going along with my knitting ADD I have cast on yet another project.  A project I desperately did not need to put on the needles but one that decided to pop up because I made a splurge of a purchase on some fabulous yarn from Ranch Of The Oaks.  This is their “Zoo Blend” which is a mix of all animals that get processed through the mill.  Every run is different, some are more wool, some are more alpaca, llama, mohair, or what not.

Girl Friday Cardigan (Free on Knitty)

I believe this is mostly a mix of alpaca and wool. It SMELLS like the barn yard but I honestly love it (and so does Tank who keeps licking my sweater when I’m not looking).  I’m glad that I decided to knit this in a lace because I think that it might have been too heavy in any thing else.

I’m also almost done on my Goodale Cardigan but I have doubts. Serious doubts that make me sad.  1. This seems to be shorter than I would ever wear a cardigan. 2. it seems too big.  I am almost done & will block & pin it into place.  If it is ot what I hope when the pockets are pinned then I will have to give it up as “a skinny girls sweater”.   Either way, the silky wool is quite fab & I want to knit a sweater for the Mr out of it some day.

Speaking of the Mr, he is such a wonderful man and a quiet enabler.  He brought me back these two cones of yarn.  It’s from a place called Yarnia up in the great pacific northwest and it’s like Build A Bear for Yarn!!! How genius is that? Brilliant I say, Brilliant!

So now I’m on to knittin’ Christmas. I have two sheep worth of sweaters to spin and knit (our sheep were sheared & the fleece processed) before christmas hopefully, hats, gloves, mittens, socks, and scarves.  Wish me luck, I might need to be medicated.

It was very anti-climatic though still very satisfying.  I can’t wait to be done for reasons I won’t post.  Lets just say that I am on way more mood stabilizers than I should be because of work.

So what will I do once I’m done with work?  I will be PACKING PACKING PACKING!!!  Yes, the Salyer’s are on the move again.  Once more in to the breach dear friend.  We are hopping states.  The Mr and I are going to Vancouver Washington (well, the Mr is already there working but I am still here in California). 

I hope also that in between packing I will be able to finish some knitting projects work on some designs that have been rolling around in my head begging to be wonders of knitting handiwork & spend time with my pup.

I have had serious knitting ADD this summer (I can’t believe it’s 1/2 way through July already because it surely doesn’t feel like it.  Maybe because no one was here for my birthday which always marks my mid-way point of the summer?)  I have started and have almost finished the uber cute Goodale by the fabulous and prolific Cecily Glowik MacDonald who I have a serious knit crush on.

I have a few knits that I need to get finished up because they are making me feel so guilty about how long they have languished with out completion.  I have never been this kind of knitter before.  I always used to finish a project before I moved on, lately I want to cast on 4 different things every night.

So life is moving along, different than what I expected but still just as fabulous.  The most exciting thing is that the Mr and I are moving to handknit heaven! I can’t wait!  The only thing that one of  us is going to have to adjust to is the rain.  Tank is not a fan of water and I think he’ll be sadder than sad to discover it falls freely from the sky.

Catlin Blair Designs. LOVE

 They are river stones with rivets through the middle. I LOVE them!!!  On the second trip out I realized something, there is no way to just cruise through a crowd with Tank in tow.  I brought him because we were heading to the dog park afterwards and hate leaving him in the car, so off we went down the sidewalk.  Now Tank is a very well behaved boy and pretty darn calm for a 1 year old.  But people! OMG the PEOPLE!  1. if this is not your dog, do not touch.  You don’t know him, you don’t know if he’s friendly (he is) but how would you feel if I reached out and smacked your butt? 2.  he is a dog, not a horse and he doesn’t need a saddle.  3. if you are in the way, chances are you will get slimed, I don’t see this as my fault, but collateral damage. It washes off, you’ll live. 

Since it is summer after all, I am totally struck with knitting ADD.  That means that it’s time to read.  I found this book and I haven’t made my mind up yet because I’m not far enough into it.   

 

I have finished an infinity scarf. I love it, it’s soft, lacy, lofty, and wrapable.  

Pattern coming shortly for free.

 

Coming up shortly I will show you all pictures of roving & yarn made from my very own sheep. Crazy right? But also incredibly awesome. I also have a shawl in the works that I finally think I’ve gotten charted out well enough to start (yet again), a hat design that is completed, and a few other bits and pieces.  Stay tuned, the blogger is back

It’s my birthday today so I’m releasing a new free sock pattern.

Windswept is a fun and interesting sock pattern that from afar looks like simple stockingknit but up close you can see the swirling of the stitches around the foot and leg.  This sock is perfect for those looking for a little extra warmth or cushion because the fabric is wonderfully squishy.

Left and right socks are knit so that they mirror each other. 

I hope you enjoy. 

The Mr had his first crop of carrots to harvest and I have to tell you that they were probably the most fabulous carrots ever.  Yes, those are purple carrots mixed in there.

I’m a huge fan of men in the kitchen This weekend Jim went all out for an early birthday dinner.

There were amazing steaks, fresh roasted veggies, lobster tails, cheesey rolls (which are almost the best thing in the entire world!), and cheese potatoes (see the big bowl of cheese? Yeah it was that awesome).

They got me the most awesome cake ever! I was really overwhelmed by all this because it’s been a long time since I’ve had friends do something for a birthday (because when your an adult your birthday usually falls on a monday )

Carol knit my Post Modern scarf and it came out great.  She used a worsted weight alpaca and I think that this will be lovely for the colder mountain winters.

There is much more knitting on the horizon and a few new patterns I’m working on.  Hopefully soon I’ll have another knit heavy post

Post Modern Infinity Scarf

Post Modern is free and available in any weight or gage of yarn.  

I have also fished the Echo Flower shawl in a lovely orange worsted weight yarn.  

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Last weekend Sandy, Becky and I headed to Santa Barbara to visit Loop & Leaf. A beautiful shop in a shady quiet neighborhood with in walking distance of State Street.  They have an amazing selection of Madeline Tosh yarns.  The colors and amazing textures made me want them all!  

Becky & Sand @ Loop & Leaf

I managed to restrain myself and only buy a few things.   

Tosh Sock, Worsted, & Pima (in my favorite green ever) and some purple, grey, black kuani.  I’m thinking at least 2 shawls are in my future.  

I have also broken out the spinning wheel lately (since the Mr has been out of town).  These are next up.  

Thylacine Shetland

I love that these are grey based dyes because they are more heathered and not so BLINDING.  I think overdying grey is pretty brilliant & unique.  I’ll be watching  The Thylacine for more updates.  

Thylacine Shetland

I experimented a little bit and created a bulky 3 ply but now I don’t know what to do with it.  What does a person do with 60 yards of bulky weight yarn?  

Close up  

Things are going well at home too, a little bit lonely with out the Mr around but he’s coming home this weekend and I can’t wait.  

Tank has amazed me by burying his bones and treats in the back yard.   I’ve never seen a dog finish the process from digging the hole, placing the bone, and covering it up.  Not only does he bury but he remembers where he puts it (which is one up on me for sure.)  

Like turning this

Bee Mice Elf merino roving

Into this…

a plain stockingknit scarf to show off the lovely color changes as much as possible.

I really love this scarf. It’s so light and airy and LONG. Perfect for the transition weather or just adding a little extra warmth.

I have also finished this…

This is Shaelyn and it was an A++ knit.  It was easy, fast, and satisfying.  Not one glitch in the pattern that I saw and a fun knit.

I used 1 skein of Socks That Rock medium weight in 24 carat and love the results!

In other news it’s lizard breeding season apparently in my part of the country and I am having the most fun watching these little lizards battle over who’s the toughest.  They arch their little backs, bounce around, and bob their heads. 

The cats love it because they get to watch LOTS of lizards all over the place.  I swear every step I take scares a lizard.

Tank is still doing quite fabulous.  He has taught me a lot about how I project my energy and how I need to calm down and think rationally a little more.  He’s taught me that not everything is a disaster and that if I just relax everything works itself out.

My friend’s ranch had shearing.  It was easier than I thought because they have fewer animals and are a well oiled machine!

Alpacas are not the best customers when getting shorn, they tend to scream quite a bit.

The alpaca’s are done laying down and the llamas are done standing up because they are such larger creatures.

I seem to have developed a serious case of knitting ADD because I can’t seem to focus on one project at all.

I’ve also been working on another circle sweater for my friend Carol.  This is alpaca from her own animals and it’s so beauitful!  After I’m done with this sweater I will be publishing a recipie for this sweater for free because it’s a wonderful usable sweater that’s so darn beautiful.

(Tank is a fabulous model)

Tank is doing super well, he’s so fanatastic that I feel so blessed to have been able to adopt him. He’s such a sweet loving animal that I can’t picture our lives with out him.

Tank Toes!

In other exciting news it’s been lambing season which means we have two new additions to “Two Sheep Farm”. A little ram and a little ewe (both nameless) were born to Muusta.  Oreo stayed true to her prudish self and proved that she never let Hawk the ram near her. Oh well.

These are not my lambs because my lambs were camera shy

Well another few weeks have gone by and I have something (or many things) to show for it.  First of all the in-laws (SIL, BIL, & niece) just left after a week of visiting.  We all went up to June Lake, CA for a week of fishing, and mountaineering and it was FABULOUS!

The niece caught her very first fish ever and we saw a crazy ice sheet go all glacial across the lake!

I’ll tell you that Grandpa was seriously proud of his 3 year old grandaughter catching her first cut-throat trout.

Here’s a link to the video of the lake glacier!

Fishing was the main event this trip.  The Mr & the FIL went out every single day and the BIL was right in there with them.

I can tell you that I probably wouldn’t be able to do this with my family but with the Mr’s it’s pretty easy.  (not to say we don’t squabble, but it’s never mean).

I’ve also finished some seriously knitting.  It’s sock season so here they come!

Hand spun, Hand dyed, Hand knit socks!

These are the very first socks that I have knit from my handspun yarn! I dyed it with kool aid too!

I also finished my first major crochet project!

Sunshine Afghan

I crocheted this for the niece but honestly, she wanted absolutely nothing to do with it.  It cracked me up because you can’t be upset by a 3 year old not caring that you spent 30 hours crocheting a damn afghan for them.  Her mom liked it and honestly, that’s all that matters.

I’ve also knit these socks.  The pattern is Kalajoki and they were beautifully perfect to knit! I love everything about them.

I finished another pair of socks from Cookie A.’s book Sock Innovation.  This time it was Devon and I LOVE them!  They were easy to knit (much easier than they look), even though I made my fair share of mistakes.

Next up is something entirely different. 

An ANTEATER! Did you know that there is no pattern out there yet for a knit anteater?  Well, I may just about fix that soon.

This little guy is a prototype and I plan on doing another.

We also had our first harvest from the garden.  Radishes!!!

Finally, what would a post be with out a random picture of the Tankers?  (Re-Named “Tank-er-Bell” by the niece).

I’m working on a new sock design.  Something a little texturual, super smooshy, and really warm.  The stitch pattern is mirrored from left sock to right and there is no way to wear the socks so that the stitches lean in the same way.  The fabric is thick and smooshy but also a little lacy.

I’m going to re-knit these in a less fuzzy yarn then I’ll be ready for some test knitters if anyone is interested. It’s a really simple 4 row pattern (two of which are plain knit).

I’ve also been knitting another pair of socks

The pattern is Kalajoki after the river in Finland and I can’t tell you how much I love them.  They were so easy and intersting and also brainless. They were exactly what I was looking for to get myself back into knitting socks for the summer.

The third pair of socks this summer are “Summer Sliding”.  A pair of socks that I have been coveting for quite a long time but since they looked complicated I never fully went for it.  How silly I was because these socks aren’t that complicated and the effect is fabulous!

I’ve also been spinning.  This is Bee Mice Elf super fine Merino & it’s a dream to spin.

We are soon going to be going  upto June Lake with the inlaws so there will be lots of good knitting time and fun family activities.  I frankly just can’t wait!