on to happier news! a big hunk of thursday through the beginning of this week was spent trying to prepare for my first craftster SWAP; fiber of the month swap (may)! i was so excited and slightly nervous, it being my first time and all! so i was super-absorbed trying to find stuff i already had in my stash to send to a partner with an entirely new set of likes and dislikes, it wasn't too hard, but i really strive to please! so of course i forgot to take pictures of everything i sent her, i'll see if i can get some pics from her, but until then, here's a gallery for the may swap, everyone's pic should start popping up everywhere, bc the SEND OUT deadline was only yesterday, but there were some early birds! uh humm ;)
ANYWAYS- swappers fill out a few questions about what they like/ don't want, favorite colors, allergies and whatnot, and hers said her favorite color is green, and she really didn't care WHAT she got, as long as it was fiber!! what i sent her, and she should've gotten it today bc we sent out the same day, was a silk cap I DYED... oh yeah, all by myself! *some of us may remember dye pot anarchy* and it was beautiful!!! not a disaster! i used turqoise, ELECTRIC blue, goldenrod, canary yellow, and emerald green. so i REALLY hope she enjoys it, bc it was my first EVER successful dye, and i used acid dyes! i also sent some carded batts: 2 black/white wool *the roving i got from sheep shed studios!!!* and one white wool base both carded with the AMAZING sari silk i got from wool peddler (i tried to use LOTS of greens! :D) some tencel, white icicle and a few locks of mohair. and finally, i sent a ziplock baggie FULL of the same mohair locks in grass and neon green, yellow, and a few in varied other colors, but i tried to stick mostly to her green! i hope she likes it! i sent lots of different stuff, not intended to necessarily go together, mostly just to play with, or add to some of her other projects!
now in knitting news: tonight i watched the season premier of so you think you can dance while frogging the onesie i was supposed to knit my daughter for WINTER!!! *sorry honey, mommy really does love you!* and YES, i do watch cheesy tv shows, i'm a stay at home for crying out loud, the tv is always on, and i watch practically EVERY show presently on the air! but it hit me like a ton of bricks the other day, an idea to frog the onesie, and use the yarn to make her a little tunic/shirt. i've got pink and brown, so i'll do the chest in one color, and the bottom in the other. i want it to be close to the body on top, and then drape away on the bottom, i have an idea of HOW i'll do it, which i'll start explaining once i start doing it. but i'm expecting it to be SUPER-freakin cute! i took her chest measurement before she went to bed tonight, but doubt i'll cast on till tomorrow, i always spin at night, knit during the day bc knitting needles can be put down faster, and when i spin, i don't like to stop or be bothered and interrupted.
but i started to knit her a pair of socks a couple of days ago... presumably out of guilt from not finishing her onesie. the yarn is from my first dyeing project EVER- Kool-Aid dyed merino top which was supposed to be rainbow colors, but turned out more autumnal and i love it for that! i thought since it was kool-aid it had to be rainbow, but this was a super-fantastic surprise! anyways, i spun it SUPER thin and navajo plied it *BOTH first-time experiences!* and knit a pair of ankle socks for myself last year *and as fate may have it, i just remembered while writing that sentence that those were the socks i wore in the hospital when i had her! *heart melting as i type!* and my mom exclaimed to the nurse, after she commented on my LOVELY socks, "SHE EVEN MADE THE WOOL!!!" lol, i die laughing. YES, mom, i turned into a sheep and sheared myself, then retook my human form to spin and knit this lovely yarn... isn't it funny how people who don't spin will presumably never get it! lol
anyways, i'm sorry i'm such a rambler, so i've finished the first sock, which was a little big, and she took it off INSTANTLY.... i know this sounds so dorky, but it hurt my feelings. my husband put it on her again, to make me feel better, and she just took it off again in an instant. but, i persevere, this time casting on 4 fewer stitches, and it looks like this one may be the right size, wether or not she'll EVER wear it, i can't say, but at least when she gets older, i can say "you see, here it is, i DID knit you something!" i haven't made it past the 1X1 rib yet, the last sock was knit in 2x2, but i didn't like it, i think it was TOO stretchy, and i'm having a vague memory of 1x1 being tighter and stretchier, so i'm trying that this time.
and in my last knitty update, i went to a baby shower saturday, the recipient being the woman i was knitting the blue garter stitch blanket for, she was much appreciative of her handmade gift, she's a little kU-ntry (in my best back woods impersonation!) so she LOVES handmade, hell, we all do down here. it's something about the south, now i'm not saying that pioneers up north didn't make quilts either, but the south tends to have a poorer heritage, where people made quilts to survive. and they didn't go to the store and pick out the most beautiful fabrics they could afford, they used the rags, old clothes and gave them new life. my german oma has given me three handmade quilts, one that was given to me on my graduation, and one for the birth of each of my kids. these quilts are like the personification of how i feel about old, traditional hand crafts. spinning, sewing by hand, it's my connection to my heritage. and that's why i don't understand when people ask me "why do you do that?!?!"
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