The Letter of the Day - S

Snow.

Socks.  (Finally finished. :D )

Scarf. (The Doctor Who has begun.)

Also, a shoutout to Trevor, who turns 22 today.  He is the most wonderful man and I am so blessed to be spending my life with him.  I love you, handsome. :)

~Birdie

Random Patch of Blue

So.

It's supposed to snow.  We're surrounded by grey clouds and the temps are starting to drop as the wind picks up.  But above us is a bright blue patch of sky.

(Also, it smells like cows outside.  But let's not worry about that.)

I don't know if I want snow or not.  I also don't know if I want to finish my blue socks or not.  Indecision much?  Oh, while I'm thinking about it (thank you random brain), I would love for you to meet the cactus Trevor and I got.  Or rather, the one that I picked out and called him about, asking if it would be cool if we had one in our room.

His response? "Yeah, that's fine as long as I'm not going to faceplant on it."

Isn't it great?? I love it.  I find myself talking to him (I think it's a him for some reason) every time I enter my room. 

I hope I don't kill him.

Okay, so that wasn't a very knitty post, but hey.  At least there was a picture.

~Birdie :)

Saturday Recap #1

Hello and welcome to our first Saturday Recap where I go through the week in terms of family, knitting, and life. :)

So, this week I had the unfortunate favor of catching a stomach bug.  For the most part it's gone.  So don't worry.

Work has been going pretty smoothly.  I'm doing Crystal Light Liquid, which is very similar to Mio water enhancer, only not as sweet.  It comes in really fun colors and makes me want to knit things in the electric blue and neon orange.

My sister started school this week.  It's strange being the one taking her to school instead of being the one taken to school.  I'm super proud of her for taking everything in her stride and making it. :)  She's the best little sister ever and I could not be happier to be her big sissy. :3

Project wise this has been a pretty good week as well.  I started a slouchie beanie.

And worked some more on my socks.  Hopefully those will be done today.

Maybe tomorrow...

I got 50 yards or so of some beautiful homespun, dyed by Kristine.

And I have a little bit left to spin and ply.

The yarn for Katie's Doctor Who Scarf came in with the exception of the Saddle Tan.

I love the names of the yarn.  Spiced Plum, anyone?

And in the next week, the love my life turns 22. 

Isn't he cute when he's sleeping??  I would knit him something, but he doesn't really wear or use a lot of knitted items.  Instead, I think I'm going to get him some movies...

Have a wonderful weekend, my readers, and enjoy life today!

~Birdie

Slouchie Beanies and Doctor Who Scarves

Hello dear readers.

The world of Birdie has been rather fun lately.  Mainly, I got a stomach bug.  Nothing too severe, but enough to throw off my game for the past two days.  Thus, this blog is lacking pictures.  My apologies guys.  Give me a few days and I'll show you what I'm working on.

I got a book of slouchie beanies to knit.  I cast on yesterday and am part way through my first one.  I'm kinda excited - these should be good items to sell at the Farmer's Markets this summer, plus they're fun and easy to knit. :)

We (meaning Katie bought it and I'm going to knit with it) got yarn today for a Doctor Who Scarf.  The yarn shop had special ordered it for us.  Everything came in except the Saddle Tan.  So we're waiting for it to come in so that I can start the scarf.

Other wise, all is well.  I finished setting the twist in that pretty homespun.  I have a little bit of fleece left, so I'm going to spin that up soon.

Hope all is well in your world.  Pictures soon.

~Birdie

A Brief, Non-Knitting Post

Today, my little sister started college.  I am so freaking proud of her.  She's turning into such a beautiful, wonderful young woman and I am so happy to be her big sister.  :)

She is one of my best friends.  I could not ask for more.

Got get em, kiddo.

I love you and I'm so proud of you.

~Birdie

(Knitting will resume tomorrow, dear readers.)

It's Nearly Done! Also, Question.

Remember that beautiful stuff from Kristine I was spinning?

I got it plyed. 

Now the twist is setting.

This picture was taken when it was hanging this morning in the shower.

My boyfriend went to take a shower and came out with the saddest expression on his face, asking why I do this to him.  Which made me laugh, cause he knows I'm a crazy Knitter.  We moved it to a towel rack to finish drying.  All should be well.

Isn't it beautiful?  I love how it's turned out so far.

Here's my question for you guys:  What should I make with it? 

I currently have 55 yards.  There's some fleece I still need to spin up, so I think at most it'll be maybe 100 yards max when it's done.  (I'll let you know when I'm done spinning the rest.)

I kinda want to make a hat, but I'm not sure if I have enough.  Thoughts?

Thank you!

~Birdie

Love of Yarn (Spin)

My friend Kristine (found here and here ) is totally awesome.  She and I have been friends for what feels like forever; maybe 7 years?  Maybe more?  Anyway, we talk about everything.  And we both knit.

Well, Kristine spins.  She makes this beautiful yarn that she dyes and spins herself.  It's always amazing.  For the past year for various occasions, she's gifted me this incredible stuff.

(This is what I made with the beautiful merino she dyed/spun for me for graduation.  The picture is a little grainy, but you can see how beautiful it is.)

So when I got a pretty gold package from her and her boyfriend when they came to visit around Christmas, I thought I was going to get some more pretty yarn. 

Wrong.

I got something (and I hate to say this) better.

That's right.  She gave me a drop spinner, some natural brown fleece, and then this beautiful stuff she custom dyed for me with some of my favorite colors.  Kristine then proceded to teach me to spin.

My stuff is still pretty uneven, but it's so much fun.  I've always loved the creation end of things when knitting, and this is just an extra bit.  Check it out:

 

 

 

 

Isn't her colorwork awesome?!  I can't get over how many colors are hidden.  I keep finding all these different shades as I spin, yellow green and dark green and mid green and blue green and deep purple and almost neon purple and everything in between. 

I only have one ball finished; the other is in the works.  When I'm done, I'm going to ply them together and set it.  Then we'll see what pretty knitting I can do. :)

~Birdie

P.S. - I looked into the pooling of my socks.  Turns out that the particular kind I'm using is known for having large twists of color.  I still love them.  And now I know for future reference.

Mitten Issues

Well, my mitten looks a bit like a bubble.  Not a good bubble either, more of a puffy bubble.   But that's alright.  I think I may have found out the issue.

I'll keep everyone posted.

(It might be a few days before the next update.  I have to work my real job this weekend.  Yay employement!)

~Birdie

When It's Cold...

..cast on a new project!

I was trying to come up with some new things last night.  My friend Kristine knits mittens and has a really cool way to formulate them.  It's incredible watching her go.  Mittens have always kind of made me nervous.  (Thumb gusset?  What?)

So last night while charting out some new colorwork, I attempted to write a formula for knitting mittens.

 

 

Which I then promptly ignored and cast on with abandon and scrap yarn.  Dangerous, I know.  But sometimes danger is good for the soul.

This is what I have as of five minutes ago:

I would like to note that this is without a pattern.  It's a little big, but that's okay.  I'm more or less experimenting.  So far, I like it.

Also, in case you were wondering, I have not forgotten about the nice blue socks I was working on.  Today I made it to the heel flap, all while in the car.

Do those stripes look a little wonky?  Cause they do to me.  I know that's the beauty of hand painted yarn, but I still can't get over how this is pooling.  Also, I know they're from the same dye lot, I know the Loopy Ewe wouldn't send two from different lots, and I double checked when they came.  But look at this:

Isn't that strange? 

I still love them though.  They're my odd little blue socks, full of soft warmth and personality.  :)

My sister Katie wants me to knit the Doctor's Scarf.  We ordered the yarn today, and it should be in by this time next week.  The Yarn Harlot did it in a week; Kate's expecting her within ten days of the yarn delivery.  I'm not sure how I feel about it.  I mean, that's a whole lot of garter stitch.  I'm excited for the challenge though.

(It does mean putting these cuties on hold though.  That's okay, I can't afford yarn at the moment anyway.)

And that is that.  Back to my mitten now. :)

~Birdie

I Finished!

Migraine and all, I finished my Heart Hat today.

 

(If I look a little zoned, it's my migraine meds.  They are goood.)

 

 

It's a really nice, warm hat.  Today is like 15 degrees, so I was wearing it around.

 

I love doing Fair Isle.  I think it's one of my favorite knitting techniques.  I don't do it like most people; I keep both strands on my right finger instead of one in each hand.  (I knit the "throw" method.  I can't remember what that's called off the top of my head.)

My only thing is weaving in the ends.  Does anyone else get paranoid about the ends unraveling, or is that just me?  I always get nervous weaving in the ends.  Mainly, I'm afraid all that effort is going to come unraveled.  Oh well.  More practice.

I think I deserve a nap now.

~Birdie

A Need for Color

Hello, dear readers.

It’s a very gray January day here in Colorado.  Really, what else would I expect?  The cold and I don’t get along very well.  Right now it’s 5 degrees and overcast.  Lovely.

(My boyfriend, Trevor, has been in New Mexico visiting family this week.  I imagine this cold is going to be quite a shock for him…)

All my knitting is incredibly colorful.  I think it’s the only way I’m going to survive.  Lots of color, lots of yarn, lots of warmth.

This is my current sock project.  Just a standard sock made with ShibuiKnits sock yarn in Sky.  I love the stuff.  It’s so soft and the colors are brilliant.  This is the second one cause the first is already done.

This stuff is so comfy.  I swear, I could knit it all day. 

The ironic part is I used to be one of those people who was intimidated by socks.  They looked so scary.  But, like most knitters, once I started, I couldn’t stop.  I almost always have a sock project in my purse anymore.  They’re great for car rides, bus rides, lectures, meetings, and just about everything else.

These lovely blue socks are replacing my old merino socks that wore out last year. 

(Koigu hand painted merino.  I don’t remember what colorway it is, but I loved it.)

(I don’t darn socks.)

These autumn socks were my first pair of actual sock yarn socks.  I had only made socks with worsted weight up until that point.  I bought the yarn a local yarn shop when it was slushy outside around Christmas of 2011.  I loved them.

And now I’m hooked.

Anyway, back to color.

The other colorful project I’m working on is a hat I designed last year.

I call it the Heart Hat.  This one I’m knitting up in Lions Brand Wool-Ease worsted weight yarn, in Deep Forest Heather, Rose Heather, and Paprika.  I love Wool-Ease cause it has wool in it, so it feels soft and warm, but it also has acrylic, so it’s machine washable.  Great stuff.

I’m reading Kaffe Fassett’s autobiography, “Dreaming in Color”, and now I think I’m going to have to take all my scrap yarn and cast on for a crazy colored cardigan.  We’ll see how that goes.

Stay warm, dear readers.  I’m going to go play with my projects now. :)

~Birdie

I've Decided to Do a Knitting Blog.

Hello there, dear readers.

Some of you may know me from my other blog.  Some of you may be new.  All of you are welcome. :)

Today I decided I wanted to start a knitting blog.  Nothing too fancy, just a place where I can join all of you virtual crafters.  After all, isn't that one of the benefits of the internet?

So.  Why knitting?  Why a blog?

I love to knit.  I am passionate about yarn.  I also happen to like words.  (As a writing grad, I suppose that would make sense.)  And I love to read other knitting blogs, such as the Yarn Harlot and Yarnagogo.  Both of these women have made me realize that I am not alone in the sphere.  And so, here we are. 

The title for this blog comes from one of my favorite sayings by Rumi.  It inspires me to do the best I can at what I love, and to trust that it will work out.  So far, so good.

I think this is a good place to introduce myself.  My name is Meaghan, but please, call me Birdie.  I love and collect owls - my boyfriend swears he's going to wake up as an owl one day due to this.  I knit like crazy and I love to create my own patterns.  I'm a college grad and I live at home with my parents, little sister, and boyfriend.

 

This is me, in my first hand knitted sweater. :)



Why do I love to knit, you ask? 

I love to create.  I love color.  I get bored.  I need my hands occupied or I eat too much chocolate and can't sit through movies with my boyfriend.

The goal with this blog is to share yarns, both the ones I'm creating and the ones in my life.  It won't always be neat, it won't always make sense, but it should be fun.

Welcome aboard. :)

~Birdie