Two by Two...

There are some things you only need to knit once...like the Brickless shawl (which I love to wear, but really did not enjoy knitting up for some reason =/).

There are other things you want to knit dozens of (hexipuffs! owl puffs!). Maybe it is the "puff" factor, and maybe not, but these 12 owl puffs, complete with crochet eyes and embroidered beaks,...

...are now happily living together in a mobile, which will hopefully entertain a tiny, adorable Sweet Pea 

when she looks up at it!

Other items are perfect when they are lined up two-by-two...especially if they have cotton-tails! Like these two...

...and these two...

...and these two!

Yeah, I don't know what they are looking up at either. They won't tell me. I have asked and asked, and they just keep silently staring up into the distance...

I do that, too, sometimes...especially when I am trying to remember something. I guess it makes me glad to know that I am not the only forgetful bunny in my house these days... Wait! I know what will help! I'll knit an ELEPHANT!!! Elephants never forget, right??? I'm going to cast on right away!

Yep, maybe I'll even knit two. Or a dozen. Who can tell? I hope you'll come back to find out!

Thanks for stopping by today, and Knit in Good Health!

Yarn! Glorious Yarn!...

Soft, squishy and handspun!

Yes, I know that tune is a song about food...from the musical Oliver! (1968)...but every time I touch my latest handspun, all I can think is how glorious it turned out. I mean, it is YUMmy!

I've spun a few kinds of fibers, some I know, some I guess about. This is one that I have all the components for...

...and the batt was so very "artsy!" (It's from my friends at That'll Do Farm, and their fiber is so very lovely!)

Add to that a shiny, new spindle (that matches!)...

...and the freedom I gave myself to just spin and enjoy it! The singles were a little thick here and thin there...

I actually ended up making fat, fiber cigars (technical term is "rolag," but mine are probably not proper rolags...I just grabbed a bunch of fluff and rolled it up before spinning from the end of the cigar),

and I spun and spun, until that spindle was VERY FULL!!!

Then I took that ball off the spindle and let it sit around for a few days (life does have a way of creeping in, here and there, doesn't it?). Eventually, I made a 2-ply, from the inside and the outside of the ball, and I only had one "moment" with that process, so I'll call it a success! Look how full the floofy yarn is on that spindle!

Now, I'm not sure that "floofy" is any kind of proper term for yarn, but it's all I've got. Well, not really...after soaking and snapping and hanging to dry, this yarn is floofy, and airy, and lovely, and scrumptious!!!

And it's mine! 158 yards of DK-to-worsted weight yarn, ready to be knit into something that is next-to-the-skin soft and luscious. Any suggestions?

Whatever I knit with this stuff, I'm sure I'll love it as much as I love this yarn...my best spin so far!

And now I'm back to the blue clouds... 

Yarn! Glorious yarn!

Me-rino and fluffy!

Batts, fresh from the farm-

Spun into yarn, so puffy...

Yep. I've got the fever. 

And there are your earworms for this glorious (but rainy) hump-day!

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit (or SPIN!) in Good Health!

Ready For His Close Up

"I'm ready for my close up...!"

This is what I heard from the other room. Since I randomly hear voices in my house (and in my head), I suppose I wasn't really paying enough attention. I think I was knitting. =/ 

"I'm ready for MY CLOSE UP!!!"

At this, I went to investigate, wondering who could be ready for a close up? The cats don't really enjoy it when I take close-ups, mostly because my hands are too busy with the camera to pet them, I think...and Mr. Pretty? He doesn't like photo taking of any kind. That's why most of my photos him look like they were rushed. They were. He's got a pretty quick getaway when my camera is involved!

"I'M READY FOR MY CLOSE UP, MRS. PRETTY!!!"

And there he was. No, not Mr. Pretty, but this guy.

O.M.Gosh. Seriously? I was knitting, you know...

"I know, but I'm ready for my close up. I think you should take one of me with the pattern..."

"Ooooh! That's a good one. Now one with me looking up, like I don't know you're there..."

"Yeah-heahhhh! That's it! Now one of my tail. I work out, you know!"

Yes. I can see that. 

"Man! You are good at this, Mrs. Pretty! Can you think of any more poses I'll need for my portfolio? I'm easily distractible, you know...is that a squirrel???"

And, with that, we were done with the photo shoot. So, I knit another bunny. It's what I do. 

Has anything been distracting you on this first day of spring? Whatever it is, I hope it has not taken you away from your knitting for too long...

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health!

PSA - Rabbits are easily distractible, and they are a distraction as well. With Easter coming, and a box to pack and send to grandchildren, I really cannot help myself. I think I have to knit another one (or two...or more!).

A Short(s) Post

Because when your boy sends you a picture, asking if you can make this...

...and you know that you can, even though you can't find a pattern really, this is what you crochet next:

If he is a really good boy, when he sees them, he puts them on IMMEDIATELY.

Mork is a really good boy, and has already made a request for a second pair, in red, white and blue...you know, for the 4th of July...lol! How can I say, "No," to the patriarch of this young family?

Right, I can't. So I will, I am sure, be making another pair.* "But," he says, "they could be a little roomier in the...ah...butt..." Yep. It was hard to gauge that bit without measuring your inseam, Son...we'll make the next pair a little larger there, and around the legs, and slightly longer too. "But right now, I really need a baby snuggle," said I, and then I got one. Bliss:

Four-year-old snuggles (and birthdays) are pretty great, too! So we got ourselves some of that as well. :)

Then, just like that, the weekend was over. It was time for Pop Pop and Gramma to go back to Ohio, and Peanut and Mork were going to the circus that day...she told us she wanted to see "the elephants juggle-ling!" I'm not sure that's exactly what she saw at the circus, but whatever she did see must have been full of excitement, because Mork sent us this pic of her passed out on the way home!

What a fun birthday weekend we had! We are still running on the fumes of all the fun we had, and the knitting and spinning continues...but I'll get to that next time. After all, I promised a short(s) post today! :o)

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health!

*If you would like your own pair of crocheted shorts, please do not ask me. You can check this guy out: TheSecurityBlanketCo on Etsy, and (for what it's worth) I do think that is a reasonable price. If you want to pay less, you could always learn to crochet and have them for the cost of the yarn. ;)

Spinning Thick and Thin

When you start to spin, the more seasoned yarn-makers will advise you to take your time, to park and draft, to spin a little every day and to relax. They will say things like, "Don't worry if it's not consistent," and, "You'll WANT to spin this kind of yarn in the future, and you won't be able to!," and, "Just relax. It'll come to you with practice." All of these things are true. 

I started spinning with a rough and heavy, cheap spindle from a "kit." The fiber included was rough and a bit "sheepy" for my taste, but what did I know? Maybe fiber was supposed to be like that. Still, I am an over-achiever, and I was determined to have perfect yarn, even if I had to park and draft at first (which I did...I think most spinners start that way). I don't need to tell you that my first attempts were not perfect...but they also weren't too bad. Yay!

Yeah, not perfect. That yarn became a cat toy, and I am totally ok with that. As a matter of fact, the cat with the toy LOVES it! So, there is hope even for the roughest and sheepiest of first yarns! 

Of course, with practice, my consistency improved, and most of my spinning was pretty thin...with 3 plies becoming a lace-weight yarn, like this one:

So, I know I can spin thin, and (like they all told me) I wish I could spin thicker, and a little Art-Yarn-ier, sometimes. Enter this beautiful Art Batt that I forgot I even had!

And it matches that new 3D printed spindle I just ordered, yay! 

Sooo, I've been working on this all week, while I rest from this one, which is decidedly thinner, but no less beautiful!

Thick and thin are now both in my wheelhouse - yippee!, and I am spinning just about every day, and OMGosh! Now that I've got the hang of spinning, and I have so many tools and fibers that I love, I want to spin all the time! (I have also learned how to properly wrap those Turkish spindles...oooh, pretty!)

Do you spin? Do you want to try? If you do, just remember to take your time, to park and draft, to spin a little every day and to relax. Don't worry if it's not consistent, you'll WANT to spin this kind of yarn in the future, and you won't be able to! Finally, just relax. It'll come to you with practice. :)

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit (and Spin) in Good Health!

Random? Hugs!

Because there are now two bunnies, and they love to hug each other...

but they are tired of watching Dollface eat in front of them.

They have asked for carrots. =/ Have you ever knit a carrot?

Yeah, me neither.

Thanks for stopping by anyway. Hugs to you, and Knit it Good Health!

Here Comes Peter Cottontail...

Here comes Peter Cottontail, hoppin' down the bunny trail! 

Hippity, hoppity, looking for a hug!

There she is, his brand-new bride, ready to stand by his side!

But she'd really like some arms and legs!

That's all I have to say about that, because (of course) I need to knit some arms and legs! And there is still more spinning to enjoy!

It's been a busy week around the Pretty house. Some fun, some notsofun, some just normal life. Status quo, as they say, and I'm ok with that. :) 

Remember to turn your clocks AHEAD tonight. It's time to spring forward, and go to bed early! 

Thanks for stopping by! Hugs to you, and Knit in Good Health!

And Pretty was Her Name-O

There was a gal who had some yarn, and Pretty was her name-o!

P-R-E-TT-Y, P-R-E-TT-Y, P-R-E-TT-Y, and Pretty was her name-o!...

Yes, she had some yarn...she had a LOT of yarn!...but apparently not enough, because she is suddenly making her own! Actually, I just got a new spindle, my first Turkish spindle, and it is very cool for a couple of reasons...

1. It was made on a 3D printer! What?!? I know!!! So, now I can make yarn, like yarnigans have been doing since the beginning of yarn-time, but my tools are very much of the 21st Century variety! So. Very. Cool.
2. It's a Turkish spindle, which means that the yarn (singles and/or plied yarn) comes off the spindle in a ready-made, center-pull ball! It's ready-to-eat yarn (in a sense), and I can 2-ply from both ends of the ball right away, or I can knit from a center-pull ball right away!
3. I get to pick my colors! After all, Turtle Made just puts the right color cartridge in, orders up the parts, and bam! Custom-made for Pretty!!! My first one has a turquoise shaft, and pink and purple arms...when it spins, it looks like this:

I've seen a lot of that lately! I'm currently spinning this sky-blue merino pretty fine, hoping for a 2-ply, fingering weight yarn...and after the first 2 ounces, 

I am pretty sure that's what I'll get! Of course, with 2 ounces on the spindle, which already weighs about an ounce, my thin singles are coming apart more than I'd like under the weight, so I will soon take this center-pull, "turtle" (which is one name for the center-pull ball created by a Turkish spindle) off my spindle and start on the other half of the braid. I am actually really looking forward to that! 

(Psst! You know what else? I ordered another spindle just the other day...gah! I love these 3D printed spindles!!!)

In Knitting Knews, I'm still working on some ziggety socks,

and I've cast on a bunny!

After all, it's nearly Easter! This year, I WILL KNIT A BUNNY!!! (Or two...or 25...you know...)

Are you knitting a bunny this year? Whether your answer is yes or no, thanks for stopping by, and...

Knit in Good Health!