Squeee! New toys!

Tee hee, lookit what I got!

This is a used Ashford Traditional which I ordered off of eBay. It shipped (quite quickly, in fact) all the way from New Zealand. I love it. I love spinning on it. I am going to ply soon. I can't wait. I have already spun three and a half bobbins worth of yarn, and on the second bobbin I managed to spin yarn with no squiggles due to overspinning! I am quite proud of myself. One thing that totally helped me out (aside from my wonderful friends Regina and Debbie) was the book Start Spinning by Maggie Casey. This particular wheel has scotch tension, and I had no idea what in tarnation that was. Ms. Casey's book explained perfectly and allowed me to find the tension that was right for me. I love spinning!

Here's my other new toy. Meet Poppy! Isn't she cute? She is a Piccadilly Encore, and I think she's just fab. Her stock clothes are totally awesome, and her coloring is beautiful. I just need to figure out how to make her hair perfectly straight. All PiccaEs are packaged in a way that gives them this weird bend in their hair, and I don't like it. But she's such a cutie.

And here are all my girls together, one big happy family. Left to right, we have Hibou, Twyla, Dulcinea, Capucine, and Poppy. At the bottom we have two unazukin (the little orange and white guys) and two jizo. Jizo are protectors of women, children, and travellers; I happen to be all three of those things. :o) My dad made the light colored jizo on the left, and he gave me the gray colored one in the middle. My dad rocks.

Be sure to check out the link to Doris Chan's blog in the side bar, because she is a master crocheter and she absolutely cracks me up.

Next post: fibery goodness!

Guess what I got?

I'll give you a hint. It has a wheel on it, and it spins, and you use it to make yarn. Yes, that's right, I got me a spinning wheel! Woo hoo! I am terribly excited. It's a used Ashford Traditional, and I got it off of eBay. It is actually being shipped here from New Zealand, where they are made. I thought I wanted a Kromski Prelude or Sonata, but the Sonata was too expensive, and I hadn't tried a Prelude, and after perusing different groups on Ravelry and reading their posts, I decided that the Ashford was the one for me.

I just came into some spending money, and I wanted to buy something worthwhile, something that I would have for a while, something that would be useful or a keepsake. Not clothes, not food, nothing like that. So naturally, the first thing I ordered was another Blythe doll. How could I not? I should be receiving my new Can Can Cat early next month. Yippee! She'll be my first fantasy hair girl (for you non-Blythers out there, that means she has ridiculously colored hair; in this case, it's blue).

I was then torn between a loom and a spinning wheel. The looms that I was considering (rigid heddle looms) would have been more affordable at first, but I would have had to learn a whole new craft, and with that comes a boatload of all new supplies, and that costs a boatload of money. Once I've paid for my wheel, then all I really need to get is roving, and then I can make my own yarn, which in turn feeds my knitting/crocheting addiction. So the wheel made more sense for me, don't you think? And wheels are prettier than looms. ;o)

My dear neighbor and friend Regina let me try her wheel out the other night, and I actually did a pretty good job. I also used my new drop spindle that my dad made for me, and I really like it. Regina was spinning Suffolk wool. Many people apparently look down their noses at Suffolk wool, because the sheep are bred for their meat, not for their fleece, hence the fleece is really rough. However, it was really good for me because it is really sticky and very easy to draft. Drafting (pulling the yarn out and making it thin right before it gets twisted into yarn) is really difficult for me - I either don't draft it enough and end up with a huge slub, or draft it too much and it pulls right apart. The Suffolk made it easy. And of course, Regina being the generous soul that she is, gave me some Suffolk. Yay!

It's funny, if you had told me five years ago that I'd be knitting, crocheting, spinning yarn, and collecting Blythe dolls, I would have laughed in your face. And yet here I am. As I get older, I realize that I don't give two craps about what people think of me. I like who I am, and I am going to pursue my interests regardless of what others think of them. My friends like me for who I am, and I've made many good friends because of my interests and hobbies. What more could a girl ask for?

So what did you do this weekend?

I went to Maryland Sheep and Wool! Yippee! It was so much fun. The bus ride down wasn't bad at all (don't ask about the bus ride back; I-95 is bad). There were cool peeps on the bus, and we had a good time. I've heard many people say, via blogs and Ravelry, that Saturday was one of the busiest days anyone has ever seen at MDSW. I don't doubt it. The line to buy festival merchandise was 2 hours long (I did not wait in that one), and the line for food was half an hour long (I did wait in that one). I didn't wait in any lines to buy my yarn. Apparently, I was one of the only event-goers who didn't purchase any Tess or Socks That Rock. Oh well, I can't afford that stuff anyways.

So here are some pictures!

Everybody from Montco Sit n Knit knows these lovely ladies! My buddies Meg, Aileen, and Liz.

Here I am with Amy aka vismajor on Ravelry, and Jess herself!!

Here's me again with Kate, who I met at Loop when Doris Chan was there. Kate is fabulous, and I hope I get to see her again soon!

OMG, here's me with Lolly! She is way cool and is just as fantastic in person as she is in her blog, if not more so. Note the tree behind my head looks like a crown or an Afro. Either way, I'm stylin'.

Here's an angora goat! Goats are funny. Noisy, too.

Here are some nice alpacas. They sure are cute, but man are they dumb. Truly. Apparently the brown one on the left liked to kick, so we kept our distance.

Oh yeah, and I bought some yarn. Heheh. The first booth we came to was actually the one I wanted to visit the most, Cestari. I have purchased their yarn at the Lamb's Wool in Lansdale, and I really love it. It feels nice, it smells nice, I love the colors, and it is mostly cotton, which is good for me because wool is just too dang warm sometimes. The color above is Blackberry; I haven't decided what to make with that yet. The color below is Raspberry, and I think I want to make the Tussie Mussie sweater with it.

Below is some Peruvian Alpaca which I purchased from the Yarn Barn. It is soooo soft. Each skein has ~650 yards!! Holy moly, that right there is enough yarn to make a whole sweater. I'll be making another cardigan out of this, I just need to decide which pattern. Probably something simple.

And for my last purchase, we have some roving from Bartlett Farms. I said I wasn't going to purchase any roving, but each bag is eight ounces, and cost only $7! Resistance was futile.

Honestly, what post would be complete without pictures of my girls? Above is the newest member of our screwy little family. She is a Prima Dolly 2 Saffy, and I've named her Twyla. I made her dress and curled her hair; isn't she cute?

Here are all of the girls together. Hibou is on the left, Dulcinea in the middle, and Twyla on the right. Note that Hibou and Dulcinea are both sporting new tights, sneaks, and necklaces. The tights I ordered from Shopholican on Etsy, the necklaces are from ArtSchoolDropout on Etsy, and the sneaks came from Mimiwoo on eBay. Woo! This is fun. Really, it is.

Well thanks for stopping by, everybody! *mwah* <3

Guess who I met?

Yeah, that's right.

I was so close to him!

He is as amazing as he ever was. How I wish he could run again.

But man did he look tired. I didn't post the pics of Billy boy standing on the platform with Joe Hoeffel and Allyson Schwartz, with his mouth hanging open and him staring blankly off into the distance. He's been stumpin' hard for Hillary, and he averages 6 or 7 stops a DAY. That's a lot for a 61-year-old guy who's already led the most powerful country in the world for 8 years. But man, once he got that mic, he was off, and we hung on every word. He is truly a gifted speaker.

I still voted for Obama though. ;o)

OMG, how cute are my girls? That's Hibou on the left, a Prima Dolly Ashlette. She's sporting a newly-set coif, as her box hair was atrocious. Dulcinea got a wash too, but I decided to braid her hair, and damn, she looks cute! Stay tuned, as there may be other additions to my burgeoning Blythe family (I know most of you can barely wait). Oh, and I crocheted both of their dresses and made Dulcinea's hat too.

***

Is it me, or are a lot of people getting pneumonia lately? It's kinda scary. One of the teachers I work with has had it, and he's only 38 years old. The husband of one of my classmates has had it for two weeks, and he is only 30 years old! My dad's girlfriend has it too. I've never known so many people to get it like this, and just have it hang on. Yikes.

***

I'm really anti-war. Like big time. Especially the Iraq War, because it is senseless and we have been lied to like never before, and we've lost over 4000 American soldiers, countless thousands are still suffering physical and emotional pain, and not to mention the number of Iraqis that have died. What a travesty. However, that is not to say that I don't support our troops. And it is 100% outrageous that we are not taking care of our soldiers properly when they come home. Get a load of this article on CNN.com. Our soldiers, our countrymen and women, are coming home to this disgusting situation at Fort Bragg. This is what they get for serving our country and risking their lives for nothing? This is how we treat them? And you know this is only one of many, many situations like this, or worse. How can this happen? Seriously, it is all George W. Bush's fault. I'm serious. His lack of care and empathy permeates his entire administration, and they are all a bunch of emotionless, greedy drones, just like him.

Dude, the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival is THIS WEEKEND!! I can't wait! I am really going to try to not spend too much money. Really and truly. But all of a sudden, I feel the urge to knit shawls and stoles. And I don't have any fingering or laceweight yarn to speak of. Hmmm...

Talk atchas later. ;o)

Cuz ya can't, ya won't, and ya don't STOP

Cuz ya can't, ya won't, and ya don't STOP

Ya can't, ya won't, and ya don't STOP

AdRock, come and rock the sure shot

Seriously, who can resist a little Beastie Boys? Not I. One thing that I positively cannot stop doing these days is making clothes for Blythe dolls. I know most of you think I've really gone around the bend, but there is something so satisfying about finishing a project in two hours. And I don't know what it is about these damn dolls, but they are addictive. They really are. In fact, I ordered another one. Yes I did. So deal.

Here's Dulcinea modeling her new couture. Not bad, eh? I didn't use a pattern, but used the same formula in Monica Brown's C3 Crochet Crop Sweater that I made last year. It worked well, and I only had one false start before I got it right. That's really good for me.

Here's a close-up. The ribbon is glued on. No way in hell am I going to sew it own. These dresses are all made from the top down, and there is zero seaming. Yay for zero seaming.

This one is for my dad's Blythe doll, Bridget. Since he made me two spindles and a niddy noddy, the least I can do is clothe Bridget for him. Sheesh.

And last but not least, finished just this evening, is a dress for my soon-to-arrive doll, Hibou. She is a Prima Dolly Encore Ashlette, for those of you who are into that sort of thing. Hibou is the French word for owl. It is just a darn cute word, and since Blythes have big eyes, I figured it would suit her to a T.

I will get back to making practical things one day. WT is impatiently awaiting his sweater vest, and I'm really close to finishing the Sunday Market Shawl.

It got up to 70 degrees today, and boy does that make me happy. I raked and mowed the front lawn and tore out a bush and swept and Banana played in the dirt, which is really really good. I'm sick of princesses. I want my girl to play in the dirt and have fun doing it. It was good to be out in the fresh air, making my yard look nice.

WT has been doing contract work for more than a year. Yesterday he just heard that his position is going permanent as of April 16. It will be a little less money per month, but he gets paid time off, short and long term disability, life insurance, and myriad other benefits. In this day and age, I am so grateful that we are both gainfully employed, can pay our bills, have two cars that run, and a nice house to live in. I am grateful that we can afford to send our daughter to a good school. I am grateful for my husband who lets me buy Blythe dolls and go to fiber festivals. I am grateful for the hyacinths in my neighbor's yard, and the forsythias and daffodils in my yard. I am grateful for my family. I am grateful for spring.

Stuff for you to look at

So I actually finished some stuff lately! Pretty neat-o, huh? Below we have the Ribbed Lace Bolero by Kelly Maher. I used a little less than 2 skeins of Cotton Ease. I'm pretty happy with the fit, but it grew a fair amount as I wore it. I'm anxious to see what happens when I wash it and dry it - it's in the washer as we speak!

Next we have a little hat I whipped up for Dulcinea in about a half hour. I made it out of some leftover Debbie Bliss denim yarn that I had laying around. I think it's pretty cute! I made it up as I crocheted.

I also made up this pattern as well. This one took about 2 hours, as it is mostly single crochet, and I used a much smaller hook. The yarn is from France - I think it's La Droguerie. I forget the fiber content, but it's really nice. I got the yarn in a swap I did last year. I let my dad have this hat for his Blythe doll, Bridget.

Next we have a pom-pom hat for Blythe (yes, I know, but it gives me such a sense of satisfaction to finish three things in a weekend!). I got the pattern from the Blythe Kenner Yahoo! group. It is very easy, I just have to seam the back, and make and sew a pom-pom on the top. I am going to make a fisherman's sweater to go with it. I used Cestari's cotton/wool 70/30 yarn in the Mint colorway. I like it.

Last, but most certainly not least, we have the Sunday Market Shawl. The name of the designer still escapes me, but it's on Ravelry if you're interested. I love this yarn. Love. It. It's soft, and the colors are prettier in person. I'm making this on size 13 needles, so it's working up pretty dang quick! I'm close to dropping the necessary stitches and binding off. Can't wait. It will need a serious blocking those, as the sides are rolling like a mofo.

***

I made dinner for my family and a friend tonight, and it was lovely. I made a pretty tasty dinner last night too. I really notice a difference in my health and well-being depending on what I eat. When I eat like crap (such as loads of carbs and sugar), I never feel full and always want more, and I feel tired and yucky. When I eat healthy food, I can go for longer without eating, I don't snack as much, and I have more energy. This all seems so elementary, but I'm one of those annoying people that you can talk at forever, but I need to experience it for myself in order for it to really hit home with me.

So last night I made baked chicken with a little seasoning, sauteed spinach with garlic, sesame, and olive oil, and roast cauliflower with lemon, garlic, olive oil, and parmesan cheese. I usually hate cauliflower, but my friend Julie made this for me last week and it is so. yummy. Seriously. Tonight I made a pork loin with tarragon, mashed potatoes with sour cream and fresh chives (not healthy, but way freakin' tasty), and peas and corn. For dessert, we had ice cream with fresh strawberries and fresh blackberries. Yum. I have enough leftovers for lunch tomorrow.

I also exercised twice this weekend! Yesterday, I walked about 4 miles on the Schuylkill River Trail in Valley Forge National Park, which is lovely and peaceful (except when a train goes by across the river). I saw ducks and geese and cormorants, and heard spring peepers peeping away. The air was clean, the sun was shining, and it was great. Today, I went to the gym and worked out with weights. I didn't like it, but I know I have to do it. I much prefer to exercise outside, but when I'm pressed for time and the weather is yucky, the gym it is. Gotta do whatcha gotta do.

I only have 5 more classes left this semester! I can't believe how quickly it's gone by. I am thinking of taking a one-week class this summer; we'll have to see what the money situation is. The more classes I can get out of the way now, the better. Plus, the one in the summer is a French class, and I know I would enjoy it.

That's about it for now. Thanks for stopping by. Have a good evening, and I'll talk to you guys soon. I have to go do laundry. Wheeee. ;o)

Toys

Yay! I got my Labbit!

Eating his yummy popsicle. Cherry? Raspberry? We'll never know for certain.

What labbit doesn't enjoy some fresh grass?

He would be right at home at a Phillies game this summer. Hey! That gives me an idea...

He can wear his gas mask as we drive by the sewage treatment plant just off of I-95.

I had to pick up the Banana early today because her school let out at 11:30 am. It wasn't even snowing yet. Crimy. So we got home nice and early and what did I do? Laundry? No. Pay bills? No. Wash dishes? No. Clean the kitty litter? No.

I made Dulcinea a new outfit! How cute is that? I got the patterns from the Blythe Yahoo! group. I didn't even have to sew it, I just glued everything. I'm fairly happy with it.

'Kay, that's it for now. As you were.

I loves me some kitsch

Okay, so you should all know by now that I have a Blythe doll named Dulcinea. Here she is in all her glory:

However, I'm starting to find myself attracted to more than just Blythe. I love a lot of Japanese kawaii-type things. Below we have some more.
This here is a Labbit. He is designed by Frank Kozik and can be found on the Kidrobot website, which is really a hoot. Labbits come with four different items that you can stick in their mouths. I do love the popsicle.

Here is an unazukin. You can 'ask' them questions and they will 'answer' you by either nodding or shaking their heads. I just think they're cute, and there is a nearby company called Firebox which sells them for a reasonable price. You can also find them on eBay.

So yeah. I'm into dolls and toys. Am I regressing? Perhaps. But at least I'm regressing in a fun, safe way. And I'm still knitting and crocheting and bathing and going to work and taking care of my child and husband and cats, so I don't think it's time for an intervention just yet. ;o)

FOs, yarn, and Dulcinea

Woo hoo! I actually completed something! Take a look-see.

You probably recognize this as My So Called Scarf. I used two skeins of Araucania Nature Wool that I bought on sale about a year ago at A.C. Moore. The color is really lovely, muted, not too loud. This scarf also turned out to be softer than I thought it would be - what a plus! I like this stitch a lot, but my edges looked like crapola, which is why I edged it with one round of single crochet. I finished this at Stitch n Bitch last night. Can I tell you how good it was to see all of my friends? I missed them so these last 4 months.

Here we have the Tiramisu Baby Blanket, pattern by Alicia Paulson. This took a little over 3 skeins of Red Heart Soft Yarn in Off White. This truly is soft yarn. It's nice and squishy. I really enjoyed this pattern - it's mindless crocheting, but the result doesn't look mindless at all.

Here's how I broke my yarn diet. This is the Classic Elite Four Seasons Cotton to make Cathy Carron's Cabana Tee.
And here is the Casco Bay Sport from Halcyon Yarns. Can I tell you how dang nice the ladies are at this place? I had to call them up, and they were just as pleasant as could be. I will definitely be shopping from them again. I will be using this yarn to make Regina Rioux Gonazalez's Singular Tee.

Yum. Hempathy. I'll combine this with some Cool Blue Hempathy in my stash to make Edna Hart's Marly Boatneck. Can't wait! I think the blue and green will look really nice together.

Who can resist this face?

I know some of you probably think I've gone off the deep end, but there is something about playing with dolls that I guess I just never got out of my system when I was a kid. And I can knit clothes for Dulcinea too. And crochet them. It's all good. ;o)