Too Many Secrets

I must apologize to my spoilers. Spin-to-Knit pal, was that pretty handspun yarn from you? Or was it from my SP9? Sorry guys! I'm very easily confused :( I just want to give everyone their due, so thank you Spin-to-Knit pal for Slimey, and thank you SP9 for my gift certificate. There. I think that's right now. Maybe.

All Spin Zone

Look what my Secret Pal sent:
It's handspun in a lovely bright colorway called Slimey, after Oscar the Grouch's wormy friend. Plus, she had sent me a gift certificate a few weeks back too. Thanks, Secret Pal!

I've finished the yarn for my Spin-to-Knit pal. I can't show you that, but I can show you this:
After what seemed like ages of being good and spinning thin, I cut loose. This is about 7 oz of single ply spun up from a couple of superwash merino/mohair batts from miss_babs' Ebay shop:
I threw caution to the wind, barely predrafting the fiber and spinning pretty carelessly. There are parts where I let the twist travel *way* too far into the fiber mass (it was practically sideways so I guess I was accidentally spinning from the fold he he he!). It's slubby and inconsistant and I like it!

I need to get back to knitting Jersey Girl's present, since that birthday's coming up. More on that project soon...

Various and Sundry

After the frenzy of Christmas Center Square knitting, I'm convinced I can make stranded hats (and how!). So I've started the Bea Ellis Ufserud for the Stranded Knit-a-long:
It's so cool to watch the pattern emerging! This is Dale of Norway Heilo on a Boye Needlemaster size 2. The swatch was a bit big (no surprise there), so in all honesty, I should probably be knitting this on a size 1, but the Needlemaster set only goes down to 2, and I was just too lazy to find the right needle in my Bin-O-Addis.

I've also started a birthday present for Jersey Girl. Here's a wee fuzzy picture, in case she's looking:
The yarn is Debbie Bliss Cotton Cashmere, which is really nice and totally lacking that irritating cottony crunch. However, the construction (about a dozen stands loosely plied together) makes for easy splitting, so I've got to be on my toes.

So much for new things. As for WIPs, I finished the back of the Robin Hood Jacket:
I've started the left front, which looks, not surprisingly, a lot like the back :) I'm still loving Rowan Cork, and still dreading the "no machine wash" issue. Yep, I'll keep right on digging myself into a hole, thank you very much.

Oh, and I've been spinning. I've spun about 6 oz (out of 8 oz) for my Spin-to-Knit pal. Lately, there have been lots of good TV watching evenings, which always make for good spinning evenings. So, is William Petersen leaving CSI for good? I wonder what Liev Schrieber's quirky interest will be. Philately, maybe? Ornithology? Paleolithic astrobiology? I totally didn't expect them to kill off "young idealistic raised-himself-up-by-his-own-boot-straps latino" lawyer on Shark. I thought they were gonna get rid of "young idealistic I-do-have-brains-even-though-my-family-connections-got-me-this-job" lawyer. Oh, and how many times can you ask Jack Bauer to sacrifice himself before he goes totally crazy and asks to be sent back to prison in China?

I can too finish things...

It's my first finished object of 2007!

Charlotte's Web Shawl
Yarn: Noro Iro (2 skeins)
Needles: Boye Needle Master circulars, size 9 and a Boye crochet hook for the edge

I really like how it came out. As I hoped, it grew a bit after getting soaked and pinned out. I only had enough yarn for one row of the edging, but I think it looks nice, especially for my first functional crochet!

I finally got around to felting the shibori scarf:
Pretty funky, huh? I wish I had used more rubber bands, to maximize funkiness. Next time, definitely more bubbles and maybe I'll try doing something to the edge so it won't curl so much. But the scarf is still surprisingly soft, considering it's felted.