Maia Spins

Time Flies!

Time flies!  I hardly know where it goes.

There isn't a lot of knitting to show you.  I am casting off Aeolian.  It is just a lump right now awaiting the magic of blocking. 

I have been very busy dyeing.  A few personal items managed to pass through the dye pots.

I dyed the yarns I bought at Stitches West this year.  The singles yarn from Sweet Grass is now Tangerine and I've started a capelette-ish shawl.  The charcoal worsted from Sweet Grass is dyed green and still undecided as to what it wants to be. 

One of the charcoal skeins from Island Fibers is now purple (top skein below).  I plan on making striped socks.  Maybe have the toes and heels solid and opposite from each other?  It has been a while since I've made socks. 

The Blue Faced Leicester/Pygora lace weight yarn from Toots LeBlanc (bottom skein above) is dyed purple as well.  This picture makes it look pinker than it is.  Maybe a little lacy scarf?

I have also been dyeing Yak-Cormo from Bijou Basin Ranch.  That is for Tactile.  Oh so dreamy!  Watch for it soon.

Have I mentioned that I'm on Facebook now?  Feel free to friend me.  I'm there as Maia Discoe (the only Maia Discoe - who knew?).

Enjoy the weekend!!!

Lazy Day

Happy Easter and Passover!  I hope spring is treating you all well.  The weather here is bright, sunny, and warm.  A delightful spring day.

I woke up sore this morning and feeling lazy.  I did something I haven't done in ages.  It involved rolling over and picking up a book.  There was a time when every morning started this way (or at least I wanted it too!).  Somehow I lost my habit of reading.  Bad move.  Reading is such a joy. 

But, what to read?  I am so out of the loop that I don't have any ideas.  Please suggest some titles for me.  I like Barbara Kingsolver, Isabelle Allende, and Alice Walker.  A bit of quirkiness never is amiss.  And, animals, love me some critters.  Non-fiction maybe?  Clearly, I am not very focused.

The lazy day continues.  Some shawl knitting, a baseball game (viewed from home and my comfy couch), maybe a bit of gardening.  Somehow Easter has become my day to plant tomatoes.  That would require getting out of my jammies and going to the getting place though.  Might be too tall a task.

My (not so) big news today . . . a hair cut.  And a few self-portraits a la Rachael the Queen of self-portraits.

Roger says it looks like I have deep thoughts.  I'm pretty sure he was making a joke at my expense.

Way too many chins happening here.  And, why do my eyes disappear when I smile?

This one is so very wrong.  For so many reasons. 

Not too bad.

Impish!

Love the hair cut!  It is short, sassy, and easy.  Can you believe that I had hair to my hips for 20 years?  No bangs or anything.  Never again.

Have a happy day!

Friends & Lace

It has been a disjointed week.  I feel like I have been very busy, yet have little to show for it.  It has been all bad, I've had lots of time knitting with friends.

On Sunday I spent a few lovely hours at Janine's knit-in. 

Rachael with Joaquin.  Aren't they cute?  The color was wonky so I used Rachael's trick and made the picture sepia.

Brooke & Joaquin

Pardon the blurry-cam technology.  I thought the picture was cute enough to overlook the blur.

It was nice to visit with Celia, Becca, Nancy, and meet Joy and Therese.

On Tuesday, I went to knit night at Llama Llama Knit in Novato.  Love that store!  There is a wonderful crowd there and I feel so at home.

All this visiting has helped to get some knitting done.  I have neglected to show you the shawl I'm making with the Meyer Lemon Chocolate Alpaca-Tussah Silk. 

Golden Aura Shawl

There are three patterns before a wide edging.  I have completed the first two patterns.  So far I am quite happy.  It is about 30% done with the knitting.  Soon, I'll have to spin the second have of the roving.

I found that my Sweater Swine is perfect as a T-pin cushion.  So darling!

Aeolian is coming along too.

 

I'm done with the set-up edging and just started on the final edging.  It is hard to put down, easy to follow, and well written.  The beads aren't going to happen.  Maybe on the next one.  I am very intrigued by the Alternate Narrow Edging (ravelry link).

Off to get some work done!  Must prepare for Fiber Club dyeing plus dye some lace yarn and camel fiber and BFL and . . . .  I know, tough life!

Aeolian Update

Just a quick post with an update on my Aeolian Shawlette.  I am about 30% done.  It is a straight forward pattern.  All confusion has been of my own making (as per usual).

A quick block of half the shawlette:

The transition chart is complete.  I am hopeful that I have enough yardage to add a Agave repeat.  I have made some calculations that support this hope.  If I am wrong, I can resort to the Alternative Narrow Edging (rav link) which is pretty frakkin' beautiful.  Worthy of a second shawl.

I have not added beads.  I've been thinking I'd add them to the edging, but that idea is waning on me.  I think I want to celebrate how whisper light the shawl will be.  Maybe the next one.

I'll leave you with a picture of my silly boy.

Sammie really needs to learn how to relax!

Bits & Bobs & Fiber Club, Oh My!

There is progress on spinning for Aeolian.  The Yak-Tussah is spun, plied, and washed.  It is so soft and luscious!  I ended up with 650 yards from my 2 oz after washing and fulling it ever so slightly.  I am thrilled to get so much yardage from 2oz!  The Alpaca-Tussah was 400+ yards, so I spun this finer and got a true lace weight (5200 ypp!).  I have started knitting, but there isn't much to see yet.

Wondering what that nose is next to the handspun?

A cute little piggy made from recycled sweaters from Almitas. She calls them sweater swine.

Cute coming and going.

Piggy ROARS!

I got this piggy at the Knit One One Craft Fair on Saturday.  It was a bright sunny day and the place was hopping.  Lovely to see you all!

I also got a selection of caramelly goodness from CC Made.
Pistachio Caramel Corn, Orange Cardamom Caramel Sauce, Caramels in Darjeeling and Sea Salt flavors.  The Spicy Almonds Caramel Corn disappeared before the photo could be taken.  So freaking good!  CC Made is brand new, watch for her products, they are so worth it!

I narrowly resisted getting patterns from Sonya.  Not sure why, they are so fabulous.

In Tactile news, we opened a Fiber Club.  It is an idea we have been building for a year now and it feels so good to be getting it off the ground!

It is structured to be an exploration of fibers and natural dyes.  When I started spinning, I really wanted to try everything and learn everything I could about every fiber out there.  I still do.  It seems to be a universal feeling among spinners.

Each month will focus on a natural dyestuff with a solid piece dyed in that dyestuff alone and a painted piece where the featured dyestuff is combined with other natural dyes.  

We'll include an informational sheet on the dyestuff and the fiber of the month.  The sheet will be suitable for attaching a sample to and keeping in a binder.  I have always wanted to have a binder like this and now I will because I plan on playing along!  There is a wool version and a luxury fibers version.  In keeping with the idea of exploring, we will send a wide range of fibers, including rare and unusual fibers in a variety of preparations.

Sign-ups end April 10th and the first shipment will be a couple weeks later.  More information on the Fiber Club can be found here.