Lamb and Frog

Seriously. I’ve been on a month-long creative bender…with some good results.

Scarves

I’ve been knitting them. As a rule, I find a pattern, find a yarn I like, and proceed to knit several scarves using the same pattern in different colors. Last year I used two different yarns: Patons SWS (left) and Crystal Palace Taos (right).

This year, I didn’t find a pattern or a yarn that I absolutely fell in love with, so the scarf list* will be doing the unprecedented…selecting a scarf of their choice from my ‘inventory’.

I’ve also been designing them and, once the scarf list folks have selected their gifts, I will be posting pictures of two variations on a new design as well as making the pattern available as a free PDF download. I also have this hugely amazing scarf design idea that is currently exists somewhere between vaporware and jumbled jottings on random scraps of paper in my office. I’m hoping to flesh out that idea some more over the next several months so that I have patterns and maybe even finished scarves ready by next fall.

Socks

Because of all the scarves, the sock vortex really slowed down. I had a knitting goddess smackdown concerning Tina’s Berroco Sox that resulted in Tina receiving two pairs of socks (in different sizes) instead of just one. Notice how the toes are different colors? That’s because one sock is about an inch shorter than the other. That’s what I get for ‘eyeballing’ when to start the toe decreases. Really, it’s so easy to measure something and yet I insist on not doing so regularly.

As of last week, the sock vortex has speeded back up again and I’ve got four pairs OTN (including the semi-permanently back-burnered Primavera socks) and I’m ready to cast on another pair any minute now. Nothing fancy, just your basic socks from basic commercially available sock yarn.

Spinning

I’ve made a bunch of yarn since I wrote about my first foray into this particular form of fiber madness. 

Indeed, I’ve become so enamored of this craft that I recently purchased a second wheel. I scored a Lendrum original from CraigsList. It needed some TLC and some spare parts. I gave it the TLC, but I’m still waiting on the parts. I’ve also acquired a ton (OK, maybe not an actual ton) of fiber from Dagmar the Enabler and from Open Ranch Day for the East Mountain alpaca farms and some of it is in process on my trusty Ashford Traditional but, like the socks, spinning has been put on hold until I can be sure that the needs of the scarf list will be met.

The Blog

I know…blog posts have been few and far between lately. Trust me, it’s not for lack of material. If anything, I’ve got too much material. I’ve got half-baked ideas, half-outlined posts, half-written posts, you name it…everything but words published. This recent burst of creativity has also been accompanied by an unprecedented amount of energy (I’m attributing that to making more time in my schedule for regular exercise), so I’m hoping to finish not only the stuff on the needles, but the stuff in the ‘Drafts’ folder as well.

I’ve also been doing a lot of thinking about how this blog can better reflect my values and my dedication to promoting mindful, sustainable consumption (of fiber and everything else). For me, a big part of ‘mindful consumption’ is buying items that are local and/or handmade. So, I’ve added a new category–’Be local. Buy local.’–and updated many of the links on the blogroll (over there on the left).

Etsy

All of this output and almost output has to end up somewhere. I’m hoping that in the not-too-distant future some of my handknit socks and scarves as well as my handspun yarn will be available for purchase through etsy.com (a great source for handmade and vintage items). Besides the new scarf designs, I’ve got some ideas for new twists on traditional ear warmers, gloves, and mittens that I hope to make available sometime in 2010. I’ll keep you posted.

*The scarf list is a small group of relatives and friends who are like relatives for whom I make a scarf each Christmas. Once in a while they receive bonus scarves at odd times during the year. This year, I may see if a couple of them wouldn’t rather opt for some socks or some handspun…it kind of depends on how the knitting progresses over the next two weeks.