Help....I've Lost the Will to Knit!

Yes, you've read correctly. I-have-lost-the-will-to-knit. I think it has 100% to do with the fact that I am knitting "Lace in FrigginLand". I've been living there since May 1st, when I cast on for the Myrtle Leaf Shawl. There are three things wrong, as I see it:

1. The Lacey Lamb laceweight yarn, though truly lovely, is like thread. Thread, I tell you! I've knit with laceweight before. I've knit shawls before. I've knit laceweight shawls before. And this is totally different.

2. The pattern, on row 13, is incorrect. I've read the corrections, wrote them down, seem to understand them...and, yet, the row never comes out right. What's up with that?

3. I can only do a maximum of 2 rows done at a time while Ben is in the house. I think he hears when I pull out the chair to sit down and the slight "whip" and metallic "tink" as I knit the lace row. Not that it's his fault, of course, he's just a little guy wanting attention, but I'm getting up every few moments and that causes MAJOR screw ups. MAJOR. I've ripped out the 13 row repeat approximately 3 times. I may be going for a 4th soon.

Blogless Amanda, how are YOU doing on this?? Help me, please!

Everytime I take out my knitting, I'm cringing. It's even affecting my spinning. I haven't been able to start spinning any of the gorgeous fibers I got from Sheep and Wool on Saturday. (pics later on in this post)

Any ideas? Can someone "jump start" my knitting enthusiasm? Should I try another lace pattern? Should I try another yarn? Hmmm...???? Whatza Whatza??

Okay, now that I've whined a bit....I'll go on to the good stuff...

Exhibit A: Flowers from My Garden

Lovely Lilacs almost in bloom



Beautiful Tulip, not sure what kind



Exhibit B: My New Fridge

Yes, I know...I'm lame...but I love my new bottom freezer fridge.



Exhibit C: My Wonderful Mother's Day

I had the most wonderful, relaxing and sweet Mother's Day ever. Ian bought me gorgeous flowers, Ben made me a homemade card (with his very own scribbles), and Tim created an animated-and-totally-awesome card on the computer. Tim and Ian made me dinner (using Tim's cookbook from school)...mini pizzas and ham/cheese cups with blueberry ice cream and brownie crumbles for dessert. YUM! Ian even took the kids out so I could have some time to myself. I am SO lucky!



Exhibit D: NH Sheep & Wool

Jackie and I met up with a bunch of the ManchVegas Knitters (GiGi, Amanda D, Laurin, Ericka, Chris, Melissa, Vicki, and Heather) for lunch after shopping. Wow! What a difference from last year's flood/downpour! The day was cool, sunny and gorgeous. I even got to see the llamas, alpacas and other adorable fiber animals. They are SO adorable! Here's the group at lunch:



Here is the adorable, "teddy-bear-like" alpaca that I loved:



And here is the fantastic Spunky Amy...who I was thrilled to get to see and meet her sweet family, too



Exhibit E: New Stash Aquisitions

I was much better this year than last year. I actually could SEE over the load of stuff I bought (unlike last year, right Laurin?) and I didn't get any yarn. Jackie was my "Stash Officer and forced (I mean, helped) me not to buy things I didn't need. Like more drop spindles, yarn and excess fiber...oh, that lovely kid mohair I didn't buy! Here is my fiber haul (one of the fibers is for a Blog Friend):

(2 bags of llama from West Mountain Farm, batt called, "The Mystery Bump" (LOVE THAT!), wool/angelina batt from FoxFire Fibers, 2 bags of baby camel/tussah silk from the same place, and Lambspun Merino/Silk roving in a beautiful fern green)





Also got an alpaca coloring book for Ben, some honey sticks for Tim and handknit finger puppets for both of them. So cute!

Oh, and here is the new Weavette that I got....it's a 2x2 weaving loom frame...and I'll be using it with my leftover odds and ends of handspun to make small squares of woven fabric to make flowers. Cool, huh?



And, lastly, I got some adorable bunny cards and a Heal My Hands cream in Lavender Mint....wonderful stuff!

Conclusion:

The weekend was chock full of fun thing to do, enjoyed myself immensely and only wish I could revive my will to knit. Will be accepting all cyberhugs, ideas, suggestions and virtual (or actual) yarn gifts (LOL!) to restore my love of knitting until midday on Wednesday....at which time I will be freaking out trying to decide what I will do at knitting group. So please, HELP ME!

FO FRIDAY: In 100 words or less....

Sweater (with SEPARATING zipper) is DONE!

Mistakes I Made:

1. Gauge VERY off, resulting in sweater TOO small.



2. Added garter stitch center panel to offset size. HORRIBLE IDEA!



3. Ripped out panel and zipper (which was NOT separating...duh) and threw in garbage. Very angry.



4. Cried. Got good ideas from knitting group. None panned out well. Still does not fit. Bought new zipper...added in. Grandma will have a newly knitted sweater for birthday in April.



Back:



*Bought new yarn from Amy in Mandy colorway. With sock yarn to match....thanks to Julie. May the Yarn Goddess watch over my next attempt.*

HandSpun-Ky Socks

Woo-hoo!!! My first EVER sock knit with my own handspun yarn!!!! And, I have to tell you, I am LOVING this first sock. I can't believe how soft this yarn is! I really owe it all to Amy of Spunky Eclectic. She has corrupted me...really she has....I absolutely adore her and her yarn and fiber. I am a total Spunky Eclectic groupie...oh, a blog button might be nice!....and I have to admit that I'm loving her yarn a tad more than Socks that Rock....(gasp!). Can it be true???

I'll show you step by step (kinda)...how I went from fiber to sock numero uno.

Wanna see?

First, bought "Swamp Monster" roving (after much drooling and babbling at Amy) at the NETA Spa.

1. Drafted roving...see here:



2. Spinning up the singles.....singles are laceweight....30 wpi.......on my Ashford Joy:



3. Finished one bobbin of each single.....2 oz on each bobbin. They look COMPLETELY different because I separated the roving horizontally instead of vertically...but it was cool because each half was fun with the unique colors....first one, more green, brown and white and the second one, more blues, yellows and pinks/reds (bobbins are reversed in pic):



4. Skeined each bobbin to set twist...finished singles yarns:



5. Balled each skein on my nostepinne:



6. Plied the two singles on my wheel to get this 2 ply: (at 16 wpi...which is sportweight or light dk)



7. Created my own pattern (which I may try to send to Spin Off magazine...not sure) using size 4 dpns (didn't have 2 circs, damn it!) and made this first sock!!!



(It took me from Saturday morning until Tuesday to draft, spin singles, set singles, ply singles, set 2 ply, and dry 2 ply. I knitted the first sock from Wednesday evening to Thursday evening. I started my second sock last night and I'm hoping to be done with it tonight or tomorrow morning. I am SOOO excited!)

Here's a close up of the yarn knitted up:



In other news, my own Spin to Knit pal (the one I was gifting), Cayli, sent me the roving I bought from her....a very soft merino fiber in her own, handpainted colorway, "Flowers in the Snow". Isn't it gorgeous? I can't wait to spin it up!



Not only did she send me a sweet note with the fiber, but also a skein of her own handspun!!!! I'm thinking, "She's not supposed to be sending to ME!"....but she had been spinning some merino and plying with a beaded silk yarn that she dyed herself and I'd said how beautiful it was. And also that I'd like to try that technique sometime. So, she was amazingly generous (and friggin awesome) and sent me over 100 yards of this gorgeous yarn with glass beads to inspire me. Look at this!



Here's a close up of the beads:



Cayli, thank you, thank you so much!!! Doing this Spin To Knit swap has been fantastic because of you! Many hugs your way!

And, a quick pick of the finished bikini panties (from the White Lies Designs Nichole Lingerie pattern) that I gave to Jackie for V-Day. They came out very pretty and soft...and, apparrently, nice smelling, since everyone at knitting on Wednesday was sniffing Jackie's panties (she hadn't tried them on yet.....). We kept saying, "Wanna smell Jackie's panties?"...just to get people to do a double take at the next table at Barnes and Noble! Hilarious!!! We are SO crazy!



Finally, a quick snack recipe that I find to be terribly yummy and "almost" healthy for you. The kids love it, too.

I call it, "Goldrush":

1 cup of whole grain Goldfish crackers
1 cup of dried cranberries
1/2 cup of dark chocolate chips
1/2 cup of unsalted peanuts or almond slivers (you can't see them in this pic for some reason...I think they sank to the bottom)

Mix all in a big bowl or ziploc bag and enjoy!



Happy Shnacking! (and Knitting...and Spinning!)