Earthwhisper Fiber Arts

I have done a small bit of knitting. I just made this scarf with some handspun. It was a fun accomplishment to take some of the yarn I spun from roving and knit it into a scarf. The yarn was actually a lot nicer then I thought. I really didn’t do a bad job and I am happy to have a warm scarf to show for it.

Yarn: Handspun from corriedale roving

Needles: size 9 (brittany wood)

Pattern: CO 22, knit 1×1 for about 6 plus feet.

Here is a little something I was knitting on before Christmas but didn’t finish. I probably will hibernate it until November and then finish it. No sense finishing it now. I am just in the process of sewing on ornaments, then need to stuff it and crochet a bottom for it.

My new class started last week.  I already have made some waves in it.  The class was not allowed a break and after 5 hours, I got the worst headache last Monday.  The teacher told us that class didn’t get a break.  After a phone call to the department division, the counseling off, and then to the dean of teacher’s, I was able to get a break for the class.  It will be announced tomorrow. 

I am unhappy about another thing.  Apparantly Monday labs are due Wednesday, but people who have Wednesday lab time have theirs due the following Monday.  So I get 1 day to work on a lab and they get 4.  I don’t find that fair at all and am going to work on how to get equality for that.

My work scheduled has finally lightened, the money was nice, but I am happy to have a break from cashiering. I really needed the break to get down to studying.  I already have my first test on Wednesday.

Finally, girl scouts is getting interesting.  I am starting up my own troop in March after cookie sales (going on now.)  It is a good thing.

I bought some Sari Silk about a year ago off ebay and got a fantastic deal.  When I got it, I was in awe of all of the colors and how beautiful the yarn looked, trying to ignore the terribly musty and icky smell.

I thought it would make a neat clapotis or shawl.  So I casted on for the clapotis.  However, as I was knitting with it, I noticed how dirty it was.  (I have blog posted about this before.)  It took awhile to wind the yarn up into balls, so the thought of winding the balls into a hank and washing them just seemed a waste of my time.

As I would knit with it, my throat would feel scratchy and I would start to think about the possibility of getting some weird illness from dust or dirt from the other side of the world.  Silly, I am sure, but other people handled this yarn and it was dirty.  I would find fingernails and other odd things spun into the yarn.  Gross, but I tried to be open minded.  It is just yarn and these were probably nice people spinning it, but still…

So I put the clapotis down and told myself I will either frog it or one day finish it.

This was over a year ago.

A week ago, I decided that I needed to knit some of my novelty and misc yarns into scarves.  I have a few things I am doing soon where I will need gifts and thought big scarves would be perfect.  I will have to talk about the novelty yarns I used in another blog post.  It is interesting.  But that isn’t what I am posting about today.

I decided to try the Sari Silk yarn again and just make a simple garter stitch/drop stitch scarf.  Again, the yarn was dirty, smelly, and made me squirm.  I knit with size 17 needles and in less than 2 days I had a nice long scarf.  I bound off the scarf and threw it in the washing machine on gentle.

I had read that this yarn softens up real nicely after washing it.   I put it on a long soak.  The washing machine smelled like gasoline.  GASOLINE!  My scarf!!  How crazy is that?  Tony said it smelled like a tire store.  I thought it was gas.  Tony has a bad sense of smell and rarely can smell anything.

After it washed, I looked at it and there was a huge gaping hole.  Not only that, but the yarn some how sealed itself off, so I can’t find the ends.  I have thought of a few ways to fix it, like taking more of that yarn and trying to sew the hole closed.  I don’t know.  That would require me to touch the dirty yarn again.

I suppose I could wind it all into long hanks and wash it…

ps…it is pretty, isn’t it…even with the hole…

Madeleine, it isn’t Halloween yet!  There goes all the toothpaste.  Atleast you know who got the creative genes.

Paton’s One Skein Patons Classic Wool Merino - Leaf Green I made this scarf for the Michael’s class I will be teaching in October. It will be for the display. I did want it to be like the on in the pattern, same color and all.

        (clickable)I have been working along on the second sock.  I am almost up to the heel.  I also ripped out the toe of 2 others socks I already finished to make them shorter.  The yarn bloomed and they were too big.  I have one done and will finish the other one tomorrow so I can mail them to my friend.

I finally have the details of the classes I am teaching in October.  They will be beginning knit and beginning crochet.  I staggered them so one beginning class builds off the next.  However, I think they are basic enough that even someone who doesn’t know anything could take any of the classes I am teaching.  They are pretty basic.

Eventually I would like to have one beginner class for knit and one for crochet each month and then one advanced class for knit and crochet.

For November I am going to focus on knitting and crocheting in the round and simple decreasing.  For both of these classes we will be making basic hats.

In December I have plans to crochet snowflakes and then will teach how to block them.   For a knit project, I may consider a stocking.  I haven’t knitted one before, but I think it would be a fun project.   Don’t worry, I will make all of my projects before I ever put them on my project sheet.

I have a feeling January will be hand items and sometime in the spring I will teach basic sock knitting.

I posted closeup pictures of the scarf I knitted.   I didn’t get any comments about it.  Usually lack of comments means people are trying to be polite and so are refraining from saying what they really want to say.  This could be true, but I was thinking I would try to get some closeup shots.  It really is a nice scarf.  Think cables…but they aren’t.  Scarves always look better in person and especially when they are tied around the neck (not in the summer.)

(picture is clickable)

Crocheted One Skein Scarf

Pattern: Happy Hooker or free Patons pattern
Hook: Size K

Yarn: Hand dyed wool with Kool-Aid and Food coloring.

I made the clusters at the ends 7dc clusters, instead of 5. I also fudged a bit on the corners as for some reason my numbers weren’t lining up, but only I know that. ha ha…

This scarf worked up pretty fast, one night. I didn’t like counting over 200, but I survived it. This was done for a CAL at Fiber Freaks. So while my September challenge I am not suppose to start any new projects, the CAL and KAL are my exceptions…oh and anything I have to create for my new job (which I haven’t done much planning for…) They only gave me a week to plan…I will get it figured out.

If I haven’t answered emails or comments, I apologize. I am running on fumes and hopefully will get to emails and comments by the weekend and more than likely sooner.

Knitted scarf - picture clickable

Pattern: John’s Birthday Scarf from Strings ‘n Things
Yarn: Cascade Quatro 100% WW wool

Needles: Size 6

This is a pattern I tested for Ev. It is a seaman style scarf and the pattern is pretty easy to remember. I think the scarf looks like it has faux cables. Ev knitted hers in a DK cashmere. I didn’t have that yarn, unfortunately. However, my dad has been wanting a scarf that is thicker around the neck and warmer then the last one I made him, so I thought this WW wool would be perfect. It doesn’t have the same drape as cashmere, but honestly I am pretty happy with the scarf. Thanks Ev for letting me test this for you! I hope John had a great birthday.

I might try to get a closeup picture tomorrow, but my camera isn’t working so great.

ps…should be in bed…blah…

oh…and pss…scarf looks blue, huh?

Wool Soy Scarf

Pattern: St st with garter boarder

Yarn: Patons SWS Soy Wool Stripes (70% wool 30%soy)
Needles: Size 9

This is the beginning scarf project I am going to present at my interview tomorrow. It can be changed so that the person who can’t get purl will still have a nice garter stitch scarf. The yarn is so easy to work with, it is a real dream. I would love to have a sweater in this yarn.

It is super soft and look at how wonderful those stripes are!

I didn’t get time to work up a crochet project for my interview. I gathered up tons of my knit/crochet stuff to bring in there tomorrow. Wish me luck!

Rarely it happens, but I lied. I didn’t go to bed like most sane people would do (ps..I never said I was sane, remember I was the “crazycrafter.”) Instead, I got some type of second wind and in the midst of a bad toothache I did the dishes and finished the Jaywalker socks I have been working on.

Thanks again Sara for sending me this gorgeous yarn that you dyed. I absolutely loved knitting these and the colors never bored me, not once. Sometimes I thought the colors reminded me of a Mary Engelbreit Garden. Sometimes it was pure Christmas spirit.

Here is an inprogress picture of a scarf I am test knitting. This is where I was on Sunday. I am a bit further now. School might slow me up a bit, but I should have it finished by this weekend.

Do you ever wish that people would call you and start hounding you to finish your WIP’s? Okay, maybe that is pretty extreme…I guess I am feeling like I need to be accountable in finishing all that I have started.

Patons Cha Cha Vegas Scarf

Scarf from recycled sweater