Show and Tell

I couldn't sleep last night. I don't know why, I had a pretty good day. I got my review at work and I got a 3 out of a 4 on the written review, a ton of gushing compliments about my work and my worth to the company AND more than double what my percentage raise should have been for a 3. I got a 10% raise, the biggest percent they were offering as a way to show me how much they have appreciated me and all I do. So, yay for me on the work front, lol.

But I still couldn't sleep. I was worrying and fretting about all the stuff I have coming up that I need to get done in the next few days. So, I got my ass up and did a photo shoot of a lot of projects I've been working on. Maybe y'all don't care, but I feel like a little show and tell :P

This is my finished (mostly) shrug I've been working on. It's a pain in the arse having long arms like I do, cause you're knitting forever it seems like :) I just got it off the loom last night and held it together with binder clips (cause I'm sexy that way) to try it on and take pictures. It will be better once I have the monkey claw knots to hold the arms together and I block it and weave in the ends...but I am just thrilled with it, so I had to share :D

This is my new Wonder Loom with the VERY beginning of a dishcloth for my sister on it. She's getting married this month and for her shower gift, I'm making her a lover's glove (I know, that sounds pervy, but it's really one fleece glove in a heart shape with two cuffs so you can wear a glove while holding hands with yer lover inside the glove. It's corny, I know, but when better to give corny gifts than at a shower?!) and I wanted to knit her some dishcloths with hearts, wedding cakes and rings on them to go with it. The shower is in two weeks...we'll see how many I get done, lol. This one is just gonna be a pattern, not have a picture on it. The colors are very "her," so I think she'll like it.

This is a travel spindle I made based loosely on this commercial one.Rather than spend $30-$40 bucks on one, I got out my jigsaw and cut the shape out of a scrap piece of oak I had after I made a loom recently, drilled a hole in the middle and stole one of my son's green tinker toys for the handle and voila! A fully-functioning spindle that cost me all of 50 cents :P It works well too, as you can see by the sample yarn I spun up on it once it was made :) It uses a park and draft method, so I can get singles quite thin and even...yay!

This is my possum fiber!!! Isn't it gorgeous?! It's part possum and part wool. I'm gonna spin it thin and then ply it with some dark brown wool and make my sweetie slippers out of it :) I'm a happy camper :)

These are some samples of what I was doing on Memorial day while the BBQ cooked dinner :) I was picking burrs and bits out of my wooly white fleece, carding it and making these rolags to spin it into fabulous yarn :) I only made about 10 rolags, because 1) it's a PAIN IN THE ASS to pick all the gunk out and 2) I wanted to see how I liked spinning from rolags before I made it all up into them. I haven't spun any yet, but it's super soft and wonderful. My son felt it on the cards and has decided that he wants me to make a layer under his sheets of the stuff so it will heep him warm and cozy and soft when he's sleeping :) Cute kid :P

This is the yarn I bought for my One Skein secret pal :D I am IN LOVE with this yarn and if were wealthy, I would buy a big pile of it and sleep in it every night :) It's the softest, most squishiest yarn in existance, 100% baby alpaca, and it is just...beyond words in amazing softness :) Of course, I have yet to buy any for myself, but I keep eyeing this rusty orange/red version and I may have to break down and splurge and buy me some one of these days....imagine a scarf or hat in this stuff.... *swoons with the luxury of it all* I hope my secret pal likes it, I'm mailing it off to her today! You can't see the color very well, but it's a dark teal/dark blue mixed color yarn. She likes greens and blues and is part goth chick and part hippy, so I think it fits her well.

Let me start by stating that I DID NOT SPIN THIS YARN! It's store-bounght, 50% llama and 50% wool. But, I hand-dyed it with indigo dye :D I'm pretty happy with how the color came out, and the yarn itself is very soft and plush. Perfect for something for my son, I just don't know what yet. Maybe slippers? Or, it might become part of a Birthday present for my mother, she loves the color...we'll have to see. Right now, it's just sitting in my Stash, waiting for me to get inspired :)

Not really crafty, but I'm just happy with this Memorial Day purchase :P I had been eyeing these placemats at Bed Bath and Beyond for oh, about a month now...and I couldn't bring myself to buy them for $4.99 each. Well, memorial day, I just happened to stop by BB&B and these were on a clearance rack for 99 cents each, plus 50% off!!!!!! Yes, I got 4 of them for $2 :D I'm a happy bargain shopper and I have my groovy orange and rusty red placemats now :)

That's all folks :D Cross your fingers for me that I sleep tonight, or you might be getting pictures of my different types of fiber tomorrow, lol!