So much fiber, so little time

Mr. Bear is home. I'm

Mr. Bear is home. I'm truly amazed at how well he's getting around - when he walks, he actually puts the bad leg on the ground. Not much weight on it, but he's trying to use it. Of course, I'm not getting anything fibery done. When he's out of his crate, he wants me to have one hand on him, so about all I can do then is read. Maybe in ten days, when the staples come out, I'll have both hands again.

I showed a co-worker the

I showed a co-worker the picture of the huppah today. She said "I didn't know your loom was so wide!" After I finished laughing, I pointed out the seam. It wouldn't have taken two and a half months on a wide loom, because I wouldn't have spent nearly so much time comparing the cloth to my adding machine tape marked with the repeats from the first half. You know, it was odd to see the cloth again, because I remember being less than satisfied with it at the time. When I saw it Sunday, it looked a whole lot better to me. Time heals all wounds, including self-criticism?? Maybe. Nah. And if you could spare a few positive thoughts for my poor dog Bear, I'd appreciate it. He injured himself very badly Sunday night - something I didn't see but heard in the form of a bloodcurdling scream. His hip was so badly dislocated that it wouldn't go back into the socket, so he had his hip essentially rebuilt today. Step one is over: he woke up after surgery. Yay! But he's got a long way to go, especially since he's pushing 12. (Mr. Bear's the dog on the left.)

I finally got a

I finally got a picture of this huppah-turned-coverlet that I wove as a wedding present for some very good friends five years ago. It took me the better part of a summer to do, including weaving about 12 yards of the narrow fringed band. You can't tell from the photos, but the wheel motif is repeated in the border as huck lace.

Books on the way! And

Books on the way! And this time, it's not Elaine's fault. Interweave's Design Collection #19 (Scarves and Shawls) and Handwoven Fabric Structure and Pattern are in the pipeline. I do so love them there books!

Yesterday, I did a

Yesterday, I did a swatch in qiviut for another wimple. Haven't cast on yet, because I need to dig through the leftover weaving bobbins for perle cotton to use as a provisional cast on. I think I have a stupid meeting this week (wait, that's redundant!), so I'll need to have some knitting handy. Otherwise, I've been furiously spinning. The Gotland is nearly done - just one more bobbin's worth to ply, which will leave me with four big fat skeins.

Here's a closeup of

Here's a closeup of the lace as it blocks, courtesy of a low, autumnal sun angle. The shawl is still damp, so I'll leave it out until sunset.

Finally! A dry, if

Finally! A dry, if a bit cool, day coincides with my free time, and the shawl-with-a-shawl-collar is pinned out to dry. Notice the curve at the top edge - that's the shawl collar, done as 1x1 ribbing and knitted on as an edging. Once it's dry, I'll get Dolly the mannequin out for some pictures where the lace and collar will show. The lace pattern is a very curvy double-lobed leaf from Die sch�nsten Strickmuster, which Elaine had mentioned over the summer. Hmpf, she cost me a small fortune in books in July :)

After an extremely lousy day

After an extremely lousy day at work (when I say I need 16 bit audio, I really mean it, dammit), a bright spot appeared. The LYS called to say that the three volumes of B�uerliches Stricken had finally come in. Now, I could have ordered these elsewhere and had them sooner, but this is a very good yarn store that I'd like to support. I rarely buy knitting yarns from her, but I do cruise her inventory sales, since cones of Zephyr are usually 30% off then. Back to some spinning tonight while watching The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming on DVD. I remember seeing it at the drive-in when I was small.

Still spinning the Gotland. At

Still spinning the Gotland. At least 8 ounces is in 3-ply form, and I'm back to filling bobbins with singles. I'll wait until it's all ready to wash it. And speaking of washing, the weather was completely unhelpful, and the shawl is still unblocked. I'm hoping to have a dry day this weekend. Might as well, since I'll be home and not at Rhinebeck - I just can't face 10-11 hours of driving. The Twisted Sisters book came Saturday. It's not for me, but maybe someone in my guild would like it. It's probably a great book if you don't have much experience with either dyeing, spinning or knitting, but I didn't find much inspiration in it.

The Pasque flower shawl is

The Pasque flower shawl is done. Weather rumor says it's not supposed to rain tomorrow, so maybe I'll be able to block it. The only space I have that is both large enough for blocking and free of canine assistance is the front walk, so I'm highly weather-dependent! And it's already been a fleecy day. I just sent two small Shetland fleeces, a musket and a light gray, off to be carded. (Gotta love our main post office - it opens at 7 am.) I also had a very small black Shetland fleece that I ran through the picker yesterday. Lambikins apparently loved to roll, so it had quite a bit of VM, but the picker loosened it. I'd really like to salvage it, because it's soft, crimpy and very black. The only other unprocessed fiber in the house is about a pound of Tunis that I'll try to card this weekend. There may be a lot of stash here, but at least most of it is ready to spin.

Ooh, ooh, the shawl collar

Ooh, ooh, the shawl collar is turning out just as I had hoped. Being home fighting off a chest cold has paid off!

Well, I think I've wrestled

Well, I think I've wrestled the template into submission. Apparently, Blogger was eating the double quotes around some of the variables, which is ever so helpful in HTML . . . It was a very productive fiber weekend. The purple/pink yarn is now a big fat washed skein, weighing in at 180g. I also spun up two bobbins of Gotland and will probably start a third for a 3-ply. And I finally got a fair chunk of the Pasque flower shawl finished, so that I only have about a half repeat to go. Then I'll need to think about how exactly I want to shape the shawl collar.

Blogger appears to be adding

Blogger appears to be adding random bits of code to the template tonight. Charming.

The fuzzy balls are

The fuzzy balls are all spun into singles and almost all plied (3-ply). I really needed a spinning fix, and this was the perfect right-brain project. Maybe the sun will even come out tomorrow long enough for me to wash and dry the skeins. And if anyone wants to see what four pounds of raw Keeshond fiber looks like, here 'tis. Baloo the foster dog is the head in the lower left corner. Oh, yeah, I got a thank-you note today from the Connemara society. Apparently there were quite a few bids on the Galway blanket. I don't know what the final price was (and probably don't want to know), but I'm glad it aroused some interest.

Hmm, I am underwhelmed by

Hmm, I am underwhelmed by Knitty. I liked Wendy's article, especially since I have spent more years than I care to count knitting in public, but the rest left me mostly cold. I guess part of it is that any time I see "the only stupid question is one not asked", I get exceptionally annoyed. I've spent slightly fewer years in computers than knitting: RTFM, RTFM, and RTFM again! If one opens one's mouth to ask before one has sought an answer in readily available reference materials, then one is asking a stupid question. Cranky tonight? No, not me.