Lisa Kay Knits... and Quilts!

I had ordered three scarf kits from Earth Guild, and I have now finished the second and started the third. The second one is the colorway, "Ruby Slippers," which is red with some bits of purple/magenta throughout. And I've warped and begun weaving the "Ocean Waves" colorway, which is purple/blue at one end, transitioning to blue/green at the other end. I really enjoyed weaving these. They are keeping me busy while I wait for the Mighty Wolf to arrive! Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

We made a stop at a local yarn store, and Mitchell asked for his picture to be taken with the yarn-graffiti out front... We also did a bit of fishing at the local park. And Mitchell got into a staring contest with a swan. (Not really, but it looks that way, doesn't it?) Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

Mitchell lost his first top tooth, today (third tooth, overall). The next top tooth is loose, also. I suspect he will go back to school missing both... Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

I finished my weaving lessons on Tuesday, and I've hemmed the two towels. I used a simple turned hem and blind-hemmed with sewing thread. I matched the patterns across the width so that it would turn out straight. The turned hem is a bit puffier than I would like, and I may try a recommendation I've seen of using smaller thread and/or plain weave to make the rolled-under part smaller. The two towels turned out different due to a counting error... One of them has only three repeats along the length instead of four. Since the two weren't a matched set, anyway, I split them up, giving one to my mom for her birthday, and keeping one myself. I have a bit more than half of the cone of blue, left, and I have already wound another warp. I tried to maximize the length, thinking I would get three towels out of it... I went too far and was 30 ends short. Since the little diamond patterns are 8-ends each, I'll leave out an extra two ends (32 total), and reduce the patt...

I showed the Earth Guild Scarf started on my rigid heddle loom in a mid June Weaving Update , but I never got around to posting a finished product picture. I wove it in two days, so the delay is showing the scarf doesn't represent weaving time! The Earth Guild source information is in the Weaving Update post linked above. Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

I finished my Bullseye Twill purses. I managed two out of my woven cloth. I pressed to get them done over the weekend, so that I could gift one of them to my weaving instructor on the last day. Yes, I finished my weaving lessons... more on that, soon... Here are the purses: I ordered purse frames from American Purse Supplies , and they have wonderful instructions available for making the purses to fit the frames, including which interfacing and glue to use, fabric cutting templates, and so forth. Very helpful. Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay P.S. If you live in the St. Louis area, the Summer's Last Blast Yarn Crawl starts today!

I finished my 12 ounces of Hello Yarn "Blossom" on Finn, for a total of 898 yards. The photo is pre-washing, but I made it before the end of the last day! Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

Two full bobbins of Hello Yarn "Blossom." (Four ounces, total.) Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

Here is what I've been working on in my weaving lessons... These are the "Fiesta Towels" from Weaver’s Craft, April/May 2000 . I'm using Webs 5/2 perle cotton . The loom is a Harrisville Designs 22" folding floor loom . Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

Yesterday was a rest day (which I needed). I've just started my second bobbin of Hello Yarn "Blossom" on Finn. Today is another weaving day, so no more spinning, today! I'm very excited about weaving lessons, today. I've finished threading and wound onto the back beam last week. I'm ready to tie onto the front beam and begin weaving, tonight. Yay! Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

Mitchell watched some Harry Potter movies while I was spinning, today. He got out his pup tent for the occasion. Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

Here is a group shot of all six of the Ivy League Kit yarns: And the first two ounces of Hello Yarn, "Blossom" on Finn, the May 2013 club fiber. Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

We made a trip to the zoo today. Mitchell had some help feeding the rays He really enjoyed the extra attention! Playing in the mister The silver-back came out to put on a bit of a show. His whole demeanor seemed to say, "If I could get over there..." It was a beautiful day, and perfect for being out and about The adolescent giraffe toyed with his neighbor Who Me? Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

"Cactus" is done! Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

I've missed a couple days of posting, but I've been spinning at least a bit every day. I've got two full bobbins of "Cactus" ready to ply. Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

Day 10 was a rest day, along with the bikers. Next Monday will, also. I did spin a bit in the evening, though, and I just popped in this morning to post progress... Today is a weaving lesson day, so I won't be spinning any more, tonight. Here is Oasis, washed and fluffed, and the first bobbin of Cactus on the wheel. This will be the last of six colors in the Ivy League Vest, and then I'll move on to something else... Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

I spun a whole bump of my Ivy League Kit, and I even plied it this afternoon, though I haven't washed it or taken photos, yet. One color to go! Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

"Pebble" is washed and fluffed, and I finished the second bobbin of "Cornstalk." Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

You might notice a new feature... If you "mouse over" a photo, a little Pinterest symbol comes up. That allows you to "pin" the photo on your Pinterest board. I just recently started using Pinterest. Some friends at work told me to go check it out some time ago, but I had some trouble getting it to work. Long story short, I have a new internet service (same provider, different technology). Between that and a few other tweaks, things are working better, and my ability to load Pinterest is one of the benefits. So, I'm just getting started with the thing, but I really like it. Lots of cool crafty stuff! "Pinning" means (as far as I can tell) putting a copy of a picture on your boards , which provides a link to the original site and a place to put your own comments. It is a great way to keep track of nifty ideas or favorite photos (and links to helpful tips, recipes, etc). I have mostly been just browsing through other pins and occasionally "re-pinn...

I'm trucking along on my Ivy League Kit, just finishing the third color and starting the fourth. Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

Yesterday and today I spun another bump of the Ivy League Kit. If I ply it this evening, I'll be half done with the six colors in the kit. Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

I've plied the "Toffee," and I have 282 yards, just the same as the "Red Dahlia." That is strangely consistent, for me. I'm usually all over the place from one skein to the next. We'll see how the next four colors go... That's all the spinning for me, today. I have a weaving lesson after work, today. I have been getting home from lessons after normal bed time. Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

My second bobbin of "Toffee." Tomorrow is weaving night (lessons), so I may not get much done. Perhaps I can get "Toffee" plied tonight and tomorrow morning... Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay