Seabreeze Spinners

WOW … great video! I’ll have to follow this on my next pair of socks! HERE

Finished my first pair of socks. The heels are looking good thanks to the “no wrap heel method” CLICK HERE It really works and makes for a lot less hand manipulation. You may have to watch it more than once but it works amazingly!

The toe isn’t as neat as I would like as I don’t have the Kitchiner stitch down. But I’ll be working on that. The yarn is cotton with stretchy elastic (Patons Stretch Socks). My first go, I made the foot too short. I removed the socks from the machine, unwound the toes and then put them back on the machine. I cranked about another inch (I’m a size 11 shoe) and redid the toe. It worked. I have my second set on the machine now and I’ve made the foot much longer. We’ll see how that works out. I didn’t count rows, I eye-balled the length.

Tropical Twister

Back from the Manatee County Fair with a mix of success.

for larger image of photos in this article … first click on thumbnail, on next page, double click on that new image

Blue Rosette winner:

Other items from the fair:

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New projects underweigh include a pair of socks being knitted on my “new” circular sock machine, a Harmony …

and free-form beading.

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My daughter is touring India and attended the Ajmer & Pushkar camel festival. Mom got a package bursting with camel fiber. I’m so excited! Will keep you posted on that project. Will have to be for something very special.

Photos of newly acquired Franz & Pope Sock Machine originally manufactured in the late 1800′s in Ohio. These are the “before” pictures. My goal is to clean him up and get him knitting. My first task was to remove the partial sock and bathe the entire machine in Ballistol. The “Sportsman’s Oil” “feeds the metal”, lubricates and protects but doesn’t lift paint. I’ve ordered needles from Pat@AngoraValley so I shouldn’t run in to the problems I’m having with the Twombly.

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In Search Of (ISO) needles for Twombly Sock Machine. Photo below shows dimensions needed. From “heel” (bottom tip) to “butt” (protrusion), 1/2″; overall length needed 1 7/8″. Could actually be a bit longer. Any suggestions?

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I spun this beautiful silver grey Gotland sheep fiber into yarn to create a birthday shrug for my daughter, Jo. The yarn is natural and undyed so it has lovely low lights from the occassional black hair as well as a range of greys.

UPDATE: I added a photo of the birthday girl with her shrug! Happy B Day Jo!

Whether knitting, beading, or weaving when I use a pattern it is important to keep my place. I made an inexpensive “pattern place keeper” from an inexpensive refrigerator calendar.

I bought a magnetic white board calendar from Dollar General. I attached the magnets provided for mounting the calendar on a refrigerator to a ruler. (An opaque ruler would work best but a transparent ruler is what I had.)

I used the magnets provided to attach notes to the calendar to secure the pattern so that it doesn’t move.

I move the “magnetic ruler” along the pattern as I go to keep my place.

A handy idea from the Tropical Twister

I originally planned to use “natural” colored warp but after consideration, I decided to use double stands of thread for the warp. I only had enough natural for 1/2 the warp. I combined yellow & khaki for additional warp stands with additional warp of double brown and others with double orange. The best idea is to change colors while creating the warp. I however, didn’t plan out the color distribution until after I warped the various colors, so I had to address each color individually. As a friend said recently, “I like to do everything the hard and long way”. LOL, I think that’s me too. Today, I began dressing the loom. I completed about half of the warp. More tomorrow…

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