s a mystic aura created by the combination of all my crafting Stash in one place.

The Corner of Awesome Craftification has already witnessed the completion of several projects.

This

lost some of its outdated bits

to become this

add a sash made from the cut off fabric, striped tights, and some awesome jewelry, and it made my Halloween costume.

Slightly over one yard of this fabric

Halloween sale @ Hancocks!

became my first adventure into patten-based sewing

WeeSprite's first Halloween costume!

(the leftovers from the leggings turned into ankle socks for me)

This is what our Halloween looked like, in the end:

I have more projects on the way, but I will save those for another post.

What kind of set up do you have for your creative needs? Do you have a bag, a room, or a corner like mine? I’d love to see yours, now that I’ve show you mine 😉

Like a Record, Baby

The batt from this post is having its turn on my spindle.

Yum yum yum.  I’m hoping I can keep it even enough to be knit with my last handspun… I’m thinking a shawlette in pink and green.

 

kid mohair

 

Sorry I’m not feeling very word-y today.  To make up for it, here’s a picture of WeeSprite having breakfast this morning.

 

Yogurt is yummy! Makes a great facial, too.

Pumpkin Brew

I turned 25 a little over a week ago (whee).  I celebrated with friends at Oskar Blues Home Made Liquids and Solids, and a good time was had by all.  There was beer (surprise), and tequila shots (thanks Zoe!) and a yummy chocolate rum ball (thanks, Kate!).

 

My birthday also enabled me to get back to the brewing (all my money has been going to fiber… oops).  Dad and O gave me a gift certificate to the Bald Brewer.   It’s a locally owned homebrew supply shop, and I hope they (he, really…. the owner is the only person I’ve ever seen working there) does really well.   Mr. ManlyMan and I picked up one of his kits

 

Pumpkin!

and we’re hoping to make it back after payday to get ingredients for an Oatmeal Stout.

 

The pumpkin spice may be the best-smelling wort I’ve ever experienced.  Instead of the house smelling like hops and grain, it smelled like pumpkin pie.

 

This beer should be ready in time for Halloween.  Can’t wait!

Transformation

This

"Potluck" roving from Ferndale Fiber

turned into this

(like my nostepinne?)

which was plied on a bigger spindle

much love to Rav member Sharonopolis who sent this to me out of the goodness of her heart.

then wound on a niddy noddy

to become

Lovely.

The Good Earth

“He had no articulate thought of anything; there was only this perfect sympathy of movement, of turning this earth of theirs over and over to the sun, this earth which formed their home and fed their bodies and made their gods.”

– Pearl S Buck, The Good Earth

Delicious Autumn

Delicious autumn!  My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns.  ~George Eliot

Today is a perfect September day.  The sky is the special shade of blue that only comes in fall.  It was chilly this morning but still hot in the afternoon.  Days like this put me in a cozy mood.  I start contemplating root veggie stews, home made bread, and pulling my collection of knit and crochet afghans out of the closet to drape over the couches.

Days like this inspire me to raid the garden and freeze or can everything, so we can enjoy harvest flavors in the dullest parts of winter.

In the spirit of autumn harvest, I contemplated our booming, bee-laden crop of lavender.

(Full disclosure, this is not at my house.  We’re house-sitting at The Farm again.)

Armed with kitchen shears, I gathered a small ball-jar’s worth of lavender flowers, and lay them out to be de-bugged and photographed.

Just add honey

now all I have to do is wait.

Maybe I’ll make some Lavender Shortbread in the meantime.

Round and Round and Round

Guess what’s been keeping me busy?

Well, yes.

But there’s something else, too!

During the Estes Park Wool Market I got a lovely little spindle from Magpie Woodworks.  It’s deliciously warm and smooth, and amazingly balanced.  I think I’m in love.  In fact, I may have slipped and fell at Gypsy Wools…

… and possibly at Shuttles, too.

I also learned that I need to either invest in one of those pet-hair-rollers, or dress to match my fiber.

On that note, I leave you with this.

Playing Grown Up

Housesitting is a little like a vacation in the KnittingSprite family.

Maybe this is because we only house-sit for my Dad and StepMom, in the house I grew up in.  This house has many cool things, such as The Comfy Chair

This is THE perfect chair.  I can nurse comfortably.  It reclines.  I can have all the necessities at hand for when I am pinned by a sleeping WeeSprite – knitting, tea, remote control, and laptop.

And it is comfy.  Oh so comfy.

There is also Joe;

Sheepies;

and a grill.

There’s the joy of having a big house to ourselves.  The comfort of listening to all the music I heard growing up.  The smell of my old bedroom.  We are playing ‘house’ in a way.  This is a lot like the life we imagine for ourselves in the future.  Land, a  big organic garden, lots of animals (although I do not envision myself with a Joe), a quiet place in the country.

I imagine a future with sheep and goats, alpaca and chickens.  Sometimes I dream of bees.  I have daydreams of WeeSprite running around where’s there’s room to grow and explore and catch snakes and rabbits.  Of having big, lush green areas all around.  Sitting in a big sunny yard with lots of trees, knitting or playing guitar and sipping a homebrew.

I dream of these things, and I also wonder when this became my fantasy future.  In the fashion of teenagers everywhere, when I lived this life I took it for granted.  I had big city plans and was going to move as far away as soon as possible.  At some point I was old enough to do things *my way*, and I found out crowded buildings made it hard to breathe.  Long stretches of pavement made me sad.  And going out to bars all night was only fun with the right people at the right times.

These days I’d rather have a nice meal with friends out in the sun, or go on a walk.  I’m more caught up in ‘dance parties’ and singing with WeeSprite than rubbing shoulders with the drunk and fabulous on the dancefloor.

Rather than having an expensive studio in downtown Wherever, I am budgeting and planning, and dreaming of my cozy little house in the country of the future.

Dreaming and planning – perfect occupations for The Comfy Chair.