Goodness

Has it really been that long since I last posted? The sad thing is I looked over my last post and I really haven't gotten much further. I did make it to the point on my bolero jacket front that I'm about to start decreasing for the shoulder, but that's about it.

Instead I've been reading and trying out my new drop spindle. The drop spindle came with some lovely roving, however it was too pretty for my sad attempts at spinning, so I bought some undyed roving at my LYS this past weekend and spun for a bit on Saturday. It's coming out sort of think, a bit thicker than worsted but not quite bulky, and sorta fuzzy, but I'm really liking it a lot. I'm already dreaming up things like Kool-Aid dye and maybe something felted to do with this. Not sure what, I'll have to see how far I get with it.

The reading has been my chance to finally tackle my summer reading list, though I added to it on Sunday. But I've already finished one of the added books and have gotten a start on the second, so I'm not feeling too bad about adding to the list. Though I may be singing a different song tomorrow when I get the sequel to the book I finished yesterday.

This evening, though, it going to be all about the knitting. I have a heel to turn on the travel sock and a front to my bolero jacket to finish. Hopefully I'll get one of those worked on. :D

Class again. Very short this time, just a quick discussion of the reading, discussion of the class and he let us go if we'd finished the project. While I could have stuck around to work on paper of doom, ended up getting a ride home from a classmate, getting home exactly two hours before class should have ended. Go me!

Having no motivation to start on paper at home, I ran some errands, namely going to my LYS. Before the whole internet break started (well, back when I was eyeing all of that stuff I couldn't afford) I decided I *could* afford spending $15 on a drop spindle and roving to see if spinning was a new hobby I was interested in (even a better idea/concern right now when the cotton I'm knitting up is just tearing up my arms and I need something to keep my hands busy at times – I'm spending so much time reading or on the computer for class/work that I need something to do that isn't reading or on the computer - gah I haven't had tendonitis trouble in years). My LYS sells roving, which I remembered from earlier trips, so I went in to see if they had any suggestions. Ended up with a book on beginner drop spindle instructions, last summer's VK and two ounces of yarn. One is a fingering weight in a gorgeous grape color that I’m hoping to knit up Lucky in – but we're worried it might be too thin so I got an ounce to swatch with. I knit up a swatch in the clover lace pattern, and was one stitch off over 4 inches without blocking (though it was a bit loopier than the picture in the pattern book – so I want to take it in to get other opinions). And with a mistake at the very beginning. So I frogged and have cast on again to try again. Am thinking that I can make it work with is awesome as this yarn is only $.63 an ounce. And when you roughly need 550 grams, which is rounded up to 20 ounces, this only $13 for a cardigan. As opposed to the $44 plus shipping that it'd be with the required yarn. Granted calculations are rough, we didn't figure up the yardage per ounce which would be a better determination of how much I need. There is another yarn that is a little heavier (and about $.90 an ounce I think) that I could use, but it isn't in that awesome purple that I want, though there may be other colors to try that I didn't notice (I sorta zeroed in on the purple :">). :D

The other yarn I got an ounce of is a cotton/rayon blend that is about aran weight that I've loved since I first walked into the shop. Like the other, it's a cone yarn and I've always been a bit wary of cone yarns. This one is only $1.63 an ounce and softer than you'd believe, I just need to find a project for it so I don't buy without something in mind (something I'm trying to stop doing with yarn as the stash is over takingme). So I got an ounce to swatch, and I think I've found a project for it. Just need to finish the two jackets I'm working on first. And maybe a sock. Not to mention a few other projects, though if I finish the two jackets and the sock I will have finished a new yarn project and a stash yarn project and a bus travel project. Now that I've found my hidden patterns, I also have a vest to sew together. Not to mention a few other things to do project wise. So yeah, I may have found yarn for some projects I want to do but no buying for a while. :D