I hope everyone had a lovely Mothers Day. I was able to get in some knitting and spinning time and finished up this lovely merino and silk fiber..........Dark Sweet Cherries from Three Waters Farm


And then I began pulling apart another braid that I go to use with it. Scottish Landscape.. I broke the braid into 2 color groupings and will spin them separately. Now I am on the look out for a sweater I can knit up for my littlest girl with the main color being the cherries and stripes of the other 2 color groupings. I think it will make a very cute sweater! I am spinning about a fingering weight......so any ideas on sweater patterns? Please share!




 We drove to Canada to drop Emily off on Saturday. And my car knitting yielded this very funky sock! I love it and will probably gift it to one of my girls who love wearing such colors! When I was in Texas I was able to go to Mad Tosh Yarn Shop and of course they are a store devoted to all things Tosh! That is where I found this colorway, Mansfield's Garden Party. I thought it was different and not something I would normally buy but it made me smile at a time when life was stressful so it came home with me! I'm so glad it did because it is a lot of fun to knit with! One sock is done and I just cast on the other. I used the fish lips kiss heel for the first time and I think I really like the fit of it. Ravelry notes


On Monday I resolved to get back to exercising and headed out for my first run in months. It felt so good to get moving again! My body is protesting but I am determined to get back into the habit of my early morning runs......which are really more like jogs and sometimes fast walks.......but as long as I'm moving I figure it's good! Loki my little dog is loving it too. He has no problem doing 3 miles with me and I like the company! Some days Hannah Grace joins me as well and she loves running with Loki!


I'm joining Ginny today in the Yarn Along and looking forward to seeing what is on everyone's needles! Happy Knitting!!!

Let's talk socks! Does anyone else have a love hate relationship with sock knitting? Am I the only one that is such a loose knitter in the round that most patterns come out too big for me? I can't be the only one can I? I finally figured out that I always need to just knit the smallest size......but why can't I remember that? Sock gauge is crazy stuff! I have ripped out many a sock because what was supposed to fit a woman's medium foot looks like it would fit a dinosaur foot! So I am writing this today to help me to remember that whatever the pattern might say.......just knit the small! All that being said I do love hand knitted socks and my newest cast on (since I took my own advice) is coming along quite well! It's Smokestack and I picked up the yarn last year at the Endless Mountains Fiber Festival. It's squishy and soft and I really like how the colors are coming together.



I also cast on this week for Andee's Penny Infinity Scarf. And I guess I really am a lose knitter because I ran out of yarn......wait for it.........5 rows from the end. Insert loud sigh here. So I am waiting for another skein to arrive. I used her modifications for just one skein of mad tosh lite and even went down a needle size to get gauge but still came up 5 rows short. And no I am not ripping back......it is a lovely knit and I really enjoyed it so I will wait patiently for the other skein to arrive and finish it the right way........I think it's going to be beautiful and something I wear quite often.


I did some spinning this week as well and you can check out what is on my wheel in a post I did earlier this week here. I am on my second bobbin and can't wait to get it plyed and bathed.....such fun!

This week is a busy one as Emily gets ready to head back to Canada for another 6 months. I have really enjoyed having her home this past month. All us girls headed out to Trader Joes yesterday for a fun afternoon of shopping. Having all my girls with me is getting rarer and rarer and so I do treasure those times.

It seems like spring is finally arriving in our area and there are buds on the trees and the grass is getting green. I was beginning to think winter would never leave! I'm looking forward to taking the knitting outside as the kids play and soak up some sun! Joining Ginny today over at Small Things for the weekly yarn along.

Knitting is such therapy. Casting on and starting new projects is so exciting and it must be just the adventure of it all that calms the mind and settles the thoughts. I"m finding spinning to do the same thing. Getting started on a new braid and watching it become yarn can be so soothing. I am finding I am not a technical spinner at all. I like to just dive in and let the fiber do it's thing. I do tend to spin on the thinner side and I like the challenge of keeping it balanced but I don't make samples and I don't really think much about what it will become. Maybe as I spin more I will get there....but I really just enjoy the process as it goes.
I jumped into a SAL on a group on Ravelry and it is so fun! I am learning a lot as other people prep and spin their braids. It's fun seeing how the same braids could look so different!
I started this braid from Three Waters Farm in a merino silk blend called Dark Sweet Cherries. It's coming along beautifully......almost half done now. The other braid is Scottish Landscape on the same blend. I think I am going to spin each braid in to a 2 ply and then find a 2 color shawl where I can use both colorways together. The colors are amazing!




I was also able to cast on 2 new projects over the weekend. The Penny Infinity Scarf  and also Smokestack socks. I did not make much progress yet but plan on getting some time today to get things moving!

I had a nice surprise the end of last week when a friend in one of my Ravelry groups congratulated me on having my gradient handspun yarn featured on the front page of Ravelry. I was so surprised! And excited! So many sweet people left comments on my project page and it was really neat to know others thought my yarn was special too!

My days have been full with Emily back home for the past month....we have enjoyed knitting and spinning side by side again. In one week she will be back in Canada and we will be talking knitting and horses and life long distance again. I know she is happy there and doing what she loves so I guess I will smile and be happy for her! School studies are winding down and the kids are spending more and more time outside again and this momma is taking a deep breath and looking around at the mess that winter has made inside the house. I know I need to dig in and do a deep spring cleaning around here but I have no motivation for it at the moment. The sun is shining today after days of rain and I'd rather follow the kids outside to play or at least sit and knit and watch them!

I'm hoping to find more time to write here now that the kids learning activities are winding down....I've said that before so don't hold me too it!