Snow Day!

All summer and fall long I've been knitting my children little things. Hats, mittens and scarves here and there, to keep the inevitable winter chill away. We had a hot summer and lovely fall, warm weather was with us for longer than usual. Finally, a snow day came upon us, the perfect opportunity to not only make use of the little woolies I knit but to show off how dang cute my kids look in them. They begged to out in the snow and go sledding. No prob I thought I'll just dress them warm and we'll hit the powder. I open my knitting box looking for the little woolies I know I put there, to my dismay the box is empty. All the woolies are gone and neither of my short people have any idea where they've gone. Little mites not only pilfered the woolie box but they did it without me noticing. A search of the house high and low and nothing turns up, neither hat, nor mitten nor scarf. Dang it.

So, I did what any mom would do. I put socks on their hands and sent them out with their dad. I wisely stayed inside and knit.

Dyeing Handspun

There is nothing quite like hand dyeing your very own hand spun. It's fiber that you have taken from the very beginning, spun and turned into real, usable yarn.

I took that bare yarn and dyed it a brilliant robin's egg blue. I was hoping for the color to be a bit darker but over all I'm happy with the result.

The yarn is out on the patio drying, as soon as it's done I'll take a pic. =)

Silk Hankies

I bought some lovely silk hankies from Fancy Fibers Farm at the Taos Wool Festival. I finally got around to dyeing them. I used dye from the Greener Shades starter kit and I'm very pleased with the way they came out. I was using a beautiful bouquet my husband had sent to me as inspiration and I think I got pretty close. (Excuse the mess in the photo, it was during the "Hurry! Need to get to school!" morning rush.)

I plan on dyeing quite a few more things in the coming weeks. I bought 5 packages of Bare Wool of the Andes roving from KnitPicks. I'm not sure what colors I'll come out with but I can't wait to find out. 

New Spinning Wheel!

My H is awesome. He ordered a new Kromski Fantasia for me! He bought it from The Woolery, Nancy and Chris are awesome to work with. My wheel was shipped quickly and came in perfect condition.

My husband opted for the unfinished version of the Fantasia, so I had the pleasure of picking out my own stain. I've never really worked with wood finishing stain, usually the stains I work with are toddler derived. I was pretty excited about picking my own finish and off to Lowes I went. Dude, I have never been so confused, there were so many primers, stains and pre stains, who knew there were so many varieties? I finally settled on a two in one from Minwax in a shade called "Bombay Mahogany". I came home and unboxed my wheel........I don't think it was until that moment that I realized that I was in way over my head. There were so many little parts and I was really overwhelmed.

After about 3 hours of trial and error I finally had every piece stained. I left it all to dry, hoping that in the morning I'd finally get to put my wheel together. I don't have a picture of the wheel parts after I stained them, I wish I had thought to take one. I had the flyer, the footmen and the bobbins hanging form our dining room chandelier. It was a lovely and odd sight.

Finally, everything for my Fantasia was dry. I gathered my tools and the instructions and went to work. Having put my Schacht Ladybug together on my own, I figured I was well qualified to put together my Fantasia. Oh boy was I wrong. There were so many parts and screws. 

I tried working the with the paper instructions but found them lacking, so I went online and found this tutorial from the New Voyager Company. In the video, the gentleman tells you that putting together a Fantasia spinning wheel is "easy" and should only take around 30 minutes. Let me tell you a secret, that gentleman, with his kind eyes and easy smile is.....well he's a liar. My wheel was not easy to put together, there were parts that didn't quite fit and even though I consider myself to be generally handy with tools, this wheel kicked my butt. If it's at all possible and in your wheel budget, buy the wheel already stained and make sure you know what you're getting into when you put it together.

After 2 and a half hours.....my Fantasia was FINALLY put together. 

I haven't spun much on her yet, I'll put up a review in a few days and let you know how it goes.

Pumpkin bread and baby knits

Last year there was a state wide shortage of canned pumpkin (I know, I know fresh is better, I'm a lazy baker.) On a trip to Santa Fe to visit my dad, I decided to stop at a local grocery store to see if maybe, just maybe they had canned pumpkin. I hit a pumpkin jackpot! I was so excited to finally have found canned pumpkin, that I may have gone a little over board and bought.......all the cans they had. Maybe. Ok I did it. 20 cans of pumpkin later....I still have canned pumpkin.

Since it's finally cooled down outside I feel like baking again. Today I made my simple pumpkin bread. I'm glad I took a picture when it was done because it was gone and finished before dinner.

I hope my family still loves pumpkin by the end of the month, because mama still has 19 cans left. 

We're hoping to add another baby to our family in the next year or so. And being a knitter I like to be prepared. I started a sweet little cardigan called Springtime Baby Cardi by Kaity Von Rader. It's quick, simple and sweet. Everything a baby knit should be. 

I'm looking for a simple baby blanket pattern too. If you have any recommendations, that would be awesome!

-Lea

Fall is here!

It's my favorite time of the year, the weather is getting crisp and cool. It makes me just want to cozy up with a cup of tea and knit myself into a blissed out state.



I'm working on a couple of knitting projects at the moment. I am mostly done (finally) with Lion Brand's Deconstructed Jacket . I have half of a sleeve left to do.

I'm working on my second Autumn hat by Jane Richmond. It's a cute, quick knit. I really loved the first hat that I made, it looked fantastic on me! Unfortunately before I could snap a pic of the finished hat, my niece Delilah commandeered it. So I'm making me a another.

I just finished rewinding the yarn for my Arroyo by Sarah H. Wolf (D'ohmestic on Rav). I had to RE wind it because Aspen our black lab puppy, thought it would be funny as hell to take my yarn and artfully decorate our backyard with it. An hour and a half it took but my pretty gold yarn is safe once again!!

This is Aspen, she doesn't look much like an evil, yarn stealing dog does she? Sneaky pup!

-Lea

Little Pink Owl

Knitting for your child is fun, sometimes confusing but almost always entertaining. My daughter is 2, she saw me knitting a hat for her Papa and asked if I would knit her a hat. I happily took her to my yarn room and asked her to pick out yarn for her hat. She found a yarn she deemed "princess enough" and off we went. Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride worsted in Strawberry Smoothie is a great yarn, very squishy and a little bit fuzzy.

I worked a simple hat pattern, flat on straights, sewed up the side seams and made little eyes and a beak to finish it off. In a few hours I had a very cute, very pink owl hat. 

Enjoying the Simple Things....

I finally have a finished object to show off! I've been working on Simple Things  by Mary Heather Cogar (Rainy Day Goods on Ravelry). A lovely, simple knit, perfect for purse knitting. I used Noro Kureyon in "red, blue green" colorway. I loved the famous color changes of the Noro, but the yarn isn't very soft and had a lot of knots and breaks in it. I don't think I'll use it again.

Mellow Yellow

I've started a new shawl, Saroyan by Liz Abinante, a wonderful free pattern off of Ravelry. After throwing all those other projects in the pond it felt time for something new. This is my first project using Malabrigo and I am in LOVE. I'm using the colorway Saturine, it's bright, beautiful yellow that just makes you happy to see it. The yarn is a soft, smushy single ply that makes you want to squeeze the heck out of it. I think this is going to be a favorite accessory. 

I can see myself wearing this shawl in the fall and it being a great pop of color against a dreary landscape. (Yeah I'm already thinking of fall knitting.) I have a few other things planned but I'm not sure if I'll get to them.

What fall knitting projects have you started planning or started knitting? 

Off to the frog pond

Today I cleaned my yarn room and by clean I mean I shuffled junk from one spot to another. Through all this "cleaning" I found a ton of WIP's that I'm just not that into anymore. Once, when we were both young and carefree these WIP's and I had big dreams. Dreams of knitting in exotic places, dreams of being the big hit at a birthday party or Christmas. As I looked over these projects I realized how much I as a knitter have grown since then, and I told my old, neglected WIP's the truth, it's not me it's them. And I frogged the crap out of the whole lot. Ahh my Ravelry que is a lot lighter and I now I have room to move on to bigger, better, cuter projects. <3

Well that was random

Yesterday my SIL Wendy and I got the wild idea to make a rainbow cake. No other reason than it was a slow going Sunday afternoon. Off to the store we went to procure our ingredients! Now if you know anything about me, you know I don't bake. It's not because I don't like it or because it intimidates me. It's because baking hates my face. Evidently at some point in my life I pissed the baking goddess off and ever since then everything I bake turns to....well crud. I figured the wench had to of forgotten about me by now and decided to try my hand at the rainbow cake.

It wasn't perfect but it wasn't my usual disaster. Maybe the baking goddess was drunk and thought a half awesome cake would be, awesome.

I would have loved to have shown you the cake in all it's frosted glory but the minons got to it before then. It was a caksacre (heh, get it?) . There were technicolor crumbs every where, my little cake never stood a chance. Maybe the baking wench didn't forget me after all?

-L <3

Itty Bitty Citron

I couldn't wait to cast on my new Citron. I don't love winding yarn from hanks because it usually gets all defunkified and tangled on me. Surprisingly the Malabrigo didn't, it was a breeze to wind.

The casting on was a little fiddly. For the last Citron my friend started it for me. But I kept trying and I think I got it right. I'm on the 12th line of the 1st repeat and things are going well so far. This Citron doesn't have an odd holes where I've increased. I'm really excited about that. =D

New Yarn!

There's nothing like visiting your old hometown's yarn shop. In Santa Fe, NM there is a fantastic little shop called Looking Glass Yarns. It's run by two sisters, Sheila and Kay. They really are two of the nicest knitters one could meet.

I stopped by today to day a quick hello and of course to buy some yarn. I came home with my first skein of crack...er Malabrigo lace and a skein of an alpaca lace weight. It was love at first fondle. I can't believe how soft these yarns are.

I don't have plans for either skein yet, but hopefully soon. The colors are so bright especially the pink Malabrigo, that I know I'll be using one soon.

A Mother's Day Knitastrophe

This morning I walked into the living room still bleary eyed and saw the remnants of a massacre. Martini the wonder weenie decided that my Citron shawl was evil and needed to be destroyed. She proceeded to neutralize the perceived threat from the shawl. She ate and scratched and chewed and ripped. After a laborious battle, Martini the wonder weenie emerged, victorious!!! The evil shawl of doom was dead and peace was once again brought to the Aguilar household. Thankfully she left my harmonys  alone and the only thing lost was time and some yarn I kind of hated anyway.

The kiddos and the H made me a lovely breakfast and I got my first ever handmade Mother's day card!! How awesome is that? All in all it's been a wonderful day. Unless you're my knitting, in that case RIP.

The Knit list

Some people have what's called a Bucket List. On a Bucket List you write all the things you'd like to do before you die, or "kick the bucket". It's a cute idea, one I'm going to adapt to my crafty little life. I'm going to write a Knit List, and on it will be all the yarny things that I want to do before summer is over. I never expect to finish this list and I'll change it continuously. It's still fun to write it all down.

Knit List Summer 2011

1. Citron

2. Clapotis

3. Finish my WIP's

4. Attempt something with A cable

5. Gretel Tam

6. Learn to knit "normally"

7. Write a pattern

8. Learn to crochet

9. Find a knitting group

10. Dye my own yarn

What's on your knit list?

Just for fun, here's a pic of my current WIP. 

-Lea <3

                     

My knitting buddies<3

Here's a quick post from my phone (yay technology!!) To show you my knitting buddies.

This is Martni my mini dachshund (yes it's a picture of my wiener, enjoy).


And here is Super Binky. Frankly I think he looks kind of like and sheep. Spin his fur? Why no I've never thought about that, ok, yeah I did.

The ABC's of Me

Stuff about me in alphabetical order:

A. Age: 25, I'll be 26 in May

B. Bed Size: King

C. Chore You Dislike: Dishes, I flipping hate doing dishes.

D. Dogs: I have one tiny dachshund name Martini. She's a doll.

E. Essential Start to Your Day: COFFEE or red bull!

F. Favorite Color: Green has really been catching my interest these days. But I think pink will always be #1.

G. Gold or Silver: I prefer silver 99% of the time. But there is a time and a place for gold.

H. Height: My DL says 5'5" but it's actually 5'7" lol.

I. Instruments You Play(ed): I played the flute a long time ago. I play the ukulele, acoustic and electric guitar now. Not well though.

J. Job Title: Mama, Student, Knitter and chief food maker.

K. Kids: 2, Mathias who's 4 and Bella who's 2.

L. Live: Rio Rancho, NM . It's nice little map dot.

M. Mom’s Name: Janell

N. Nicknames: Nan, Banana, MOOOOOOM.

O. Overnight Hospital Stays: A few. Having kids does that to you.

P. Pet Peeves: Scraping teeth on a fork or chewing with your mouth open. EW.

Q. Quote from a Movie: I don't really watch movies.

R. Righty or Lefty: Righty.

S. Siblings: 2 brothers. One older and one younger.

T. Time You Wake Up: As late as possible. Usually around 7-8.

U. Underwear: I am obsessed with having pretty, matching underwear. LOL at least it's always nice, right?

V. Veggies You Don’t Like: Baby corn, that crap freaks me out.

W. What Makes You Run Late: Me, my kids, my dog, basically everything. I'll be late to my own funeral!

X. X-Rays You’ve Had: Dental, my foot, my wrist, my lungs. Never my head though, go figure.

Y. Yummy Food You Make: Green chile stew! I haven't figured out how to make it vegetarian yet though.

Z. Zoo Animal Favorites: The hippos, I love those big sweeties!

What are your ABC's? If you choose to do the same survey on your blog, link back here – I would love to learn more about you!


I got this post idea from Punk Rawk Purl . Check her out, she's awesome!


-L

❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ 

My First Yarn

Earlier this week I bought some undyed silk hankies and dyed them. I tried to make a rainbow but it came out kind of funky.

It dried a little brighter and I liked it a little more. 

I wanted to try spinning silk (since wool doesn't like me, lol) It went pretty well, for me anyway. My wheel took up the fiber and I got a nice spin. The resulting yarn is uneven and kind of funky but it's mine!!