Yakkety Yak (sorry, couldn't resist)

Highland Yarn from Prl Jacob on Vimeo.

More Inspiration

Spin A Yarn from Chris Rupert on Vimeo.

The next time you see that hand-spun skein and you think to yourself "Geez, that's expensive." ...

creating yarn from sprb on Vimeo.

Yarning from Alex Stillwell on Vimeo.

Yarn

Yarn from Project Novo on Vimeo.

Scottish Fabulosity

This makes me want to climb a big rock with a dog at my side. In the rain.

Harris Tweed - From Shearing To Stamping from HTA on Vimeo.

This was so silly, I couldn't NOT share it

The First cycle from Niels Hoebers on Vimeo.

Clapotis

You guys know Clapotis, right?  It was published on Knitty.com in 2004 (I actually remember the first time I saw it - Knitty used to rock my world) and it kind of took the knitting world by storm.

As of this very moment, Clapotis is the most-knitted pattern on Ravelry (ever), with a project count of 19,635.  

In case you weren't sure, let me assure you that that is Crazy Town.

Thing is, I've never felt compelled to knit it.  Wasn't even sure I liked it (which I realize makes me sound more than somewhat delusional, but whatever).

Then I bought this silk yarn from the Mill (aka: my LYS) and I really wasn't sure what to do with it.  I bought it as a gift for someone and then when my trip got cancelled and I was really upset, I decided to make myself something with it, instead ('cause I'm supposed to avoid chocolate and the situation was dire).  I just didn't know what, yet.  I only had the one skein...

So while I was in Ottawa, I visited a neat little shop on Wellington called Wabi Sabi and the lady there was a dear.  She helped me find a coordinating skein of a lovely merino hand-dyed on Salt Spring Island (and I was supposed to visit Salt Spring Island on my trip...oh, the irony) called Kattikloo.

{Canada has a lot of (what the uneducated would call "funny-sounding") Native place names...like Gichigami and Nackawic and Kouchibouguac and Winnipegosis and Kejimkujik and Mactaquac.  These Cree/Ojibwe/Mi'kmaq/etc. names are imbued with ancient history and, at the risk of sounding like a crack-pot, a deep spiritual affinity that I think many Canadians - regardless of their ethnicity - feel towards their country's geography.  These names pay homage to our Native roots and make our country what it is.  All this to say that I'm not sure what "Kattikloo" means, but it sounds Native and if that is the case, I'm sure it was chosen for a very good reason.  I think I'll e-mail the dyer to ask...}

ANYWAY, as I was saying, I bought a coordinating skein of merino and I pored over the pattern possibilities in Ravelry and came up with this:

Um, yeah.  I love it.  Can't wait until Fall (*gasp*!) so I can wear it every day.

Busy Bee

Before:

After:

Wow, I am a slacker.

So it's been, like, almost two whole months since I last posted here.  Jeez.

A LOT has been going on and I'm not even sure where to start...

• I've been working overtime
• I've been dealing with some ancient history/family crap/childhood drama/etc and it has eaten up a lot of brain power.  Not sure if I'll get into it here, but well, you never know.  We'll see.
• I finally finished the @%$^*& argyle vest.  Won't be doing THAT again.  Photos coming soon.
• A new Gap Factory Outlet opened up (first one in our province), so that means that I can now SHOP FOR CLOTHING!!!  So, I went shopping.  Twice.  (Prior to that, our poshest shopping experience was brought to us by Old Navy.  Not exactly my cup of tea, as I am not 12.)  Ahhhh, new jeans.  That fit.  And look good.  Bliss.
• I cut into some fabric to make some wool trousers for work.  I took some photos to continue re-start work on my trouser tutorial.  Problem is, it's winter and the availability of good photo-friendly light in these parts is abysmal.   I'll keep plugging away at it and will post it here when it's ready.
• I finished all the goodies for my pregnant cousin pregnant cousin's baby.  So cute.  I'll save the photos for another post (you see what I did there?  I'm enticing you.  )
• Oh, and Christmas happened.  Right.  I got a little spoiled (which I will reveal a little later)(what? you think I'm going to give you all the goods in one fell swoop?  do I look crazy to you?)(don't answer that)
• And I de-fuzzed all my stuff:

This sweater:

 
 And this sweater:

  Netted this:
 

It was pretty dramatic.  I'm not exactly sure what took me so long, but it made all the difference in the world, in regards to how the knits look.  Especially the beige - it is a loose-spun 100% undyed wool, whereas the teal is a superwash merino.

I was on Ravelry snooping around in a few forums where people were discussing different types of yarn and I was really surprised to see so many references to pilling.  And by "references", I mean "complaints".  I don't understand.  If you're using merino or other types of soft, non-itchy wool, you should know that the reason they don't itch is that they have a short staple length.  Short wools pill.  They just do.  It's a fact.  Get used to it.  By a pill shaver for $6 and suck it up, buttercup.

When my hair is short, it flies around and curls and doesn't stay nicely in a ponytail.  When it's long, it sits nicely in an ultra-smooth braid.  Same thing with yarn.  If you want soft and springy and non-itchy, you're going to get pills.  If you want sturdy, non-pilly wool that will stay crisp (like you would use for colourwork, for example), it will be itchy (to varying degrees).  Can't have your cake and eat it, too.  (Disclaimer: I can't/won't promise that this will never change.  Technology is a beautiful thing and you just never know what they'll figure out next...)

So don't diss the wool manufacture all over the internet just because you don't understand the inherent properties of wool, ok?

End rant.

Wow, I didn't know that was in there.  Funny what happens when you sit down in front of a keyboard.

I have no idea what else I was going to tell you, so I'm going to go and get organized and I'll be back.  I'll leave you with a cool photo of the tallest tree in our province (we visited it on Christmas day).  It's an elm and it kicks ass.

The Mill (aka: The Place Where Dreams Come True)

I made my first trip to the Mill of the season a few weeks ago.  The ladies are so busy, it's almost comical.  I mentioned last fall that they became an Ashford dealer and holy cow, do I EVER want a spinning wheel.  Or two.  Maybe three.  But not four, 'cause I'm not greedy.

Anyway, once the spinning-wheel-induced haze cleared and I regained consciousness, I had Hazel make me the poochachos a new dog bed:

The dogs love this thing.  Django (the little white one), especially.  They curl up on it together like little cinnamon buns, side-by-side.  A-DOR-ABLE!

It's made from an old DND (military issue) moth-proof wool blanket, sewn into a pillow case and stuffed with wool fleece and tied.  She even worked in two handles so that we can hang it up on the wall when it's not in use.  How frickin cool is that?  $30 well spent, I say.  (Yeah, only $30.   Crazy.)

Also, I bought some yarn.  C'mon, you had to know that was coming, right?

I have no blessed clue what the heck I'm going to do with it, but I'll be damned if I'm letting it out of my sight.  This one's for me.  A wrap, perhaps?  Yet another cowl?  Once can never have too many, you know...

While I was there, I spotted something really hilarious.  You see, the Mill is on a farm.  They have alpacas, sheep, goats (the kids are drop-dead adorable), pigs, chickens, guinea hens, a cow and, of course, farm dogs.  The fattest, most in-your-face of these creatures is a massive golden retriever named Nash.  Nash is the kind of dog whose love of all things can not be contained in his body.  The moment you look him in the eye, he becomes your new best friend and will demonstrate that love by promptly sitting on you.

This blurry photo pretty much sums him up, I think.

Anyway, I guess they gave the Nashster a haircut, 'cause I found this:

I did tell you that they'll spin any type of fibre, right?