Posts Tagged ‘yarn’

What I Should’ve Done First

Tuesday, October 9, 2007

Thank you Ted and Kathy for your input on Thistledown. I did over think it, didn’t I? Do I do that often? :-) This yarn is going to take some getting used to. So darn thin at places.

The swatch is done. I soaked it and stretched it out as much as I could on the blocking board. It took the torture. And, it also held its shape well after it was dry. I know, I know. Not pretty to look at. I didn’t take time to pin it down nicely. And the knitting leaves a lot to be desired. The YOs need a lot of improvement.

And Jane, now I know why you make all those swatches. :-)

Has anyone tried KnitPicks’ Harmony Wood needles? I’ve heard that the points on these needles are nice and sharp. I know. So COLORFUL. But I’ve also heard that the colors are not as bright in person. The material is layered laminated birch. Supposedly stronger than normal wood. I am really wondering if this will be a good choice for knitting lace. It’s less slippery, and maybe with sharper points?

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Posted in Knitting | 9 Comments »

So Happy!

Monday, September 24, 2007

I finally got control of my old domain name, forestmeditation.net!!! Took me over a year. Yay! Now it works seamlessly with forestmeditatin.com. I’d suggest that if anyone wants to get a domain name, don’t get it free with a hosting package. There’s no guarantee that they will release the domain to you if you decide to change hosting company. Ask them first before you commit. It’s better if you register it yourself with a registrar like NetworkSolutions or Register.com. I use MyDomain.com. You would be listed as the registrant instead of the hosting company. I learned my lessons!

I also started spinning again! Last time I touched the wheel was at the Bulky Singles Club Class in April. I decided to take the wheel to the guild meeting on Saturday. Had a bit of an embarrassing moment setting up the wheel. :oops: But I was able to find the rhythm eventually.

No particular project for this yarn. The goal is to get the feel of spinning back, and to try to get a 3-ply worsted weight yarn. This is a practice spin for the sparkly denim Merino. :-) I am using Ashland Bay’s Multi Dark Green Colonial Wool Top that I got when I first started spinning with a drop spindle. They call it dark green, but there’s very little green in it. Here’s a close-up photo with some unspun fiber to show you the colors.

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Posted in Misc., Spinning | 4 Comments »

A Plug for The Fabulous Fiber Fest

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Did you know, taking vitamin B1 (Thiamine) can possibly help you repel mosquitoes? This is what I found on Wikipedia:

Some studies suggest that taking thiamine (vitamin B1) 25 mg to 50 mg three times per day is effective in reducing mosquito bites. A large intake of Thiamine produces a skin odor that is not detectable by humans, but is disagreeable to female mosquitoes. Thiamine takes more than 2 weeks before the odor fully saturates the skin. With the advances in topical preparations there is an increasing number of Thiamine based repellent products. Whilst there is considerable anecdotal evidence of Thiamine products being effective in the field (Australia, US and Canada), there has yet to be any clinical trials run to demonstrate the efficacy of these products.

Now, don’t go rushing to the store to stock up on vitamin B1. Talk to your doctor first if you want to try it! I just thought this was interesting.

What?!? Oh! I am suppose to give a plug on The Fabulous Fiber Fest. It is happening this Friday through Sunday, 8/17 ~ 8/19, at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium. Do stop by if you are in the area. I will be there everyday from opening to closing, doing fiber related activities somewhere in the show. I am also taking two tablet weaving classes with Michael Cook. That is going to be fun!

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Posted in Misc. | 3 Comments »

Ninety Percent

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

We are 90% sure that we will be moving north. Our CEO is once again pressuring C to relocate and work in the main office located in Los Altos. So we decided to spent four days last week in the Bay Area to look around. C spent the first day working, giving me time to knit the Four Corner Hat. The second day we took a drive and went through Mountain View, Menlo Park, Redwood City, San Carlos, Belmont, San Mateo and Burlingame. I liked some of the places, but they really made C depressed. C does not like suburbs at all and none of those cities made him feel good about the prospect of moving.

A couple of weeks ago I mentioned Half Moon Bay to C. I remember reading it somewhere. Maybe on Sylvia’s blog? So, on the third day we drove out to Half Moon Bay to get a feel how far it was and what it looked like. We absolutely fell in love with it. It’s a small coastal city. The weather there was fantastic! A small downtown area that has most things. We walked down Main street and C said, “why don’t we open a yarn shop here?” No sooner did he utter those words that we came upon Fengari, a HUGE yarn store. Naturally, I went in for a visit and talked to one of the owners. I did some checking online and found that Half Moon Bay had a Yarn Spinner’s Guild and a Navajo Weaving Guild meeting at a local ranch – Elkus Ranch. How great is that? Elkus Ranch would like to get some cows. Anyone?

Here are some photos:

Downtown Half Moon Bay

Fengari, THE Yarn Store in Town

The Beach

More Photos of the Ocean
(Not sure if some of these are still in Half Moon Bay. But they are just minutes south of the city.)

It would be a dream to live there, don’t you think? There’s even a Episcopal church for C to go to. No Buddhist temple though.

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Posted in Misc. | 11 Comments »

I Am Not Windy. I Am Winding.

Saturday, March 31, 2007

Well, maybe I am windy too?

It’s so nice to be able to wind my own yarn at home. I am realizing that I used to put off so many projects just because I didn’t have a winder and a swift. No more! I love my new swift. Can winding yarn be an obsession too? :lol: Not that I’ve wound every hank of yarn I have in the house or anything. It is just a very exciting and new experience right now.

Here’s how to wind yarn with the squirrel cage swift (click photos for larger view):


Hang the hank over the top squirrel cage.


Lower the bottom squirrel cage. Watch out not to stretch the yarn too much. Just enough so that it wraps around the cages nicely.

“Whoa! Did the colors fade,” you ask? I forgot to take a photo of the second step with the first hank. So I did a makeup photo with the second hank.


Pull the yarn through the yarn guide of the winder and start winding.


You end up with beautiful yarn cakes. This still makes me go WOW! :lol:
:: end yarn winding demonstration ::

Answer to Micah’s question… Here’s the link to how Mr. Twisted came up with the guitar cozy idea. Scroll down to the older post.

Oh Jane, I am turning on Bad Behavior again. You know, the one that caused problem for you. But they updated several times so I am giving it another try. Spambots have decided that my blog is a good target, leaving numerous spam comments everyday. I just want to turn the plugin on to stop them from making comments. Let me know if this gives you problem again.

Note: see here for a little tip on using these vertical swifts.

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Posted in Family & Friends, Knitting | 11 Comments »

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