A Wiped Out Week

Last week was Spring Break for the kids, and unfortunately I came down with a nasty sore throat, cold, and fever which knocked me out of it for days. Phil stayed home on Thursday (sweet man) and then took the kids up to his sister's house for a weekend visit so I could rest and get well. I spent most of that time reading the new translation of War and Peace by Tolstoy and sleeping on the couch. Thankfully the kids haven't shown symptoms... yet.

Before the flu hit, I did accomplish several things to share with you. Remember that wavy scarf that I was lever knitting? Done!

I like short scarves because they give me a chance to show off those beautiful shawl pins! Here's another angle - I love how the wave creates a roll on one side.

I don't think this was the best project for practing the lever knitting. I had to keep looking at the pattern which slowed me down considerably. I'm thinking I should choose an easy rib for the next one. Maybe I'll jump on the Noro Striped Scarf bandwagon. (I'm pretty sure I have some in my stash.)

Oh, and I was spinning up a storm on the Pocket Wheel early last week...

This is some Merino/Tencel I bought from Barbara Seeler. It came out to be 347 yds of fingering weight yarn. This was a lot of fun to spin with all the blues, purples, and greens. It's funny but even though those colors are my favorite, the finished product really isn't my thing. I'm setting aside several projects to list in my Etsy shop when I get it together. I really need to get things organized for that. 

My new friend Jimin gave me some batts she had made with merino, silk, and angora... I sprinkled them with a little fairy dust (aka Angelina, metallic strands.) 

A little sparkle goes a long way, but I think I could have added a bit more. Batts have more nubbiness to them and I wasn't able to spin it as thin as I'd like, but the end result was a lovely soft and smooshy yarn - 123 yds. 

After all those blues and greens, I reached for some fire...

Tuulia and Kristin gave me this gorgeous Falkland wool for my birthday (my, I certainly do have generous friends!) I have one skein of this spun up in a 3-ply and a whole other braid of it to play with so I don't yet have pics of the finished product. I have a project in mind for this, but we'll see how the 2nd skein turns out.Yesterday I went over to Kristin's house to learn how she dyes fiber. This is something I've resisted for a long, long time. I'm not a person who likes mess, and dyeing sounded messy. Plus it's another hobby with more things to buy: dye, citric acid, gloves, a dyepot, etc... But my friends are master enablers and somehow (thanks to Kristin) I've ended up with both a dye pot and now mini-jars with samples of each color to experiment with. She put me to work choosing fiber, heating water, sprinkling dye, and keeping an eye on the timer. And I came home with the Superwash Merino that I'm spinning right now!

Wow, I'm so proud of myself! (Thanks Kristin - and Tuulia. It was a lot of fun!) 

And I'm so proud of my 4-yr-old too...

Jamie was looking at all the items in my basket (taking things out and putting them back is a common game in this house) and found a couple of needles that I had recently used for a demonstration. After playing with those awhile he asked me if he could have some yarn. I gave him the Superwash Lambs Pride leftover from the Oh Honey Hat. After playing with that for a few minutes, he said "So Mom, are you gonna show me how to do this?"