Born Lost Creations: alpaca

Saturday, January 2, 2016

I Don't Know Where To Start.....

I've missed you, blog. I don't think I have many readers but I've missed documenting my creative exploits for the world. I think I've missed the creative exploits most of all. It took a lot of effort to make the post back in August and work on the alpaca fleece. Quite literally, since that post, everything has been at a standstill. Expectations were high and I couldn't reach them.

Without dwelling on 2015, I'm going to challenge myself for 2016. What I do, what I create, will be for me. Sure, there will be urges to create for others but they will be surprises, not by request. What I learn, I'll learn for me. Not to earn more money, create a side business, blah blah. No deadlines, nothing specific. So I guess my new year's resolutions (if they can be called that) are: be happy, create, learn.

My loosey-goosey goal is to blog at least once a week, hopefully more. If I don't meet that, eh. The world won't end. :)

Just so there are pictures and fun things on this fresh-as-a-daisy post, here's what I have been up to:

A cruise! Again? Oh yes, to Cozumel and Costa Maya. This time we were out for 5 nights and it was just wonderful. Winter in Indiana is cruel sometimes and getting away to sun, sea and sand for a bit was rejuvenating! I much prefer Celebrity Cruise Lines to Carnival as I'm just not much the party girl/drinker as the young kids can be. I turned 40 on December 7th and this was my present to myself (as well as a purse and earrings bought on the ship). Hello, new decade! Let's have fun!

Deck 16 - Solstice - far away from hub bub

Cozumel, Mexico - little bar we had lunch at. Look at the view!

Beach we lounged on in Costa Maya. Just a little bit longer....

I managed to read 3 books, cover to cover, while on the trip (my reviews are on my book blog here). And I got a pretty good portion of a sock done. Speaking of socks, FOs and WIPs!

I lovingly call these my Bloody Damn Socks. I dyed the yarn myself and it turned out mostly what I was envisioning. I wanted more gray/silver but mostly just got dots. I still really like how they turned out. I used Knit Picks Bare Sport weight yarn along with Jacquard Acid Dyes. I used the pattern Just Yer Basic Sport Sock (my Ravelry project page).

I had decided sometime in the summer to make my mom another pair of socks from yarn I bought while in Daytona Beach. I loved how they striped up and look beachy. I used TOFUtsies made with 50% superwash wool, 25% soy silk, 22.5% cotton, 2.5% chitin (made from shrimp and crab shells!) so they are apparently antibacterial as well. Good for a diabetic who just broke her leg? (You heard me. Beginning of September. It's been a rough remainder of 2015). Yes. Mom loves these and I guess they are comfy because there is no elastic so she doesn't have to worry about the sock pressing into her skin or cutting off circulation. Yay. Also, this is just a plain vanilla sock. (my Ravelry project page)

This was crazy. Knit with size 35 needles my fingers cramped after a row or 2. My friend's little boy outgrew his baby blanket I made 5 years ago and I decided he needed a big boy blanket. I found the yarn in a clearance bin and it was a) boyish and b) so dang squishy. I used up every scrap of yarn and it turned out nicely sized for the kiddo. And ... he loved it! Yay 2! Basic Diagonal Comfort Blanket pattern from Lion Brand (my Ravelry project page).

Very basic bulky hat that I knit for my brother. He lives in New Mexico and works road construction at night. It gets pretty dang cold out there so he needed a warm hat. I'm in the process of making him socks but damn, the man has big feet. No Ravelry page for this. So very basic.

I don't really stalk Etsy shops. But I wanted a skein of Hand Turkey bad enough I contacted Lara at Gynx Yarns to see when she would be making more. She let me know the date and I stalked. And I got me a skein! (Wow, her stuff sells out quickly). My first sport weight socks (My Bloody Damn Socks were the second) I screwed them up repeatedly. I was worried I wouldn't get them done by Thanksgiving but I did, with a day to spare. I never worked with Gynx Yarns before but I really loved how this worked up. I'm a fan. (my Ravelry project page).

HO HO HO. :) So this is the only half-finished object I'm posting right now just because I have way too many to post. But the yarn is gorgeous and I'm really eager to get back to finishing this. I started off in The Walking Dead Mystery KAL and purchased this TWD yarn from Jimmy Beans to tackle the first clue. This is as far as I got and I'm not sure why. It's beautiful yarn, perfectly zombie, and a great pattern. Again, I think life got in my way. Jimmy Beans Ravelry group is here and you can check the Walking Dead MKAL and everything else they have going on.

I did teach a class on sock knitting and I think it went well. Perhaps too much for one class though. I have some more ideas on classes for 2016 so I'm hoping they will be well received and I can share the joy of yarn and needles with everyone.

Sit Down For A Spell aka The Jay County Fiber Festival Roundup!

First off...it's March 11th and 60+ degrees. My windows are open and the heat is off. Tomorrow is a snow storm. I really dislike Indiana this year.

Onwards....

Mom, me and Becky went on a road trip to Portland, Indiana to visit the Jay County Fiber Festival. I've been once before and really liked it, although it is a pretty small one. I was surprised at how full the parking lots were this year. Looks like word has really gotten out about it!

After a few hours of squeezing, petting and manhandling fiber and yarn, I looked like

But not as blurry in real life :) I wore my Rainbow Pride scarf so I would be noticed if any other Knit n' Bitchers showed up but I was noticed by lots more people. One lady even said she was keeping an eye on me around the room so I wouldn't leave without her looking at my scarf. I actually felt like a real knitter Saturday.

Admission was $1 (what a deal!) and the first booth I see looked like this:

A Good Yarn booth

Walls and walls of gorgeous handpainted yarn. GORGEOUS. This booth was A Good Yarn by Mary Ann. She was supremely helpful in answering questions and explaining the dyeing process she used and how the yarn will knit up. I wanted to buy so many skeins but I reigned myself in and bought just two. Actually, as I was taking photos of my purchases I was shocked at how little I bought. I manhandled so much I thought I had bought more.

My purchase from A Good Yarn

My knitting teacher, Susan Markle from The Trading Post, had her booth. I bought my first drop spindle from her last time I was there. Becky bought her first drop spindle from there this time.

My spinning has been on hold, mostly because I was upset I wasn't perfect at it right off the bat (how silly is that?!?!). I was talking to a couple at the Bell Creek Farm booth and the husband was downright encouraging me to keep going. They also had a sale on their Shetland fiber. So I bought some! What I like about these festivals is the kick in the pants everyone gives me to keep going!

squishy pretty!

Onwards, I saw some basket weaving demos and got a demo on how to knit those odd scarves with the odd yarn with holes. That's really all I know about them. The Thankful Ewe was the booth with the helpful folks :)

I am really considering getting a spinning wheel and found some demo, year old Ashford wheels. I know this is a big investment so I wasn't ready to buy but Betty from Little Shop of Spinning gave me quite a bit of information on them and, even though her shop is in Ft. Wayne, I think I'll be making a road trip there to get my first wheel. We also got to watch a demo on making punis in her booth. Very cool.

So I thought I was done at this point.

I came across Oak Meadow Alpaca Farm's booth and fell for the natural yarn and fiber. What got me even more was that the labels contained the names of the "contributors" of the yarn. All the alpacas, sheep and bunnies got their names on the label. Nancy, the owner, told me that the names are also her dye lots. So if I want more of, say, the brown, I just need to tell her it's the dye lot that Peanut contributed to. LOVE!