A little sock yarn and fiber for your viewing pleasure

I used my coupon at Purlescence and picked up some Claudia Handpainted (Walk in the Woods, Jungle from Left to Right), and some Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock (Pioneer, Mt. Creek, from Center to Right)

I also picked up some Chasing Rainbows Dyeworks Merino/Tencel fiber, which might just get its chance on the spinning wheel sometime very soon...

Mojo Madness

[Picture-heavy puppy post. If you hate puppies, don't scroll down.]

It was a momentous week in Mojo's life, as he made his first trip to the dog park.

He was a bit terrified...


but he made some new friends...

Siena wasn't too happy about having to share the back of the car with Mojo...

but there is plenty of room for them in the back of my new (pre-owned) dog mobile...


Mojo also made it up on the couch, without the impetus of the devil vacuum cleaner.



He convinced Siena to play with him a bit...



And we've started trying to teach him to leave Lilla alone...

Sometimes Siena just wants to be left alone too...


Somehow Mojo didn't gain any weight this week (or I weighed him at the wrong time of day), so he was 19.5 pounds at 15 weeks. He did grow 2 inches taller since the last time I measured him 2 weeks ago, so he's now 14.5 inches tall. He's still 17 inches long. He has started biting our heels, so he definitely has some herding dog in him. His ears are still getting perkier. So, I still think he's a Rottweiler/German Shepherd/Lab mix, and that he'll be 70 lb. at 1 year and 90 lb. as an adult. I'm going to go for 23 lb. again as my guess for next week's weight.

Knitting and Spinning Progress

I finished the first Moda Dea Aerie scarf, in an off-white color, which will be a holiday gift.

I wove in the ends this evening -- I'll have Siena model it tomorrow.

I started a second one too... in a light blue color.


Yay, I'm using up stash!

When I was out with Mojo the other morning, when it was sunny after pouring all day long the day before, I noticed this...

and thought it was pretty darn cool.
No, my fence is not on fire.
Water was evaporating off of the wet fence.
(Isn't my neighbor's house ugly?)

In the world of spinning, I was surprised on Tuesday when I started spinning up the bamboo I dyed earlier this year.


How did this

turn into this

?

Every time I look at it, it amazes me.

Because of the all of the colors, and because I only have 4 oz., I initially thought I would make bamboo sock yarn, and knit myself a pair of bamboo socks. However, Cookie said that bamboo socks probably wouldn't be very flexible, and suggested I make something lacy. Since it's coming out in varying shades of purple, I might just leave it as singles, and do just that.

Hand-dyed handspun soy silk yarn!

Yay! I finished spinning the soy silk single on Saturday at Linda's knitting/spinning retreat (which was awesome). I finished plying it just now!


This was my progress plying yesterday...


This is the yarn on the bobbin, after Navajo Plying.


Here it is, all skeined up!


And here are the gratuitous close-ups...


Did I mention I LOVE it?!

Mojo at 14 weeks!

Mojo had a big first this week. Not his first tooth. Not his first step. It was the first time (and only time so far) he jumped on the couch. Randall's been trying to get him to jump on the couch with the lure of freeze-dried liver. Nope. He stands on his hind legs with his front paws on the couch, but doesn't jump up. What, you ask, made Mojo jump on the couch? I was vacuuming. He was terrified. He had nowhere else to go!

Here we are, Siena, Mojo, and I, all on the couch... one happy family...

Except Siena gets a bit grumpy when Mojo's on the couch...

Another amusing tidbit, which I find quite humorous and adorable, is that Mojo's ears are standing up more now.

When he sits down and looks up, they even stand up all the way!

Maybe he is a German Shepherd/Rottweiler mix after all! Although I still think he has some lab in him. He also sometimes has a furrowed brow, which can be seen in German Shepherds. He now weighs 20 lb! Next week I think he'll weigh 23 lb!

Rules Schmules!

So, I cast on 3 new projects in the last week. I know I said I would get down to 5 WIPs before starting a new one, but, well, I like starting new things. After finishing so many things in October, it's time to start lots of new things in November. Sounds reasonable, right? (I still haven't put that zipper in my Rowan Plaid Cardigan, but I think I want to find the ends, unweave them, rip out the sleeves, and re-knit them.)

First, I tried casting on for a washcloth 3 or 4 times with different stitch patterns. This is the most recent one. I still don't like it. The pattern looks good in the picture, but that's in a solid color. It doesn't really work with the variegated yarn, so I think I'm going to rip it out and start over for the 5th time. I decided I might make washcloths for some of my family members for the holidays when I was at Michaels a few weeks ago buying Wilton's Icing dyes for dye-fest and the Sugar n' Cream was on sale for $0.99/ball. I bought 10 balls, thinking that if I never did anything with them, it was only $10! (slightly more with tax) ...anyhow, we'll see what I come up with.

Next, I started a sweater. I drew a picture of what I want the design to look like at least 6 months ago. I got the yarn, Lana Grossa Duo Chine, on my birthday. Here's what I've got so far...

You'll have to wait to see what comes next!

Lastly, in terms of knitting, I needed a project I could do while watching movies, etc., so I started a 2x2 ribbed scarf in some ridiculously soft nylon yarn I got at Michaels a while back. I finished the first ball of yarn, so that's half the scarf, since I only have 2 balls. I think it will be a decent length.

Then, in the world of spinning, I finally untangled all of my homepun, wound it into a skein, set the twist, and let it dry. The results: sock yarn!! And quite a bit of it too, I might add.

I actually think there's enough here to knit up 3 pairs of socks (my sized socks). What do you think I'll be casting on next?

Mojo at 13 weeks!

 

At 13 weeks, Mojo weighs 17 pounds, he's 12.5 inches at the shoulder, and 17 inches long.
 

He LOVES playing tug-of-war.
 

Sometimes he loses...





I still think he's a Rottweiler/German Shepherd/Yellow Lab mix and that he's going to be white, tan, and black when he grows up. I think he'll weigh 70 pounds at 1 year and 90 pounds as an adult...
 


Siena still doesn't really approve of him...

 
He started this new thing this week -- digging in the plastic planter we keep dog toys in. It's pretty hilarious.
 

Next week I think he'll weigh 19 pounds!