...corriedale sliver 2 ply

This is yet to be bathed.  But it should bloom nicely when done.  Mittens, hat, scarf?  What will I make?

As far as the school colors, BFL, below.  I shall spin it as it presents itself.  It will probably be a two-ply and a hat for sure. Any left over will be put into a little scarf.

....school colors

This colorway is similar to the colors of the university where I work and take classes.  I thought it would be lovely to knit a scarf or hat out of the Bloody Mouse BFL that I purchased via mail order from Susan's Fiber Shop in Wisconsin.  It's always fun to receive mail from a 'far-off' land.

....stripey sliver happiness

....a beautiful mess

To not keep everyone wondering what I have been up to...I must say I have been a bit busy.  In September of last year I took a full time job.  Part of the benefits of the job is free tuition for employees.  I work in higher education.  I thought it wise to take the opportunity that was presented, to further my education.  So, now I work 40 hours a week and am taking online classes for a degree in accounting.  While I have an associates degree, it isn't necessarily in accounting.  A long time work experience in bookkeeping helped me get this job.  My credits didn't transfer for the associates, so I am now getting a bona fide associates degree.  My first class started on 6.25.  Just the first week was quite an eye opener.  My it's been a long time since I really really used my noggin.  Learning the ropes of an online education was and will be quite an experience.   I still knit and I still spin, just not as freely and as often as I used to.  I think once I get the school/work/family schedule squared away everything should work out nicely.  In the meantime...I shall include my latest happiness.  M's Northman Mittens~to be finished before cold weather!

 Misti Alpaca~Chunky 

I will need a One Skein idea for this.  It is super soft.  It's 108 yards of chunky.  Got any ideas?

.....Early morning mist

....asparagus bundles

Fresh asparagus in bundles of 5-6 spears.

Wrap pounded thin (1/4 in.) chicken breast~about as long as a dollar bill around each bundle.  Secure with toothpicks or since I had no toothpicks, wrap and put the overlapping ends face down.

Brush all chicken and exposed asparagus with olive oil.

Season with salt and pepper.

Bake 350 ° for 20-30 minutes.   ( I actually put mine under the broiler after that to give the chicken a little color, they still looked a little peeked)..

Remove from oven and sprinkle freshly grated cheese. (optional)  I used a little medium sharp cheddar and mozzarella.  I put it back in the turned-off oven for a bit until it melted.

....first pair of northman mittens finished

....I knit, therefore, I am...not gonna have cold hands next Winter!

Picking up and knitting the lining on to the mitten shell.

Absolutely the softest yarn I have ever touched and knitted with.  It was dreamy. It's from Blue Sky Alpacas. It's 100% baby alpaca. Colorway #812~Blue Cheese.

Turn the mitten inside the lining to measure where to knit to before the decrease.  I didn't knit it in this position.  I just pushed it in there to measure.

The shell is knit with Berroco Ultra Alpaca (it's an alpaca/wool blend)  Colorway: #6201 White and #6243 Navy.  I purchased all of these from Alpaca Direct. (www.alpacadirect.com)  There customer service was top notch.

This shows the lining inside on the right. The mitten on the left has not had a lining added yet.

I purchased the pattern on Ravelry.  They are called Northman Mittens by David Schulz.

My first mittens with lining.  The instructions were well written and easy to follow.

our selfies.  me on the left, the daughter on the right.

A great day at the Indiana State Museum.

The beginning of the Northman Mittens.  Pattern by David Shulz.  I found pattern on Ravelry.

                                        The softest squishiest fiber!

...

Just playing around.

...He is kind

My husband ran down to Bloomington today and stopped off in Martinsville to pick up some fiber for me at Sheep Street Fibers.  I specifically asked for the black/white stripey Corriedale sliver.   At right is BFL and left is a light blue Shetland from the Sheep Street Fibers farm.

...Vamil the alpaca

 

 Each bag seemed to have a name written on it.  This one had Vamil. It is absolutely beautiful.  So crimpy.

Pulled out a hunk from the bag and this is what it looked like. Very cool.  Kind of like an alien, but cool.

 

 After I pulled it out of the bag and cleaned it over my lap I threw it in the plastic bin to card later.

 

Pleasantly surprised to see Michigan sand in my lap from fine tuning the fiber before carding.  I was quite tickled about it.  I knew 'dirt' was coming out and I expected it to, but up on closer inspection....SAND!

...hair of the camelid

So, here is the thing.  I grew up with horses. Lots of 'em.  They don't scare me.   But, honestly, these critters kind of creep me out a bit.  I haven't spent enough time around them to get familiar with their habits and little quirks.

Llamas on the left ~ Alpacas on the right.  At the farm where I attend spinning lessons from Kate.

It's not Kate's farm it belongs to Susan. 

Three bags full.  This is alpaca fiber from a nice farm in Michigan.  I have never spun alpaca before.  I purchased a 2 ply hand spun hank at the Kentucky Fiber Festival a few years back and made a simple ribbed hat.  This simple hat was the go-to hat for all heads in the household.  It seems to fit everyone.  M had taken to wearing it over her dreadlocks (when she had them).  She had taken them out and was still wearing this hat when we made a run to Meijer and some how it became lost. Never to be found.    This fiber was on sale due to the farmers moving south, so I thought I would give it a try and attempt to create the beloved Alpaca Hat.  Of course, I will let you know how that turns out.   My previous alpaca adventure is here.

...Icelandic wool

Icelandic Fleece.

Prepared Icelandic wool.

I was very excited for this class because when I first started knitting I watched the Elizabeth Zimmermann videos over and over and she seemed to use Icelandic wool for everything!  So now I was finally able to meet some face to face.   I really liked it.    Alas, I had a really nice picture of the raw fleece and some samples that I had spun up and I lost it in cyberspace.  :( 

....cheviot

My wonderful spinning teacher, Kate, has her students try different types of wool to spin.    I wasn't able to spin this in class, but she did save some back for me and I am now in possession of Cheviot, top and raw wool.  I am looking forward to spinning this up soon.

...journey of a hat, part two

This hat was great fun to knit.  The pattern repeat was fun.   It's my first hat that I didn't do a 2 x 2 ribbing.  It fits great and is cozy on my head.   The tassels were fun to make.  I had never made the kind that you twist to create, which makes perfect sense.  I purchased the pattern on Ravelry and you can too.  It is called Norby.  It's hard to put down once you start.  Give it a try.  It's fun AND easy.   Disclaimer.  It may not be as fun on commercial store bought yarn.  Just sayin'.

....journey of a hat, part one

Three ply.

It's more than blue.

Gave it a bath.

Hmmmm, it left a little color in the water.

My new favorite thing!   I have learned to make a center-pull ball of yarn. 

It is fantastic!  Your yarn doesn't roll all over the place.  It just sits nicely next to you while you knit away.