First: A Bit on Twitter....then, about spinning!

J kind of laughs when I go on about Twitter, and tweets from so and so. But, with my updates protected, I am able to accept or decline those who wish to follow me. There are some silly people out there, whose goal, it seems, is to get as many followers as they can get! Some people have hundreds, thousands. Even hundreds of thousands! Then you have celebs with a million plus. Lol. I'm pretty happy with my <200.

On to the crafty stuff!

I haven't been to sleep yet--from last night! I was knitting a clapotis (a French scarf)--click the word clapotis for a link to the first site I found when I googled clapotis. Hmmm. Kind of interesting that this link came up. Kimberly, the author of the blog Knit Whimsies, seems to have disappeared. Last entry was May 2008. This could be a mystery...

I went to bed at 2:30am and couldn't fall asleep, so I just got up and started sorting through all of the fiber (roving and batts to be spun into yarn), and yarn stashed in the closet in the den. I seriously have a lot of yarn and fiber. My goal is to put a lot of the handspun up for sale on my etsy site: vtknitboy at etsy.com. Now, don't go searchin' for stuff now! Nothing's up yet. I'll post to this blog after I get it set up.

I've been playing around with various fibers: mostly alpaca from Maple at Northstaralpacas.com in Michigan. She has fabulous fiber available--check out the stuff she has for sale at her etsy site. You can link to her etsy site right from her blog. Other fibers I've been into lately are soy silk, bamboo, and tencel. I'm really concerned about the use of oil for man-made fibers when there are so many natural plant and animal options in the world.

I'm interested in how these fibers can be sustainable and eco-friendly. I'm pretty sure the yarn made from corn is not a good example of this, as it takes lots of energy to convert it into yarn, and also removes it from the food supply. Soy silk is made from the soy by-product/remains of making tofu. There is also milk yarn! I'm not quite sure how it's made--if anyone has info on the yarn making process for these, please leave a comment or e-mail me!

Here are some of the yarn combos I did last week.

Top pics: attenuated bamboo roving (left); spinning the bamboo (right).

Pics directly at right: checking the twist on the single (left pic); bamboo spun onto the bobbin (right).

The bamboo is very shiny, almost like silk. But way cheaper and eco-friendly! It is very nice to spin. The fiber is attenuated by splitting it up lengthwise, then pulling it out about every 4-5 inches (the length of the fiber). This helps start the drafting process by sliding the fibers along each other. This also helps if the fiber is slightly matted, stuck, sticky, or just compacted a bit. ETA: here's a link to bamboo info: bamboo.

The next set of pics is the baby camel. This is very soft! Almost as soft as cashmere, but about 1/3 the price.

In the pics at right, spinning, on the bobbin, and checking the twist. Because the fiber is so short, it requires a lot more twist to keep it together.

In the next group of pics, the one at the left is the Lazy Kate. The three bobbins, left to right are camel, merino, bamboo. The middle pic is plying, and the pic at the right is checking the twist on the two ply yarn.

The final pic is the skeins of yarn, drying on the clothes rack, after being soaked in hot soapy water (I use an eco-friendly dish soap), then soaked in clear water, then drained and rolled in a clean towel. I give it a good whack, then put it on top of the rack.

New Twitter Friend!

I have become friends with a woman in Alabama, Katy, who goes by Alpacafarmgirl on Twitter. She sent me a sample of fiber from two of her alpacas. She asked me to post about it NEXT week, as she is willing to send out samples of fiber to those interested. In the meantime, I just want to say that it's superbly fah.buh.luss! Her blog is here. She's having a

Fiber Arts Friday & Giveaway!

More on knitting in a couple of days!

-Vtknitboy (Chris)

A Visit to DC. Finally an update...

Just a quick update here, as I will be posting a new entry tomorrow or Thursday with fiber stuff!

April 8-13 J and I were in Washington, DC! The last time either of us visited DC was sometime in the 1980s. We were planning on making our trip this summer, but the University of Vermont (UVM) hockey team made it to the college hockey Frozen Four, and our plans were made a bit earlier than we originally wanted.

It's always fun going south (of Vermont) anytime between March and May. All the plants and flowers and trees are several weeks ahead of us. The farther south you venture, the further ahead the plants. We were hoping to see the cherry blossoms, and we literally got there on the last 2 days of the blossoms, due to a heavy rainstorm on Friday and Saturday.

(click on pics above and at right. The flowers were gorgeous! There was heavy rain on Friday and Saturday, and most of the cherry blossoms fell off--but J managed to get some pics early Thursday.)

Unfortunately, UVM lost a heartbreaker 5-4, after leading with about 8 minutes left in the game. But, the rest of the trip was pretty good!

One benefit to being on Facebook and Twitter (I'm vtknitboy on Twitter) is being able to meet some of the people I've only known online. Another thing is being reconnected with people from college and other ventures in the past. I've been friended on FB by Donna S., a woman I knew at UVM in the early 1980s. She now lives in Alexandria, Virginia, and we met up one morning for breakfast, along with Elizabeth, a friend and knitter I know from FB.

We also were fortunate to meet Brian G. (@Urbanbohemian on Twitter) in person! I met him for dinner Wednesday, and he met up with us for trekking around DC on Friday and Sunday. It was really nice to have a local take us around! This made the trip. Props out to Brian for the time and efforts he put in with us, and put up with me! (pic of Brian and J at right.)

The monuments.
I have wanted to see the Vietnam War Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial and The Mall for years. I was really surprised at how beautiful they are up close.

And yes, I did get quite teary-eyed reading the Gettysburg Address in the Lincoln Memorial, and also while slowly walking along the Vietnam Memorial. What really choked me up was that we were there on Easter Sunday, and someone left an Easter Basket and a small basket of flowers. (pic at right.) Very heart wrenching!

The World War II War Memorial was breathtaking! Large, spacious, very well done. The Washington Monument is, well, very tall. It was difficult to get a closeup picture as it wouldn't fit in my viewfinder. It was a very windy day. The flags encircling the monument were being whipped out to the right from our perspective.

I'm not always proud of things our government do, but I felt a bit patriotic trotting around being a tourist. We ate at some fabulous restaurants, including a Burmese one in Chinatown. The Chinatown in DC is really small. Kind of disappointing when compared even to Victoria, BC or Seattle's.

The picture of the statue of the Native American with the bow and arrow was inside the new (and fabulously beautiful AND expensive) Visitors' Center!

We visited the Textile Museum, but we weren't able to take any pictures.

Cheers!

Meet Lyra!...a two month project

My knitting friend from Houston, Kenny, called me up one day and said, "Let's knit Lyra!" And that's how this started.

I had no idea what Lyra was (I believe it is pronounced "Lie-rah"), so after we talked about knitting this pattern, I tried to find out about Lyra, and the designer, Herbert Niebling. I have been unable to find much about him, but from what I gather, he was German, and designed doilies and tablecloths and the like sometime during the 1920s and 1930s. I am not quite sure of the time period, so if anyone has more information, please let me know.

Click on pics for larger view.

First pic is Lyra right after blocking. Top right pic is on the dining room table. Other pics are closeups of the corner and mid points.

With the advent of the knitters online group Ravelry.com, patterns, ideas, and feedback and information about yarn, along with social and political fun, have flourished worldwide, and is shared at the fastest pace ever!

So, I got the pattern, and during January and February spent about 200 hours knitting this lace. While the original patterns are mostly done with size 00, 0 and 1 US size needles (quite small in diameter) and knit with thin cotton thread, I decided to knit Lyra with Grignascu merino/silk (75/25 blend in a pewter gray color) that Kenny bought for me on his visit to Vermont last October (thanks Kenny!). I used size 5 US needles.

The knit piece has been washed and blocked--two hours of stretching it out and pinning it with lots of pins over a blanket topped with a sheet on the living room floor. It was not the most fun I've had in old age, and my butt and calves were very sore for 3 days afterward from squatting and sitting on my heels!

This Lyra is 60x60 inches.

Enjoy! Also, click HERE for pics of Niebling's design mastery!

Tonight's Dinner....gilded potato/leek soup!

My friend Derek in "the LV" suggested that I send him some of the recipes for the dishes I whip up, so he can post on one of the many work/play sites he is always talking about. I don't measure anything but will try to re-create what I made tonight!

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 2 stalks of celery, ends trimmed, sliced 1/4" thick
• 2 leeks, just the white part, root end cut off, then sliced 1/4" thick
  
• 1 large sweet potato, peeled and diced
• 3 medium thin-skinned red or gold/yellow potatoes, diced
• 1/2 sweet red pepper, diced
• 1 large boxed container veggie or chicken broth
• small handful fresh basil or 2 teaspoons dry
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 2 teaspoons sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

To save time, start sweet potatoes 10 minutes before other items. Put sweet potatoes in a small pan, cover with water and bring to boil. Parboil 3 minutes. Turn off heat. Do not drain! Heat up broth separately.

Put the sliced leeks in a bowl, fill with water, swish around with your hands to ensure any dirt between pieces is washed away. Lift out of water with a large slotted spoon or wire basket. Set aside.

Using a heavy bottomed soup pan (Dutch oven, etc.) turn heat to medium high. Add olive oil, wait a couple of minutes for oil to heat. Add diced onions and celery. Saute 3 mins. Add leeks, saute 2 minutes. Add parboiled sweet potatoes along with water from pan, the potatoes and sweet red pepper. Add basil, thyme, salt and pepper. Add heated broth and enough hot water to cover all vegetables.

Bring to boil, then reduce heat to a low boil/heavy simmer for 15 minutes.

Turn heat off, and using a potato masher, carefully mash soup to desired consistency. Soup will be very hot so be very careful! Return to heat, taste, and adjust seasonings. Add 2-4 tablespoons of butter, Smart Balance (vegetarian), or Earth Balance (vegan). Stir, let sit 5 minutes.

Serve with warm crusty bread topped with fresh mozzarella cheese, ripe tomatoes and basil leaves, drizzled with balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Enjoy!

This Side of March...sun and socks...and hats!

It's been three days of bright sun here in northwest Vermont. Good for ya'll--not so good for me. Just about all of you know that I struggle on a daily basis with migraines. While I have not had a full-blown-send-me-to-the-hospital-migraine in over two years, I've had lots of ones that I've managed to halt with my meds. However, every day is a chore for me. There are so many triggers for me: sun (the brightness, reflecting off of snow, metal, etc.), sugar, chocolate, aged cheeses (although soft and goat cheeses seem to not affect me as much), low pressure systems, and a horde of other food and environmental factors (noise, chaos, etc.).

A couple of things have helped me reduce the bad migraines and daily lesser headaches. Chiropractic work, which I get done every 4-6 weeks, and headache free vitamins; a combination of daily vitamins and herbal supplements that I was taking anyway.

I get chiro done at Busby Chiropractic, in Essex, Vermont. As it turns out, Dr. Busby and his wife, who is a staff member there, are our neighbors! They live further up our street, but we tend to call people who live on our street our neighbors. They are at 159 River Rd, Essex Junction, and can be reached at 802.879.1144 if you are interested in this.

The vitamins can be purchased at Headachefreevitamins.com. Really! They seem to be a combination of what I was taking, but only two pills a day, versus 10-15 pills I was taking, trying to get the calcium, magnesium, feverfew, B vitamins, and all of the other trace minerals and other things my body needs. Who knows how this works in total, but my body was definitely missing something. My daily tension headaches have been drastically reduced--to about 10%. That is the greatest impact anything has had on me. That, and the chiropractic work.

So, where does this leave me? Unfortunately, I am unable to work a scheduled job. I am no longer at Sweet Clover Market (the owner, Heather, picked up the first two bottles of the headachefreevitamins for me at a food show!). I do pick up a shift now and then to help them out.

I am now going to focus on my handspun yarn, and foray into the handknit world--mostly baby socks, hats, and other fun items! I've been working on some swatches (test knit squares) of handspun that I am sending to my friend Derek, in "the LV"--what the rest of us call Las Vegas. My niche (other than handspun/handknit) will be U.S. raised and processed (into roving) alpaca, eco-friendly and local fibers as much as possible.

I've been playing around with merino/tencel blends and merino/bamboo blends. I also found some U.S. grown gunmetal black bamboo, which I think will be lots of fun to use in creating items. Bamboo is renewable and eco-friendly, I just need to learn more about energy used to process this, along with how fibers are made from tencel and soy.

The alpaca I've used so far has been from Maple, at Northstar Alpacas in Michigan. Maple is a truly wonderful person, and I've grown quite fond of her in the past year, especially since the loss of her husband. It's been fun reading her blog about the trials and joys she's had learning to run the farm on her own. Please visit her blog, and her Etsy shop for some of her handknit alpaca goods! You may have to become an Etsy member, but it's free...I will be selling items at my shop (vtknitboy) after I set it up!

Sock picture: (l to r) The purple is corriedale wool and is plied with merino/bamboo fiber. The top edging is 100% alpaca from Maple.

The middle sock is alpaca plied with merino/tencel. It is softer than the first sock, but very strong.

The other purple sock is corriedale wool plied with merino/tencel. The two purple socks have a row of eyelets (holes) near the top where I am going to thread a silk ribbon through so parents can adjust the tension of the sock (ie., keep it from falling off).

In the picture of the hats, the top right one is corriedale wool plied with alpaca. The alpaca is not as soft as the alpaca in the socks, but is still pretty nice to the hand!

The bottom left hat is alpaca plied with merino/bamboo. It is lovely.

In the third picture, the skein on top of the socks and hats is 100% alpaca. Very, very soft!

The smaller three pictures are from my phone, and I don't think they will expand when you click them on. I will retake the pics with my digital camera and substitute them later.

Left to right: Spinning the lovely black alpaca from Maple! This stuff is a dream to spin. Very, very nice. Middle picture is a closeup of the mini ball I wound up. At right is a picture of a hat I made with three different natural colors of alpaca--all from Maple's farm!

Oh, and way up at the top is a picture of a scarf I made from alpaca/silk roving from Maple. It's sweet!

I have a couple more pictures of projects I need to transfer from my camera. In the meantime, have a fabulous week!

Cheers!
--Vtknitboy

A Peaceful Cold...belated happy new year's!

I'm finally taking some time to sit down and get a blog post written! So sorry for the two month delay--I meant to, I meant to! Lol.

In December, J and I visited his family in Orlando, which was delightful, and we also took a couple of days off to visit some friends who recently moved from Chicago to Ft. Myers. It was a lovely, but short, trip. I managed to do okay with the migraines--kept them at bay by taking a pill 4 out of 5 days.

In Orlando, we stayed at Ben (J's nephew) and Emily's (Ben's wife) beautiful house! This is the second time we were lucky and blessed to be able to stay with them.

They are a lovely couple and we both enjoy spending time with them. Here they are opening up the socks I made for them. Their dog, Kaylee May (or Kayleigh?) is a Wheaton Terrier, and THE sweetest dog you will ever meet! That is the dog Barack should get for Sasha and Malia! ; )

I will do a longer post in the next couple of days, with more Holiday pics and pics of the coast.

As always, click on the pics to enlarge them!

Then, it was back to a nice cold and snowy Vermont! My, we've had so much snow this winter, and I am quite sure that it's been colder this winter than last. Many, many nights with sub-zero temperatures. Down to -15 to -25 F on several nights! Luckily, we have a nice soapstone woodstove that helped keep the cold from seeping in.

I've been working on handspun, handknit swatches of alpaca and alpaca blends with wool, and some merino wool with tencel. Pics later about that! In the meantime, I've been working on Herbert Niebling's 'Lyra' using Grignasco merino/silk lace, and finished a couple pairs of socks. Here's a link to a site with lots of beautiful finished Lyras!

Mr. Niebling designed amazing doilies for German knitters I think in the '20s and '30s. They are now being translated into English and Italian. He has quite a following among Ravelry'ers. They are very addictive to do! Here is a pic of my almost finished one. My version has not been stretched and blocked yet.

Socks: I made a pair in dark blue angora, and one in a lovely blood-red yarn Kenny gifted me. Pics follow. For you knitters out there, the red cabled socks have: Judy's magic cast-on, I used the Magic Loop Method, a ribbed sole, expansion stitch triangular gusset in seed stitch, short-row heel, reinforced heel flap, and split cable at the ankle. It (I have just one done right now) fits wonderfully!

Congrats to Kenny, my knitter friend from Houston! He designed a scarf pattern, and it was published in Interweave Knits! Visit his blog for the same pics in the magazine. Click here --> Boiknitblog.

So go out and buy a copy if you don't subscribe, and/or visit his blog and send your warm wishes!

More later, keep in touch! I'm on Twitter, as Vtknitboy, and Facebook as Chris French from Jericho, Vermont. Friend and Follow me! Mwah!

Chris

Knit Updates

Happy Winter to All!

I hope mid-December finds you all healthy and happy! It was about -4 f. this morning, here in NW Vermont. But now it's in the 30's and blustery. The joy of living in New England!

Here's an update on my knitting adventures. Please click on the pics for a better and larger view...

I've been working on and completing some Holiday gifts. I can't say much about them, as the recipients may read this blog!

The first pair of socks are made with Esprit yarn by Elann.com. Cotton with some nylon for support. This pair (for a female) has a lace pattern on the top, and I used size 3 needles.

The second pair (for a male) is plain knitting on size 5 needles. Same yarn, different colorway. It's a fun yarn to knit with. Stretchy but soft.

Both pairs were done with Judy's Magic cast-on (super easy and better than the figure-8 cast-on), toe-up, short row heel.

Third pair of socks (for me!) in Noro sock yarn. This was the yarn my BFF Kenny from Houston bought me on his visit to Vermont this fall. The yarn comes in long stretches of color. It was fun starting the yarn on the second sock to match the first one! Luckily the yarn is designed so that, if one wants to, you can knit matching socks. You can also knit the second sock from the end of the skein (instead of continuing in order), and you'll get the same color but reversed order. I added red cotton yarn on the heels to give them some strength. I'm not sure how well these socks will wear. I wear my socks pretty hard. Most socks don't last me two years--at least in the heels.

Two nights ago I started knitting wrist warmers for me. I used Atacama 100% alpaca yarn by Araucania in Chile. It's hand-dyed and very nice. I picked up a bunch of this yarn from Littleknits.com in a super bag sale (for about $2.50 a skein), but I purchased this colorway at A Stitch in Time yarn shop in Jericho (where I am teaching learn to knit worskhops!). Note: you can pick up some really good deals at Littleknits! They have tons of stuff on sale. And, Atacama alpaca yarn is being sold for $3-4 a skein in lots of places. Just google it.

Anywho, back to the wrist warmers. There are dozens of free patterns online--I just did a simple 2x1 ribbing, and an added thumb gusset separated by a stitch I alternated in knit, then purl. Knitted the thumb plain (stockingknit) and topped with 5 rows of the ribbing. Very nice, warm and very soft! I love the colorway. Earthy tones.

I am also playing around with handspun and swatches. I did a diagonal Madeira lace with 8 stitches of stockingknit panel in between. Top to bottom handspun: purple corriedale with white merino/bamboo; alpaca with the mer/bamboo, and another alpaca with mer/bamboo. Kind of fun imagining this as a woman's top--possibly for cool fall nights over a white t-shirt. Semi-open separated by the knit panels. I am planning on designing some pieces. This would have some decreasing on the sides, for more form fitting, and possibly some lacey picot edging flaring out on the bottom portion. Tank-top type shoulder straps. Knit panels on the side (to compensate for the decreasing) and over the, you know, female parts for more support. Or not. But that's an x-rated version! Lol.

I have some gorgeous merino/bamboo from the U.S. in a steel gray-black. I think it's called gunmetal or something like that. I'm planning on spinning it sockweight and using this pattern for a similar top. It's machine washable, while the alpaca isn't.

So, there you go! I have some other projects going on: a silk scarf for my mom, about 3/4 of it done in ribbing. And, 3 pairs of socks for me in various stages of completion: Imagination in Wicked Witch colorway from Knitpicks.com (superwash merino, alpaca, nylon: perfect for socks!), some handspun alpaca, and some other stuff. Using the magic loop method--progressed from the 2 circs method to the ML.

Hope you all have a safe and happy holiday season, whatever you celebrate!

Cheers,
Vtknitboy