As The Yarn Turns

Gifts!

I love the exchanges on the Spindlers list, even though I tend to agonize over them a bit. Every so often the list will have an exchange of handmade spindles or fiber or wrist distaffs or something. I don't always have the spare time to join them but I join as many as I can. The latest one was a Secret Spindler exchange. This particular exchange required something you made by hand, something from your area, and a gift you've received in the past but didn't want. The fun part is seeing the different things people get and seeing what people make. There are a lot of talented people out there, whether it's baking or knitting or spinning or weaving or whatever. This exchange did not disappoint. The most amazing part was the handspun handknit cabled scarf.

My picture does not do it justice. Lately I've been getting home after dark when flash is the only option. The scarf has beautiful cables and the fringe is beaded. The yarn has that special soft handspun feel to it that no commercial yarn ever seems to match. This will definitely be my new favorite scarf.

Also notice from the picture above that we actually have a tree up in the house. This has to be an all time record for getting a tree up before Christmas. There have been a few years when we barely made it before Christmas. Of course it hasn't been decorated yet but at least it's up.

The scarf came packaged in a nice fabric bag (I'm going to have to remember that) and a Christmas tin.

Also in the package was a local newspaper and a postcard. Now that's a nice exchange. I might actually get some Christmas Spirit before Christmas Eve comes around.

by Sydney  |

My Knitting Spot

I learned from Lolly that Scout wanted everyone to show their knitting spots. That sounded like a fun thing to do and a way to avoid the same old knitting progress, so here we go. Most of the time I'm knitting in the living room.

Unless we have guests, the couch is mine. Rick has the recliner, otherwise known as "the man chair". There's usually something knitting related spread out on the couch - knitting projects, patterns, books. In this case it's my Ramblin' Rows Afghan. After going through my current projects, I decided that I really needed to try and finish this thing before summer comes along. That's Katie Cat walking away from the knitting. It's her duty to check out all knitting progress. If I'm not knitting on the couch, then I go down the hall to my office where I usually have my socks in progress or some other small project in the works, as well as sketchbooks, journals, a cup of coffee or tea, and the computer.

Right now I'm focusing, or trying to focus, on the afghan and the socks. I would like to finish both soon but something tells me that I'll have better luck with the socks. We have a magic show this coming Saturday and I predict some hectic days before then. We certainly had our share of hectic days this past week. Spinning has temporarily ground to a halt too. Right now my spinning wheel is in limbo. I moved it from its spot in the living room to make way for the Christmas tree. It looks like it will have to squeeze into my office until after the holidays. With any luck at all, we may get a Christmas tree up this week. Maybe I should actually go knit on my afghan.

by Sydney  |