Lisa Kay Knits... and Quilts!

I did not sleep a whole lot last night... and I took today off! :) I wove my first scarf, well, more of a shawl, actually, given the width. I used Noro Silk Garden for the weft. First Woven Rows First Cloth Rolled Onto The Cloth Beam Cloth Off The Loom (not washed, yet) Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

I warped the loom this morning. I used some advice from Amy Singer on Knitty , using two tables instead of one, placing the warping peg on a separate little table. I also used the Ashford guidance on warping solo . One weird thing is that I had the "back beam" up against a wall, so I had to reach across the loom to pull the yarn around the warping stick. It worked out OK, though. I just had to detach it and turn it around to wind the warp onto the back beam.(One lesson learned... put the warping peg on the far side of the table from the loom, not the near side. When I was about half done, the peg slipped off, because of the tension pulling it slightly toward the loom. Before putting all the loops back on, I turned the table around. Duh. Direct warping using the warping peg Warp wound onto the back beam Warp tied onto the front warping stick Ready to weave (three rows of waste yarn, to be removed later) The yarn is Zen Yarn Garden sock yarn in "Navy Spritz,...

My 20" Ashford Knitter's Loom arrived, today. It looks like Mitchell thinks it is his . Let the weaving begin! Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

We had a "stay at home" Memorial Day weekend. It gave me a chance to do a bit of spinning. I worked up a single 4 oz dose of the Pigeonroof Studios spin along fiber, "Mimsy," on superwash Merino. 249 yards worsted. Thanks to all those who serve and have served. Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

I finally finished up some socks I have had on the needles since late February. I have worked on them almost exclusively when traveling, since I've been focusing on sweaters, otherwise. I find socks to be my best travel knitting, because I can carry them on the plane without taking an extra carry-on bag. I just use a cosmetics bag for my sock knitting, and the whole bag fits into the top of my purse. I used a striped sock pattern called " Burning Stripes " from the "3 Sheets to the Wind" blog. It uses a "Boomerang Heel," which is a new thing to me, but not that different from a short row heel. Because of the graduated stripes, it calls for a long-color-transition yarn for at least one of the yarns. I used Skacel Schoppel-Wolle Crazy Zauberball in a blue-black-green colorway "Submarine," and contrasted with a Zen Yarn Garden semi-solid in a club colorway, "Navy Spritz." In some places, the colors blended together a bit, but I...

We went to Lewis and Clark Heritage Days in St. Charles, MO, today. I certainly enjoyed the weaving! The tent with the loom was the first thing I saw when I came into the area. Chris said, "Uh, oh." :) The children's area had several activities, including a "military" tent where they showed the kids how to throw hatchets and then taught them how to start a fire with flint and steel. There were bag pipers and horses, and people in a wide array of garb, from kilts to Revolutionary War era costume. Most of the costumes looked entirely too warm on our 90 degree F and high humidity day. We did our best to stay in the shade. Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

In late April, I spun up my oldest bag of Southern Cross Fibre (SCF), as part of "Clubless April." Because SCF was doing a change-over in club ordering process, there was a month without fiber, and folks started discussing what to do, what to do (because none of us has any significant build up of fiber inventory, of course... Hah!) The group launched into spinning their oldest colorway. I had "Standing Stones" on South African Merino/Corrie blend from a "destash" before I even got into club. (Long waiting list.) I spun up some singles, which still makes me a little nervous... The plying always seems to even things out! I spun some long-wool singles in TdF last year, Wensleydale and Masham , and my Aftur yarns were singles of Merino and mixed batts... but I still "worry" when I make singles. These singles turned out a bit finer than a really wanted, but I'm pretty happy with them. I really don't know what I'll make, yet. It occur...

St. Louis had the official opening of its own Lego Store this weekend in the West County Mall. We don't normally go quite that far west, but we made an exception... The line looked a bit intimidating, winding out the corrals, down the mall to the first maintenance hallway, and then turning down that hallway. I saw a lot of people shaking their heads. It only took us about half an hour to get into the store. (Now that I say that, it sounds kind of silly, but the drive was longer!) Mitchell was fairly patient about the line. Actually, the biggest problem we had with the line was that there was a hermit crab vendor near the line, and it led to a discussion of not having a pet... a current disappointment for him. The store staff managed the line very well, keeping people from trying to join the line at the corner (instead of down the maintenance hall), and entertaining the folks about to enter the store. The first guy was starting to lose his voice. The lady behind me in line...

I've been knitting here and there between spinning and working some long hours lately... I'm working on the Classic Cardigan at home, and a pair of socks when I'm on the road. More on the socks, later... I've finished the basic body section of the sweater, without front bands, pocket bands, or neck band. I've cast on the sleeves and have about six inches, knitting both at once. I would be farther along, but I had to rip back a bit due to working decreases instead of increases for the shaping. Duh! Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay