Taking a break....

I've never been much for putting myself out there, and not much happens around here but just the normal day to day stuff.
Work, play, and just doing things that makes me happy. So I'll probably just be popping in from time to time with the odd post and pictures.

I know, I know........

I said I was going to wait till I retire, but the bug bit me.  I know I don't need another hobby but I couldn't help myself.  Unfortunately I hang out with a lot of enablers on Ravelry, and what can I say? And there was the local Fiberfest last weekend.  There was a group of ladies, just spinning away.

 It just happened before I could give it a second thought.
I bought my mom's wheel.

and today was a trip to the Fiber Garden in Jordan, and now there's no turning back.

And don't worry, there's still knitting and dyeing.  We have a few new Chromacolours in the shop.

I'm back to work this week so hopefully I won't be too tired and I'll be able to keep up the pace.

Update....

New Chromacolours are in the shop, and of course a few other things.

BossCat was feeling a little spring like with the Slinky Cat.

A very busy weekend.........

BossCat made it up to dye up some new stuff for the shop this week-end, and if all goes wells we should be updating the shop next weekend, but we'll announce it officially when we figure it out. I think there's one there I'm keeping for me, okay maybe two.

While her yarns were drying I got some Barn Cat ready for a test drive.  We've had several customers ask about our Chromacolours in sock weight, so were giving it a try. Some turned out okay and some did not, but I'm not giving in yet.

 Here are the first ones I knit up on my CSM, they don't match exactly, but I love them.

And on to my other finished project.  I've had this one done for a little while now and I think it's my favorite shawl so far.
Lattice Shawl by Rose Beck

It's a DK weight so it knits up pretty quick. I loved the yarn so much that I couldn't put it down.
This is knit in Top Cat DK in Leviathan.  I added a few extra rows on the second pattern just so I could use most of the last skein up. It's soft and warm and scrumptious.  Perfect for a cool spring evening.

Recuperating...

from a week off work and a little illness seems to do my knitting mojo wonders.  When your stuck on the couch with nothing but the TV or the computer my hands and mind just wanted to knit instead.
Sleeping in and staying up late really agrees with me.  I had several WIP's languishing around here and I was very surprised that I actually picked some up and finished them.
More socks of course....
Patons Stretch Socks for BossCat

Socks for Miss "P"...

and socks for I'm not sure yet, because the two of them have claimed ownership.

Follow the links for all the details on these wonderful yarns on my Ravelry pages.
I have one other project that I finished, but it deserves it's own page, so I'll hold on to it for another day.
I'm back to work in a couple of days so I don't want to waste this knitting time,  my needles are calling.

Happy Easter.......

In honour of this long weekend Wandering Cat Yarns is having a 15% off sale at the shop.  Just use the code HOPPY15 and it'll be deducted at check out.

You know where I'll be....making more socks.

My new obsession...

Several months ago I took a chance on an ebay auction and won.  I had no idea if I could get this to work but I just knew I had to give it a try. 

With some great advice from a friend in the know (the lady I bought my first CSM from) Mr "D" and I took this piece of history apart and started to clean it.

It was quite an experience and I wouldn't hesitate to do it again.  We found brass rings under the surface rust, pretty shiny steel and remnants of gold stenciling.
We had no issues putting it back together because we took pictures of each step and of course Mr "D" knows machinery.
This is what we ended up with and "Winnie" is now purring like a well oiled sock machine.

I think these are my favorite parts, the patent dates.

March already....

Time is flying by way too fast, but don't get me wrong, I won't miss winter, even if it's been a good one.
I finished up my Honey Cowl this weekend.  I have to say I love this yarn. It's soft, and squishy and knits like butter.

Pattern:  Honey Cowl by Madeline Tosh
Yarn:  2 skeins of  Wandering Cat Twinkle Cat DK
Needles:  5mm
This was a nice easy relaxing knit, and not so big that I couldn't knit on our drives.
The silk just gives it that little something extra and the sparkle is not over powering.

I'm home for the rest of the week so I think I'll be in the studio whipping up some new colours, and maybe getting some socks finished.

Yup, it's me......

I haven't been much of a blogger lately, I leave that up to BossCat, she's the writer in the family.  It's usually just the same old same old.  Work, dye yarn and a little knitting occasionally.
So we have a little dyeing:

and we have a little knitting:

I promise, there will be more soon.

New Year............

New yarn!  Introducing Continental Cat.  This new base yarn is a 6 ply light fingering/heavy lace weight yarn of 100% Superwash Merino.   It's 6 beautiful plys with a smooth twist and the best part is there is 750 yards on each skein. That means you only need one skein for a perfect little shawl.
We've only put a few in the shop at the moment but we'll be dyeing up some more in semi-solid shades.  I think mine will be purple or maybe pink or maybe grey........

A big thank you...........

BossCat and I would like to wish everyone a safe and Happy New Year. All the best in 2012.
We've enjoyed seeing all of your projects in 2011 and can't wait to see what you knit up in 2012.

We'll be offering a 15% discount on everything in the shop from now until midnight December 31st in appreciation of all our customers.  Just use the code YREND11 at the checkout. 

Crazy busy....

I haven't been much of a blogger of  late, work has been more than I care to talk about.  I've managed to do a little knitting, a little dyeing and little else.  Hopefully after Christmas I'll be back on track. I have a million and one things I want to knit, and probably thousands of skeins (and yes, I am exaggerating).
I'm trying to finish up a hat for Miss P, and a couple pairs of socks for gifts, but other than that my thoughts are of all the cardigans I want to knit.  More on that later.

So tomorrow we'll be updating the shop with with some Twinkle Cat in DK weight. This is so scrumptous. 75% Merino and 20% Silk and 5% sparkly.  Perfect for cowls and mitts and specials scarves.

A little warmth...

was needed.   I finished my Taygete several weeks ago, and I was instantly in love. This design by Romi has to be one of my favorite knits.  I knew I wanted to do it in our yarn and in one of my favorite bases, Stray Cat.
And as BossCat can tell you I want something in every base in her signature colourway "Misty Highland".
This project would have flew off the needles if I hadn't put it aside to finish other stuff, but alas it took a little longer than expected.

Then one day at work I found out that a very sweet co-worker of mine's sister has been stricken with colon cancer.  She and her sister are very close, and I feel so bad for her to have to go through this.  She has made ribbons in the signature colours of blue and brown to show support, and a light bulb went off. My shawl was blue and brown.  Obviously a sign, I handed her the shawl to give to her sister in hopes it would give a little bit of support and warmth when needed.
This isn't the first time one of my shawls have been passed on, and even though it makes me very happy to pass on a little joy to someone who really needs a hug,  it also makes me a little sad to see it go.
Now I'm off to decide what shawl to make next................

I'm still here

I haven't been much in the mood to blog lately, with work and dyeing yarn and knitting, and Ravelry, my blog seems to get left on the back burner.  So I'll just do a little catch up this week while I've got a few more days off work.
I finished a few projects up, first up my Lacy Edge Cardi that was sitting in a basket with just the lace bands to do.  BossCat finally lit a fire under my butt and I got it done.
I had a small issue with it once I went to block it.  Like several other ravellers the yarn bled so bad I thought I would loose all the tweedy effect of the yarn.

So I persevered and rinsed and rinsed and rinsed, and finally got it blocked and put together.
Wavy Lace Edge Cardigan

I did write to Sirdar and let them know about the yarn, and they told me that sometimes this happens when the yarn is processed.  I'm not sure I trust that because I know about dyeing yarn and yes sometimes you get some bleeding but if it's processed properly and checked and rinsed there should be very little.  I think this batch was missed.  Anyhow they sent my another bag of yarn to replace it. I picked a different colourway and fingers crossed that I don't have the same problem.

What's new...........

"Little Nicky"  and I are getting acquainted this week.

It's been a great way to start getting through my mounds of sock yarn.

It's nice to finally see some of these knit up instead of sitting on the shelf being admired from afar.  And don't worry there will be lots more.
As always we have some new yarns in the shop.......

There is also some lovely Twinkle Cat drying as I write.  Stay tuned, I have one more week off work.