This week store update

I updated my Etsy store yesterday.  Here's a sneak peek of what you might find at http://fibermonster.etsy.com

..................................................

Recently added to my favorites:

Learning to knit... again...

I've been wanting to knit something reversible. This book seems like a good challenge. Have you try brioche knitting? Any suggestions you would like to share?

Simple lace knitting with my handspun yarn

I got a few requests on twitter about the pattern of the lace neck warmer I am knitting right now. So I thought I would share it here with everyone since there isn't enough space for 140 characters on twitter post. It is a simple lace pattern that is very easy to remember after you knit a few rows. As you can see, I just start and I am on row 8.

My yarn is lace weight. Size US 8 circular needle.
If you get ahead of me, please let me know how it goes.  It's easier to see the pattern in chart. I will post it later *if* I get around to do it :)

Simple lace pattern
Multiple of 10 + 11 sts

CO: 141 sts
Place marker at the beginning of the round.
Set up row: Knit 2 rows (You can skip this if you prefer no edge)

Row 1, 3, 5 and 7 (RS): K2tog, K3, YO, * K1, YO, K3, SK2P, K3, YO. Rep from * to last 6 sts, K1, YO, K3, SSK

Row 2 and all WS: Purl even row: Knit all.

Row 9, 11, 13, and 15: K1, YO, K3, * SK2P, K3, YO, K1, YO, K3. Rep from * to last 6 sts, SK2P, K3, YO, K1

Row 16: knit

Rep Row 1-16 as many times as you like.

Enjoy and have a great weekend!

Summer knitting

I am looking for something new to knit this summer. With the weather forecast of 95F coming up soon, knitting these super cute amigurumi seems just about right.

This one is new to me. It just came out last week, I believe. Click on the image below to a link to Amazon.com. I guarantee it will make you smile :) There's quite a few pages of pictures inside the books. Really cool one.












Here is another book which came out last year.

I saw that the book got some mix review. But I think I will give it a try. If you knitted with these books before and don't mind sharing your thoughts, I would love to hear about it.










How about crocheting some robots these yummy sushi?

I think making these amigurumi is a great way to practice some knitting technique that I seldom do like short rows without having to take on large project and to use up left-over yarn. I am not so good at crocheting but I can practice it with small projects like these.

On the needle

Remember that "stop sign" red yarn I used to knit the diminishing rib cardigan?  I didn't like the way to collar looked on me so I frogged it.  Now I found the new pattern for it.

It's from Vogue Knitting, Spring/Summer 2010, pattern #14 Ruffle Sleeve Vest.  I just started it.  This piece is the the back.  I am working on the ribbed pattern to the armhole shaping.  Really fun pattern.

I Found My Mojo

I haven't been knitting at all since Ravelympics.  Even though I have a few projects to finish, I just don't have any interested in them anymore.  Here's one project I am considering frogging.  I am thinking hard about it because I am almost done with it.  The pattern is great and I love the self-finishing edging techniques.  The part that is not working for me is the collar.  I knitted with 100% wool yarn and the collar is so puffy.  When I tried it on, it is like I am wearing a choke collar or something.  And the fact that it doesn't have any buttons for closure, it just doesn't look right in the front.  I think it is best to knit this cardigan with silk blend or other fiber that gives nice drapery.  

Moving on.

I finally cast on a new project this weekend.  It's "Traveling Woman" shawl by Liz Abinante.  I am using Socks That Rock yarn in Crabby McCrabbypants colorway.  What you see in the photo is where I finished the stockinette stitch section.  Right now I am deciding if I should make the pattern adjustment and make the shawl larger or not.  And I also have to make sure I have enough yarn to do it.

It's been a total craftiness weekend.  There are new handspun yarn too.  But they are still too wet for photo :)

Etsy Store Update

Have you been to my Etsy store today? There's an update with new one-of-a-kind handspun yarn.  And I will add new listing throughout the day.

Please make sure you purchase enough yardage for your project because I don't have any more fiber to spin.  Sometime I can dye it again but I can't guarantee if the future dyelot will match them.  I don't keep track of my dye mix.  It's more fun (for me) that way.  And that's the beauty of handmade items :)

UFOs. Yes.

Unfinished object with an s. Let me know if you are a knitter and have only one unfinished project sitting around.

I have been wanting to get back to some of the UFOs and decide what to do with them. I know that many of them are done with knitting but what is left is either seaming or weaving in ends. I am terribly bad with seaming. It the least fun part of knitting. But I've got to do it, right? May be spending an evening mindlessly weaving ends in front of TV wouldn't be so bad. We'll see how it goes.

This week went by so fast. I got some wool dyeing done today. Not much done on the knitting or spinning department but that's OK.

Happy knitting/spinning

2010 Ravelympics/Knitting Olympics

Here's my 2010 Ravelympics/Knitting Olympics project.

I spun two different tops of my handdyed BFL, mainly in blue with some brown in one of them and more green and light pink on the other.  The spinning part was done a few day before the opening ceremony.  I had just enough time for the yarn to set the twist and barely dry.

I followed the pattern as written except for the sleeves. I didn’t have enough yarn to complete both sleeves. So I finished it with ribbing. I also added a single crochet edging for the whole sweater.

Project information

Pattern: February Lady Sweater by Pamela Wynne

Yarn: Fiber Monster's handspun yarn, approximately 500 yards

Needle: Circular needle, US 8

    
Award: Sweater medalist from Sweaterboard Cross event and medal from the head of the International Ravelympic Committe, Adonis Dionysius Bobicus Maximus.

Slow Progress

Dear oh dear...

It's Day 15 on Ravelympics and I am still so....way behind on my February Lady Sweater.  I would like to show you the photos of my slow progress.  But I should make this a quick post and get back to knitting if I want to get any medal.

At the moment I am half way done on the gull lace section for the body.  I still have to find buttons, which is the part I like the least.  I have no clue how to choose buttons.  The other critical thing I realize is that I might not have enough yarn to complete two sleeves.  And I am in no position of spinning any more yarn.

What should I do?  Is it possible to leave it where the garter stitches end?  Can I modify the pattern and still be qualified?  I'd really appreciate any ideas/advice you can give me.

Happy knitting.

Valentine's Day Collage

Valentine's Day Collage

Hello February!  Here are some of my selections for Valentine's Day.  You can find more information at my Etsy here.

See you online.

First Cowl

This is the first cowl I knit and I love it!  And I know that it is not going to be the only one I knit.  This cowl is done mostly in front of TV, two nights to be exact.  I casted on Tuesday night and I already forgot what I was watching on TV.  But I remember that I finished it while watching the Prez's State of the Union Address.  I repeated the pattern 3 times and got to the length I like.  The pattern said to block it but I am not going to as yet.  I am going to wear it to the play this weekend.

My handdyed handspun yarn, 100% merino wool

From skein into ball.  Ready to knit

Darkside Cowl

Yarn: Fiber Monster's Handspun Yarn - personal collection.  100% merino wool, 165 yards, chunky weight.

Pattern: Darkside Cowl by Sarah Fama.  I found her pattern on Ravelry.

This is a great project for handspun yarn.  And guess what? If your ears get cold, you can pull it up and wear as an earwarmer!  I am going to make more.  How about you?

Spinning Self-Striping Yarn

Another blog update, two days in a row? Yes, it's possible :)

In the process of going through old photos, I found another experimental project I did with spinning for self-striping yarn.  I should have kept a written record of what I did so I have better information to share.  But it's hard, you know?  I was so excited to get my hands on this project and I just went for it.  Note to self: write. it. down.  Anyway, here's what I remembered.

I selected three different carded batts by Fiber Monster (that's me!) and rolled them widthwise.  I had two sets of them in the same order.  One set was for bobbin #1.  Another set was for bobbin #2.  My plan was to spin each set starting from the same end so that I got the same color sequence on both bobbins.

Top to bottom: Grasshopper, Jewel, and Happy Valley

Pre-drafted into balls.  Ready for spinning bobbin #1

When you pre-draft and spin the fiber, make sure you start with the same color sequence for both sets of fiber.  In this case, I started with blue, yellow, and green.  I did the regular 2-ply and the colors were mostly matched.  Occasionally there was a barber pole section but it was fine with me.  I like a little bit of color transitioning.  If the barber pole was too long and you don't like the contrast, just break the single and find the match to rejoin.

Smooth two-ply, DK weight

Don't know how many yards.  Approximately 6 oz total

Love the color transitions!

Knitted from the top down in one piece.  No seaming :)

It took me a long time to find the pattern I liked to knit with this self-striping handspun yarn.  I basically looked for the pattern that is knit-in-one-piece, in the round with circular needle.  Then I came across Tivoli T-Shirt by grumperina, which I kept in my pattern binder before I even know how to spin!  I just checked her website hoping to make a link but I could only find the picture of it.   The link itself is broken.  If you are interested, you can try it on ravelry or go to http://www.grumperina.com and contact her directly for current information.

There are lots of instruction out there for spinning self-striping yarn.  And I would love to hear your thoughts on the techniques you like.  Most of all, it's FUN!!!

Happy spinning/knitting to you all.

Shenanigans

It's sock shenanigans! Two new pairs of socks to add to the pile.  The small pair is a demo one I knitted when I tried to figure out how to knit two socks on two circular needles.  At first I tried it with just one 40-inch long circular needles.  It didn't work.  Too much yarn management and it was all twisted and tangled.  Using two circular needles technique works much better for me :)

Knitted from 100% wool commercial yarn I handdyed in green and purple.

This one is from shetland fleece

The same handspun yarn I used to knit Shetland Triangle Shawl

I got the fleece from a local farm.  It was a long process to get this pair done: washing, carding, dyeing, spinning, and knitting.  I knitted them on Addi Turbo size 2.  Nice snuggly fit those toasty toes :)

Happy New Year 2010

I don't have a New Year resolution. But what I would like to do is having some kind of schedule so I can efficiently spend my time on my Etsy store. If you are an Etsy seller, you know there are lots of
behind the scene things that you have to do in order to complete your listing. In general, I would like to start by keeping a loose schedule and not go into an hour-by-hour for about 1-4 weeks. By then I hope I can fine-tune and make some necessary adjustment. So here is my plan.

Monday is for shipping and finishing up last week order, overall planning for the week.
Tuesday is for spinning.
Wednesday is for dyeing and carding.
Thursday is for behind the scene stuff, i.e, some more shipping, taking photo of the product, tagging/labeling, paperwork, etc.
Friday is for wrapping up whatever I didn't get done for the week.
And throughout the week, I will do the listing, emailing, twittering, blogging, thinking of new idea.

I hope the plan is not overachieving. We will see :)

I meant to write a summary of my spinning and knitting in 2009. But I found that I am not that organized (yet). But I can tell you what I am working on right now.

Since it is rare to have blue moon on New Year Eve, it was a good excuse to cast on another sock project.  The yarn is Socks That Rock - Crabby McCrabbypants colorway by Blue Moon Fiber Arts.

Socks That Rock, Crabby McCrabbypants wound up into a ball.

Uh-oh.  Mr. Crabby McCrabbypants sock starts to do the spiral.  I am not sure if I like it.  I might have to rip it and find another pattern to knit.

Happy knitting/spinning to all.

Christmas Weekend Knitting

I hope everyone is enjoying this Christmas weekend. We had a low-key
one this year. So there is not much leftover or sweet dessert :) I
managed to find a cute sheep-shaped cookie cutter and would like to
try it out with short bread. If you have a simple short bread recipe
and would like to share, send it my way :)

Knitting:
My forever pair of socks I have been knitting since this summer is
almost done. I am working on the foot part of the second sock.

I haven't touched the Diminishing Rib for two weeks now. I was hoping
to finish it in time for Christmas but that didn't happen. I finished
the body and have two sleeves to finish. Let see if it will be done
before by new year eve.

Yesterday while watching the Steelers (boy were they lucky!), I cast
on the Meret and whipped this baby out in no time.

Meret

I still need to block it so that it shapes better.  I repeated the pattern once for more slouchiness but I think two repeats would be better.  This Meret from Woolly Wormhead is so easy and fast to knit.  I wish I found this pattern before Christmas.  It would be great to knit for gift.  It is now on my list of "gift knitting".

Oh boy. I am a stranger to my own blog. Sorry blog. There's not much I can do to make it better. I am not a good story teller. Anyway, the weekend is coming and I am really looking forward to it.

I finished a couple of knitting projects and spun some more yarns. It's on Ravelry now. My stash is so unorganized that it is driving me crazy when thinking about new project. I am curious how others manage yarn inventory. I guess I am where I am now because I usually buy or spun yarn with no specific project in mind. Then what I have is 4 oz of this and another 4 oz of that. But they are not enough for a big project like sweater or cardigan. I have been trying to put various skeins together. But I found out that the yarn doesn't have the same weight.

Does anyone has any suggestions?

I will end this post with this photo.


This is my dog. Lucky is sleeping next to a box of my handspun yarns. Can't you see that his eyes don't completely close? He does that all the time. Sometime he snores too :)

Attaboy!

Much knitting

There have been lots of knitting going on around here. I managed to finish four brand new projects within the last two weeks. We got a major snow/ice storm and mostly didn't go anywhere other than walking around the neighborhood. Perfect opportunity/excuse to warm up by getting those needles on fire!


Hat for T. Modified pattern based on b r o o k l y n t w e e d's hat.


Fingerless mittens to match with the hat.



Purple cardigan is for myself. Modified pattern based on Amy Swenson's "Mr. Greenjeans." It needs blocking and weaving all those ends. I combined my own handdyed faux fair Isle with solid purple commercial merino yarn. The high point of the pattern is that it is knitted in one piece. No seaming :)

2009 is just around the corner. I have loads of new ideas and products for Fiber Monster Etsy store. Thank you for all your kind supports during this year. Your encouragement and warm response inspires me.

Wishing you joy, hope, and peace. See you next year!

It's been a week already?

I can't believe another week past by so quickly. It's been a productive week for me. I spun one of my handdyed BFL roving "Low Tide" and made 2-ply worsted weight yarn.



The roving below here is Corriedale wool handdyed on Sunday.



I'm thinking fingerless mittens. One pair for me and one pair for my hubby :)

What happened to July?

I don't even know where to begin. Since Blacksheep, I put in some extra hours on my other part-time job (non-fiber related.) Then I took two weeks off for much needed vacation, came back, and was swamped with work again. I am not complaining, OK? I am lucky enough to have a job. So all is cool. It just that I wish I have more time with my little fiber business.

I haven't been spinning much during the last month. But guess what? There are lots of knitting going on here.


Currawong colorway is handdyed by me :)


Also first sock pattern designed by me.


Started on 7/11/2008. Finished 8/14/2008.


Freshy colorway is handdyed by me :)


Simple stockinette stitch pattern.


Worsted weight yarn made fast knitting. I finished the pair in 2 days!

And last but not least...

Miss Clapotis. I am on section 3.

This is how my August goes. How about you?