another vacation week

There seems to be a pattern that I only blog when I have time off of school. When I am in school I barely have time to knit let alone blog about it! After this week I have ten weeks left and then I will get a certificate as an LPN and sit for the boards! It is pretty exciting after all of the work I have done to know that the end is in sight. I am waiting to hear if I got accepted into the RN program for next year (I really think I will- I hope!) but I am planning on working as a nurse this summer and part time next year too.

OKay- on to the good stuff! I bought this yarn on e-bay a few weeks ago. It is a silk/cashmere blend that I am hoping to make into a montego bay scarf. I made one this last summer with the sea silk and I love it and I know that my sister-in-law will too. She gets a scarf every Christmas and I am really ahead of the game this year!

Speaking of e-bay- does anyone else have this problem of buying things on ebay even though you didn't mean to? I just can not look unless I plan to buy- I'm weak when it comes to deals on ebay. I am currently expecting 3 skeins of Koigu in the mail any day now.

I have been making progress on my knitting projects. It's slow but it is progress. The Morehouse merino sweater for my son is missing sleeves so I hope to knock this out quickly. It looks like it will be for next year or the year after as it almost fits me!

I started another pair of socks too. I am using the Noro sock yarn for the first time. I read alot of other knitters opinions on Ralvery- Did I tell you I got my Ralvery invitation? Pretty exciting! I haven't had much time to organize myself there but I am now a member and come summer I will be more active...anyway... I agree with most folks that the yarn is a little rough. It is also quite thin but the colors knit up well and it is making a nice fabric. I anticipate that it will get softer with washing.
This is the beginning of my Gathered Pullover from IK. I have a few more inches on it now but I am already thinking I may not like the rolled edge. I also had to choose a size that was too big because the next smaller size would be much too tight. I still have to follow that patterns on sweaters and not make too many independent changes- that's for later in life.
This photo is a FO! Socks I made for a friend who has been really helpful this year taking my kids ALOT while I am in school!
On a final note some great friends and a really special family just had a new baby. WELCOME WENDELL!!!!

A big change!!

This feels sooo good! I have been thinking about cutting my hair for a while and it finally drove me so crazy, getting in the way, that I did it! I wanted to grow my hair so long that it was Mermaid style (see Sandi's blog). It got there and then I promptly chopped it off. I may even go shorter next time.



It is really hard to take a picture of yourself. I took at least twenty shots that made me question what I really look like- they were so awful! This was the best I could do.



Isn't it funny how we knit so many things and then go out and buy something someone else knit? It is supporting our knitting community. My husband may hang me for buying something handknitted when I have a room full of yarn! It's cute though, isn't it? I saw it at least six months ago and passed on buying it, but when i went back to the store it was still there, so I knew it was meant to be. It even works with the new hair.

FO's!!!

This is the second one of these headbands I made out of this nice merino from Uruguay. It is also the second one I gave away. I now have to make one more for me because I really like it! It is a pattern from Knitty and it is a great first cable project- it has a few different stitches and it is easy to see how they work.



These mittens are made out of some handspun I bought on ebay a year or two ago. I am really trying to stash bust right now as I have the winter yarn buying bug! I feel better about adding to the stash if I use some up at the same time. The wool was a heavy worsted and I knit it on size 7US DPN's so it is a nice, tight, warm mitten. I love the bright colors for this time of year too. We have so much snow here in Vermont that it is hard to get around the yard or driveway. I went for a snowshoe yesterday and my feet were sinking 2-3 feet even with the snowshoes on! That's alot of snow!!!

I finally finished theses socks that have been on the needles for almost a year. The yarn is a soft wool dyed by Mama E in a colorway she dyed exclusively for the store I bought it from, Knit Happens in Alexandria, VA. I love the orange and bright purple blend of color.
I have been needing new socks as I had a hard winter where four pairs got holes in them and I am not a darner. I did find a tutorial online but I have yet to use it so the pile just grows. I am gearing up to cast on for a new pair but I have alot of other projects in queue right now.


I started this last night and it is a big stash buster. I bought a sweater kit from Morehouse Merino years ago for my son and I am finally making it! The yarn is discontinued now- I can see why- it has alot of hay particles in it. There are too many to pick out as I knit so I will just do a big pick when I am finished. It is soft though and the pattern is nice and easy for me to knit.



I am on a week long break from school and it is much needed. I have had so much work to do lately that I felt like I may have a nervous breakdown. I am looking foward to decompression with alot of knitting and spinning so I hope to have fun things to show you by next week!!

Handspun!!!

Two posts in a month- it's almost unheard of for Big Yarn Mama! I just had to show off my new spinning wheel. I have been breaking it in- every Saturday is spinning day. Here it is...


(I have got to figure out how to turn the pictures!! Sorry!)

Please ignore the mess in the background. By the time I finish my Saturday spinning the kids have efficiently demolished the house. They are nothing if not thorough!!! The following pictures are all of the yarns I have spun up since Christmas.





It is amazing how unique each roving turns out to be and how you never know how the yarn will actually end up. I have a few single color rovings but I am not as inspired to spin those yet. I would like to mix the single color with the variegated and try some new ideas I have. I just have to get up the courage and get over the fact that I may not like what I create.

And, Just so you see that I have been knitting... these mittens are made out of handspun. I have whipped out four pair this month. I spent a day this week cleaning and organizing the stash (no small project!) and now I am on a mission to finish all the WIP's I found. I did a little ripping and so far a little finishing. I'll keep you posted!

catch up

I have so much going on and very little extra time for myself that the blog has just taken a very last page in life. I have been expanding my fiber pursuits these days and doing alot of spinning on MY NEW WHEEL!! I got a Kromski Minstrel for Christmas from the kind Bill at Copper Moose. He is local in VT and was recommended by three different friends. I did have a good experience with him and my wheel is great. It has taken a little adjustment to get used to as it is a double drive and double treadle and feels quite different than the Louet S15 I was using but I am getting the hang of it. Of course I don't have pictures yet but one thing at a time.

These are a few of the Christmas knits I made for my family this year. The pink skirt was for my daughter in her favorite color which she promptly told me she won't wear. I am looking for a new pink-loving recipient! It was a pattern I got off knitty and even though I made a size six and she is three it seemed a little tight for her.
The vest was a request from my son. He actually wanted the whole thing knit out of the bright green color in the stripe. I did spin that yarn out of some merino from Linda at Sunset fibers. She does really nice work and has a fiber of the month club. I decided it was just too bright for me to make a whole garment out of so he got a Charlie Brown stripe instead. It fits his personality to have that stripe. He is being a good boy and loving his new knitted gift!
The hat was my husband's christmas gift and it was the best spun yarn I have made. This was some merino from the Yarn Wench and I created that pattern. It is a cabled brim and just stockinette top. He has worn it every day since I made it which is nice as he is not into the handknits quite as much as me! He also got a pair of socks but alas, no picture of those either.

I have made a few pair of mittens out of my handspun and they are a great project for a small amount of yarn or for mixing yarns. I also have the Book of Yarn that has taught me about what I am making and how to use it and I got the Spin to Knit book for a gift also. It is a little more basic but it has info about people I know so that part is neat.

Nursing school is intense but i love it so much. After eight years of being a stay-at-home mom it is awesome to have my own schedule and routine. My family and friends have been so supportive that I give out a big thanks to them!!

I hope to be back soon with some fun fiber photos.

one month later

I guess my blog will be monthly while I am in school. It is hard to find time to make dinner let alone do anything like blog about knitting. I am still finding time to knit though. It is what saves me during a stressful week!
I just unearthed this vest that I finished knitting about two years ago. It was supposed to get a zipper front but I hated the way the collar looked and it was kind of itchy to wear zipped up so it sat and sat. I got motivated to finish it up so I took out the neck and just crocheted a simple edge up both sides and around the neck. It is drying now and then I have one of those silver clasps I will sew on and voila!- a finished project. It is one of the great things about WIP's. I feel like I got a lot done in a short time!
I don't know if I will actually keep the vest but if not it will make a nice gift and Christmas is coming.
Up next is another WIP that I have been slowly working on for at least six months. I loved the Koigu yarn but I wanted to see it instead of having it on my feet so...

It is a twisted rib pattern from Mountain Colors that I got at last years NH S&W Fest. I just finished it this morning and now it is blocked and drying. yeah-a new fall scarf.
These are some simple wool/silk garter stitch scarves for an upcoming craft fair. I used the J Knits yarn and I really like it. I stopped by my LYS one day for a pair of needles and came out with a hundred dollars worth of yarn. It happens.

This last photo is a project for a good friend who is having a baby soon. I was making it for someone else but you know how as you are making something it tells you who it belongs to? that is what happened here and I am glad. This way I will see it on the new baby. The yarn is Noro Kochoron which is great to work with and it is a simple vest.

There is not much more to show except a room full of half finished project and a desk full of books. School is awesome. I love all that I am learning and my clinicals are great. I am at a nursing home right now and i didn't realize how much i would love it. I could do this for a job when I am done. I have three more weeks in the first semester and I am really looking foward to a much needed break. It is amazing how much i get done when my time is really limited although if you walked into my house it is apparent what I have let go of!
I was sad to have missed Rhinebeck but it is fun to look at other blogs and read about it. This is why I am in school- to get a job and not worry how much I spend on yarn and fiber!

bad blogger

I have become a spinner!! I love doing it and I get started on a color and I just go until I finish. This is what I made yesterday and this morning. I got this roving at the VT sheep and wool festival last weekend. I love going and besides the vast amount of wool that I came home with I had other exciting things happen. I met some blogging friends in person!! Pippi Knee Socks was there selling her beautiful hand dyed fiber and yarn and Amy from Spunky Eclectic was right next door to her. Amy is the first person I bought roving from and I happened to have the first yarn I had spun with me so it was neat to show it to her and meet her.
My good friend Brigette was there with her handspun and beautiful felted containers. She won first prize for the vase she entered at the festival. Pretty cool.

Here is a picture of my new identity which has taken up most of my time for the past month...nursing student Heather:

I love school and have been learning really great things. It has been a big adjustment for my family to have me gone most of the week. It is like having a full time job without the pay and homework! I do get a little knitting done on the side but not as rapidly as I used to! Here are the promised picutres from my vacation knitting back in August. I finished the motego bay scarf from IK. It was the first time using Handmaiden Sea Silk and as nice as it is to wear and feel it was kind of a pain to knit with. I do love how the scarf came out. I still haven't decided if i want to go with the fringe or not- we'll see.

This little bag is now felted along with three others just like it in different colors. I love things i can whip out in a day- it made for good vacation knitting and now I have a few things made for my fall craft fair.

I made a quick pair of socks out of Noro which I traded with a friend for a massage. She is a great friend who i only see for short periods of time each summer when we go to the island so I wanted her to have something nice to take home until next year!

This last photo is something I am so proud of. My first cabled project! I was afraid of cables and now that I tried it I can't belive it has taken me so long. I am already half way through another hat! This one is made out of some handspun I bought at the NH sheep and wool. I am keeping this project for myself! I want to become braver with the cabling but most of them seem to be on charts and I haven't started with charts yet. They give me anxiety to think that I have to follow them when usually I am knitting with three young'uns running around. We'll see.

I have the body finished on my cardigan sweater and will start on the sleeves this week. I hope to have a finished object to show you soon.