There and Back, Again

 The reason to travel is not only to have time to knit, but it doesn't hurt! I made two pairs of socks, two pairs of slippers, and most of a sweater (the hood and half a sleeve left). All this while we saw

rainforests (Hoh in Washington's Olympic peninsula),

rivers (this was the Fraser River passing through Hell's Gate, BC, Canada),

goats,

glaciers (standing on a glacier in the Columbia Icefields, looking up to two others),

dinosaurs (Royal Tyrrell Museum in Drumheller, Alberta, Canada),

deer (in the middle of Waterton Village, not four yards from our hotel),

waterfalls (Bridal Veil in BC),

whorls (in an incredible, Viking exhibit at the Royal BC Museum in Victoria)

(and Coast Salish in another exhibit at the same museum)

fluff (couldn't figure out what tree this was from, but thought about collecting enough to try spinning...)

flowers (we hit wildflower season)

and yarn

(in this lovely shop in Kalispell, Montana)!

This totem was in Duncan, Vancouver Island.

She who taught us to weave.

I came home with lots of yummy wood. The spoon from a store outside Glacier Park. The spurtle is a traditional porridge stirrer I bought in Barkerville, BC. And the two un-named tools (what are they called?), Ed at Glimakra USA made. They're used to hold unused heddles. No more heddle tangles! Yay!  
We were lucky to be able to visit with him and MaryJean (at Glimakra USA) when we drove through Montana. Unfortunately, we missed Joanne. But it was a lovely visit. We got to tour their work spaces and felt very welcomed. 

I was restrained. The many cones of yarn I bought from Glimakra don't count as expanding my stash. This is the only fiber I bought. It's tussah silk from the above pictured yarn store. 

And when we got home, one year after starting this project, I picked up the never-ending needlepoint from the framer.

Stash Busting Gone Awry

Well, my stash busting has gone awry. My husband and I went to a wedding on the fourth of July that took us through Solvang on the way home the next day. We stopped in Thumbelina, the needlework shop where I'd purchased this in the end of April. It took me a month and a half. 

No more needlepoint. Right?! Well, we made a side trip to Thumbelina, again...just to look.

This was labeled as marked down from $99 to $49. Okay. How could I resist? But there was another canvas that grabbed me. It wasn't priced. Hmmm. The owner said that since I'm actually purchasing to do the work, $50 for this one, too.!!!!!!!!

It's about 38 x 20, and it's done in a style called "tremme" (sp?). There's a diagram of it here, but it's not labeled as such. Just look for the black and white picture under terminology on the linked page. It'll be fun to try something new...but, when?!                                  I'm still spinning a beautiful cotton with my Majacraft stylus and weaving that MISERABLE...I mean magnificent...the pendulum swings...mediocre... Okay, let's stop with the adjectives while I'm ahead, mohair scarf. I have one sweater that's knitted and ready to assemble. And my current knitting project is another sweater. I'm at the elbow on the first sleeve. Once the second sleeve is done, I can sew it together and be done with it, too. Pictures to come, I'm hoping by the end of the week. That is, if I can stay away from the roses...?

Getting stuff done...and started.

So, until I finish my stash of sock yarn, you'll keep seeing more of socks. These are made from Schachenmayr, Catania Fine Color. 100% cotton. Now, I'm seriously Not a fan of self striping, but I really like these colors. And since each skein is 50g, about 165m, I figured I'd knit them both toe up. That way, I could make them as long as they allowed or as short as I wanted. Easy, peasy. ...NOT.                                 I started the first sock by finding the end in the center of the skein. Then, having two sets of double pointed size 2's, I prepared to start the second sock at the same time. I looked and hunted and dug for the center of the other skein. No go. So, I set up my ball winder and wound a skein from the outside, twice. That way both socks would have the same color progression just like the factory makes them, right? Sigh. Nope. Guess what I did? Yep. I tore it out and wound the skein. Again.                                          When I was part way up the second foot, I realized that the stripes didn't match. But if I ripped out and re-knit the toes starting an inch along the yarn, "top" down, they would be perfect. You guessed it! I ripped them out backwards. In case you wondered, it comes out easily on the stocking stitch, but the ribbing needs to be picked out. Good times. I do like the resulting socks, though.

These place mats have been on Sophie for Ever. I couldn't figure out the pattern I wanted and finally realized that I didn't know how to make the yarns move the way I wanted without finding another pattern and altering it. Besides, this yarn is another example of using what's in the stash instead of what I'd like to see. The thick weft is eight strands of the 5/2 and the thin is one. Anyway, 5/2 cotton. Warp rep. Eh. They'll do.

And while I was busy hemming placemats, I figured I might as well hem this, too. It's a plaited twill from 8 Shaft Patterns, p. 104, #374, 12 epi. You can see the front and back of this pretty 3/2 cotton (from my stash) baby blanket  I wove it on my Gilly (Gilmore). Anyone having a girl?

And finally (well not really---there's always something more), my hubby and I made another trip to Solvang where I got this canvas on sale. The colors the company chose do Not make me happy, so you can see that I've started playing with color. The water no longer looks like a swamp. I love to see the picture come to life as I work/play.                                         And just so you don't worry that that "finally" was real, I'll admit that I have another pair of socks over half done in my purse. Sophie's getting dressed in a mohair scarf. Suzie, my Majacraft spinning wheel, is in the midst of repairs on her drive belt, but she's wearing some pretty cotton. And there are the early signs of more napkins on Julia. Poor Gilly is naked, though. Okay. Go ahead and worry.