Wednesday on the Wheel: Spin me a rainbow!

I have been a fan of Moonrover batts for a while now. Her handspun is -amazing- and her color sense and prep and fibers for her mystery batts and batt clubs are outstanding. Love, love love her.

So it's no surprise that I jumped on her Rainbow SAL. These batts jumped on my spindle pretty much the instant I opened the package. I have, as you can see, already gone through a rolag and a half. I'm thinking that I may, for once, spin this into a two ply. Meaning, when I've finished the other half, I'll wind off, spin the other two rolags, and then ply them together from a plying ball. I'll probably get more yardage that way and I ...kind of want to do a tam with this yarn. We'll see.

Make It Monday: M is for Mitts!

It's Monday. Do you know where your blog post is?

Hello, hello. Been a quiet blog recently, for lack of exciting things to share with you, but check it out: I actually have new stuff!

After many months (seriously, too many. I'm so slow!) working through many projects, I have finally completed a pair of mitts. Just in time for the cool weather to show up, so, you know, go my timing!

These are the Merletto Mitts by Jody McKinley, and despite some bobbles in the pattern itself (the top ribbing is a little off) they are a great deal of fun to knit. The yarn is my handspun from some Fat Cat Knits merino in the Vanilla Caramel colorway. I had about 200 yards and didn't use it  all -- maybe 150 or so? More proof that I am a tight knitter. Anyway, done on US 2/2.75 mm dpns from Knit Picks in the harmony wood.

They are not yet washed or blocked, as shown by the fact that the ends are not woven in, but they're done!

Progress is good!

And I'm hoping to have some spinning to show you all on Wednesday. My spindles have been spinning like mad.

Until then!

Make It Monday: Wet weather, Dry hands

Episode Seventeen is here and available for downloading now!

The best laid plans of mice and men or something. It's here and that's the important part. Apologies for the Monday release instead of Sunday, but hey, look, show notes! :)

And a contest! Want to enter for a bump of fiber or a skein of yarn? Leave a comment on the blog or come over to my Ravelry group and tell me about your favorite fiber festival or one you really want to go to! I will draw winners at the end of the month.

And, as always, thanks for stopping by.

Progress shots:

Clue 3 of the <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/creaturecomfort/in-dreams-mystery-shawl">In Dreams</a> Mystery Shawl by Susan Pandorf. Not a great picture, but the shawl is already big enough that pinning it out for glamour shots is tricky. Still, here you go!

Enabling that I mentioned:

Lavishea -- Soy and shea butter lotion bars, specifically formulated to absorb into the skin quickly so knitters/crocheters/spinners, etc. can use them.

ColorKnits eMag for PC -- The eMag for the PC.

ColorKnits eMag for Mac -- And the Mac version. Yay!

Wire Stranding Guide -- at KnitPicks, as shown in the eMag. There is a plastic version, too.

Double Yarn Keeper from Chic-a.

Kieran Foley's Stranded Patterns as talked about in the eMag.


All That Other Stuff:

Henry VI, Part II -- Here it is, your link to Henry VI, Part II. Read on!


How to Contact me:

iTunes: Slinging Stitches...in Color
Ravelry: creaturecomfort
Ravelry Group: Creature Comfort Craftwork Fans
Etsy: Creature Comfort Craftworks on Etsy
Email: sarah.hawke [at] gmail.com
Twitter: creaturecmfts
Facebook: Facebook
Google+: Google+

Talk to you next week!

Make It Monday: Fiber Festivals make me happy!

Happy first Monday of October, everyone! Yes, it's October. Fall is officially here, despite the lingering heat around us. Halloween is coming, which means the other holidays which shall Not Yet Be Named are coming up fast, too.

How was your weekend? Did you get out and do anything fun? For those of you who follow my Twitter or my podcast or peek in to my Ravelry group, you know that my weekend was spent at Lambtown, in Dixon, California. This was my first ever "real and official" stint as a vendor at a fiber-focused event, and I had a blast! I got to talk to a ton of people, got to show off a little bit of what I can do with my color sense, and just enjoyed the day.

Once it got started, anyway. I got up very early Saturday (after being up late on Friday, of course) to finish packing the car and get down to the fairgrounds. I had -no- idea where I was supposed to go and finding my booth spot was really not easy. Got that done, though, and started schlepping things from the car to my spot, only to discover that I was directly in front of a tree and that my neighbors had set up earlier and my space was therefore a leetle tight.

Note to self: set up the day before next year.

My neighbors were very friendly, though, and moved a little and I got the canopy up and got things ready for display. The Engineer joined me a little later and we settled in to see what was what. I did -not- have time to finish my sign, so that was disappointing. He brought me the piece of it that I forgot at home, but by then I'd run out of sticky things to attach it with so...no sign. Thank you, thank you to everyone who wandered into the unmarked booth anyway. :) I learned some things about what it should and shouldn't look like, what I need to improve, etc. but for a first time, I'm pretty pleased.


For those who weren't there, this is what the booth looked like before it was fully dressed up. Not that I added a whole lot more.

I will definitely be back next year! I will have an even better set up and more stuff (and a sign!) and now that I've gotten a taste of how real festivals work, I want to do more more more.

So tell me about your festival going experiences! Which are your favorites? Which would you recommend? Which do you really want to attend, but haven't gotten to yet?

Here's a pot-sweetener: Everyone who participates in this discussion will be entered in a drawing to win a 4-oz bump of merino/bamboo fiber or merino/silk yarn from me in my new Halloween-y colorway, Spooky!

So come and talk!

P.S. (If you're here because you got a business card from me at Lambtown, welcome welcome! Yes, you're eligible for the drawing too! :)