Tag: yarn

Random

Show and Tell, More Proactive Changes and What’s On My Needles

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SHOW AND TELL

My sweet son in law has been requesting a pitcher for I don’t know how long.  Being a pastor, he wanted something he could use for baptisms and communion. After many unsuccessful attempts, I finally came  up with one that passed muster.

Clefton’s Pitcher

Inside glazed with Spectrum Cinnamon Ripple

Outside glazed with Amaco Seaweed

 

Test Bowl

Outside glaze Amaco Seaweed PC-51

Inside glazed with Mayco Stoneware Glaze

SW-156

Galaxy

Here’s a better look at the inside –

 

TODAY’S PROACTIVE CHANGE

This one is turning out to be the most difficult – putting all my devices aside 30 minutes  before bedtime. Yep, this one is by far the most difficult.  There’s always just one more thing I want to  check on, which leads to another page, then one more site and then just one more peek at Facebook. Putting it all aside 30 minutes before bedtime gives my brain enough time to calm down and I fall asleep faster and stay asleep. 🥱😴

ON  MY NEEDLES

 

Shibui Sock

Colorway unknown

100% Merino

Petty Harbour by Rayna Curtis

 

We are limited,  not by our abilities,  but by our vision. Anonymous

 

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Random

Has My Warranty Expired? or Now What!!??

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It’s 11:48 p.m. and I’m wearing my insomniac hat tonight. Now, it’s 11:49 p.m. which gives me about 11 minutes to have that last glass of water before midnight. If you’ve ever undergone a “procedure”, you’re familiar with the nothing to eat or drink after midnight rule. So, yes, there is a “procedure” in my near future. To be more specific, tomorrow at 11:30, I’m having oral surgery to extract three molars on the right and placement of two screws into my upper jawbone for eventual implants and a bridge. I admit that while I don’t have a phobia regarding dentists, I do get anxious a few days beforehand. I will be under heavy sedation so intellectually I know that it will be painless and quick, it’s just that my nervous stomach and jitters haven’t received the It’ll be OK memo.

This dental adventure on top of my broken arm and my subsequent ER visit, followed by a visit to a hand and arm specialist and the surgery to repair it using a steel fixator and let’s not forget about Covid-19 and it’s cousin, Quarantine, has me wondering what next!

I got a photo of my postop x-ray. BTW, if looking at stuff like this makes you feel woozy or sick I encourage you to skip over the low tolerance stuff.

This month’s Knit Crate carried a naked hank of yarn and enough kool-ade to dye it up right. Here’s how mine turned out using cherry on half and blue raspberry on the other half. I think it will knit up into a very interesting pair of socks.

Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new. Albert Einstein

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Random

Could the End Be In Sight??

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You’d think that with the quarantine/social distancing/mask wearing and sheltering in place I’d be throwing pots and knitting like a maniac, but my orthopedic adventures brought these things to a screeching halt. The backstory is here if you missed it the first time around.

Anyhow, besides just the couple of weeks being bored out of my mind because I couldn’t do much of anything – when you break your dominant arm you’re pretty much out of luck for a while – being housebound hasn’t been too bad. You can bet, though, as soon as I got my cast off I was knitting, even if it was a super slow process. I got my hands back into the clay, finally able to finish what I’d started before I broke my arm and every day is a  little bit better than the day before. Here’s three very patient pots that waited for me to heal.

 

Word on the street is that life is starting to normalize.  Mr. iknead said there was toilet paper on the grocery shelves, no hand sanitizer or gloves, but at least it’s a move in the right direction.

 

From error to error one discovers the entire truth. Sigmund Freud

 

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p.s. Don’t forget to visit my Etsy shop, ClayDreamsPottery.  I’m always adding new pots and you don’t want to miss out on the perfect one!

 

Knitting · pottery

Score!

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After a try out of Kollage Square Circular Knitting Needles I’ve fallen deeply in love with these babies and want one of every size and length.  The rub? Kollage has quit making them.😢 My LYS does carry them, but with very limited choices.  I spent way too much time last night trying to track some down – a rollercoaster of emotion, let me tell you. I was ultimately successful, finding a nice selection of needle sizes and cord lengths at Paradise Fibers and bought three new circs, sizes 1,1.5 and 2 with 60” cables, my favorite! I’ll start stalking our mailman in the next day or so.

ON MY NEEDLES

I’m back on track  with my Gray Day Gansey and am about an inch away from separating for the sleeves.

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Gray Day Gansey

Knitpicks Wool of the Andes

Haze

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Petty Harbour

First Light Handicrafts

Manos del Uruguay Fino

Turkish Delight

JUST OUT OF THE KILN

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ClayDreamsPottery

Buncombe White Clay

Glazed w/ Blue Rutile on exterior and Arctic Blue interior

Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly. Robert Kennedy

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Knitting · pottery

The Insomniac Potter Rides Again

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Good morning everyone! As you can see, my sleep pattern seems to have reverted into the good old 2 a.m. internal alarm setting.  (heavy sigh)  One good thing about starting my day in the wee hours is that it’s a great time to run the kiln, long before the sun comes up, and the heat and humidity start to build.

Here’s a look at a few things I’ve been working on:

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The start of a series of small bottles, all different

Glazes L to R

Blue Rutile, Textured Turquoise and Blue Rutile, Blueberry Spice, Textured Turquoise, Ancient Jasper

A pot I started yesterday waiting to dry enough to trim.

A bean pot that has been washed and reglazed several times. (I’m not usually this indecisive.) Final glaze is Textured Turquoise. (Probably)🤔

ON MY NEEDLES

The first five inches of the Gray Days sweater. Six more inches of stockinette to go then on to the best part – CABLES!  I absolutely LOVE cables!

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My Gray Days

Knitpicks Wool of the Andes

Haze Heather

Project notes can be found here.

There is no great genius without some touch of madness. Seneca

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PS I’ve added some new pots to my Etsy shop, ClayDreamsPottery.  I’d love to have you pay a visit!

Knitting

It’s A New Start

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Ever have a skein of yarn that you fell hard for, but got over it in a hurry when it just couldn’t seem to decide what it wanted to be? Yes, I tend to assign human characteristics to inanimate objects, even putting projects into time out for not cooperating. Well, this particular yarn has been in and out of time out several times. I’ve even toyed with the idea of relegating it to the back of what I call the Not In My Lifetime UFO box. I decided to give it one more chance, sticking it into my carry-on bag for my trip to Bangkok. So far, it’s playing nice and I’m beginning to feel optimistic. 🤞🤞🤞

At some point, the ball band became history, but I think it came from Knitpicks.

                                                  Last go at this yarn

I’m hoping that the Ariel Socks from Ravelry will suit us both. 😋

I’ve been missing my pottery wheel a lot the last few days. This is the longest I’ve gone without throwing anything. I’m glad I worked as hard as I did, mopping and scrubbing my workspace. It will be so nice to come back to clean tools and a clean wheel!

A QUICK WORD REGARDING BLOG CHANGES

Wondering about all the blog flipping and flopping?  Yeah, me too. 😳  Here’s the deal…..

I let my long time knitting blog slide after getting my very own pottery wheel and spending the time I usually set aside for blogging playing in the mud and getting a feel for my new equipment. I fully intended to get back to my knitting blog, but it was always going to be “tomorrow”.

I missed blogging much more than I thought I would and so decided to add another blog to the mix.  What was I thinking??  I’m having issues with keeping iknead2knit going and I convinced myself that adding another blog was the perfect solution?? All I can say is this – DON’Y TRY THIS AT HOME!

Long story short – Condensed the two blogs into one and renamed the whole nine yards, starting fresh.  So….,Welcome to new blog, Mud&String.  I hope you like it!

A good decision is based on knowledge and not on numbers.

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Knitting

Dixie 8 Handknit Socks 0, WIP Wednesday

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This little angel is waging war on my handknit socks!

I’m beginnning to think I  need to buy a safe…she manages to find and destroy at least one sock of a pair.  She’s learned to knock the clothes hamper over to pull out the socks.  I’m trying to cut her some slack, she’s still a puppy, but her taste for handknits and Mr. iknead’s azaleas is making me want to tear my hair out.

ON MY NEEDLES

This is about the fourth attempt at getting started on this.

Droplets Shawl

Knitpicks

Airy Yarn from Unique Chic Studios

80% Tussah Silk/20% Merino

I think I finally have a handle on it – I hope so anyway!

ONE MORE THING

I’d like to invite you to visit my new Etsy shop, ClayDreamsPottery..  I plan to update every other Monday morning, but now, I’m slowly adding things, but I’d love for you to come have a look around.  I hope you like it!!!!!!!

Those who aim at great deeds must also suffer greatly. Plutarch

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Knitting

By the Sea

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I joined The Handmade Sock Society’s Season Two sock club this week.  Since the theme is “A Sanctuary by the Sea, I thought it fitting that the project yarn I’m using is Knitpicks Stroll in the colorway Seashell Tonal. I love the soft pink and grays of this yarn!

 

You can find my project notes here.

One more thing – I’ve started a pottery blog, The Insomniac Potter. I hope you’ll pay us a visit!

An ounce of emotion is equal to a ton of facts. John Junor

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Knitting

Better Late Than Never

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I’m finished with the Christmas gift knitting which, unfortunately, was started way later than it should have.  Yay anyway because she loved it and didn’t mind giving it back to be finished right after opening.❤️❤️❤️

DETAILS

 Sunburst Lichen Cowl

 Malabrigo Rios

Ravelry Red

Your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude.  Zig Ziglar

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Knitting

But When Can I Start Knitting Again???

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FINGER NEWS

Over the last few months, I’ve developed a ganglion cyst at the top joint of my right index finger which has been growing and getting increasingly tender.  I finally went to my local doc, who, in turn, sent me to a hand specialist.  Hand doc recommended excision of cyst, along with some bone spurs that have also gotten larger and more painful.

CUT TO THE CHASE

Had finger surgery yesterday, which went very well according to the hand surgeon (best ever IMHO)

and am now sporting this –

My postop visit is 6/21 – 2 weeks from now.  I’m hoping to have figured out how to knit around the dressing before then. 🤔 If not, then I suppose Mr. iknead will be shopping for a straitjacket. 🤣

ON MY NEEDLES

No doubt most will recognize Clapotis, which has

proven to be a really enjoyable knit!

 

A bit of stitch detail (please disregard cat hair)

Knitted using Baa Ram Ewe Dovestone DK

A blend of 50% Bluefaced Leicester, 25% Wensleydale

dark brown masham

Rhubarb

It’s been YEARS since I picked up a hook and I’ve been pleasantly surprised at how easy it has been to get back into crochet.  This pattern is Windowpane Scarf, using Hobby Lobby Sugarwheel, Green Tea Swirl colorway on a size E crochet hook. Not crazy about the color, but it’ll do. 🙂

Bangkok to Little Rock Countdown continues at T minus 18 days……

Yesterday is history. Tommorrow is a mystery. And today? Today is a gift thats why they call it the present.

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Linking today with Artsy Fartsy Link Party

Knitting

Knit All The Things, Finish None of Them (A Temporary Situation, I Hope)

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ON MY NEEDLES

Due to an overwhelming case of wanting to cast on all the things, my WIP to FO ratio has fallen so far as to be nonexistent.  Every time I pick up whatever catches my eye in the WIP pile, I swear to myself that THIS IS THE ONE, the one that will spark my stick-to-a-tive-ness and soon it will move from the Land of WIPS into the Paradise of FOs. Yeah, still working on that.

Work continues on the Simple Skype Socks.  Link to my project page here.

This project probably would have been finished if I hadn’t noticed a few rows that were cataclysmically   screwed up.  I finally ended up frogging them completely, after trying for at least an hour to tink them back.  Lesson learned, don’t try to tink on the last leg of a 20+ hour trip.  It’s much more efficient to rip and start over.

Don’t even ask me what this hot mess is.  I think it’s a bit of handspun that I decided keep as a single.  This obviously was a mistake on my part.  I got busy and plied it into a double and we’re all a lot happier with the result.  See?

Found my notes on this hot mess!  Yay!  Organic Polwarth from Three Waters Farm Top of the Month Club in Maple and Hickory.

ON MY WHEEL

This is slowly becoming this –

 I’m working on spinning this lovely roving close to laceweight, hoping to end up with a nice sock yarn after plying – a challenge. This roving is from, you guessed it, Three Waters Farm Top of the Month  Club.  It’s a Blueface Leicester wool and called Living Color.

Anybody can make history.  Only a great man can write it.  Oscar Wilde

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Knitting

And So It Continues…….

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STILL ON MY NEEDLES

My Julie’s Sweater is coming along nicely after that small hitch in the cabling.  Will I have it finished in time to wear it this winter? Who knows, anything is possible. 🙂

After much back and forth with yarn, needles – wood or metal, double points or circular, and technique – toe up or cuff down, two at a time or one at a time, magic loop or two circulars.  After a couple of false starts, I settled down and got into the rhythm of Simple Skype socks.  See?

Simple Skype Socks

Patons Kroy Socks Yarn

Eclipse Stripes

I’ve been spinning up a storm – ha!  it’s been raining for the past three days with more on the way today – visit tomorrow to see what’s finished and what’s waiting in the wings! I can’t wait to get started!

Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth. © Buddha

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