What's Happening, 7/1/15

Not much to report, other than I'm now hooking up my FOURTH Piquant within the last two months. It's such a nice pattern, and I've worked it up in an assortment of yarns or hooks, and turns out nice each time. I did one for a friend (who I thought was getting married--but now looks like she isn't :( ), another for a co-worker who just got married, and lastly one for myself (using two yarns given by two friends). The fourth one? Yeah. I cannot control myself and am justifying hooking this one up as it's using up some remnant yarn, and also keeping my hands busy until I find just the right NEXT sweater project.

Speaking of NEXT sweater project, I was thinking of working up my version of Anzen. I dickered about getting the pattern, as I had to pay for the entire copy of a quarterly magazine, and thought I'd wing it. But today, I broke down and ordered a digital copy, just to see how the pattern is set up. I may or may not follow it to a tee.

 Tiffany, source of the bunbun fiber.

The yarns I will use are three. One yarn is the cormo-bunbun detailed this blog post. The other yarn is some Jacobs Wool, from my friend Joanie's sheep, a photo can be found on this blog post. And the third yarn involved will be some black wool I bought while in Amsterdam a few months back.

A glimpse in the barn, right before sheep shearing (2014).

This sweater has a lot of good intentions, given the personal connections I have with the friends and their fiber, and their animals.  There's an old Yiddish proverb, "Man makes plans and God says HAH!" So while I am intellectualizing that this might be my next project, who really knows what will happen after I am done with the current Piquant I am working on--stay tuned. I am a few days away from finishing up this fourth one, and hopefully I'll steam/block all four and get a nice photo dump.

What's Happenin'...

ETA: Photos added, 7/1/15

Been a bit under the weather; however, a few things have been in the works for me, fiber-wise:

And I did allude to a bit of the bun-bun cormo fiber in this previous blog post; however, here's the next chapter in what the yarn looks like carded and spun into yarn):

A friend from Ravelry kindly drum-carded the rabbit fiber given to me by one friend...

 Here is Tiffany in all her glory! (The source of the fiber in the next pic.)

 ...with the cormo fiber given to me by another friend...

... and spun it up into something truly wonderful for me. 

We've joked about what to name this particular skein, and my friend has the same twisted (ha!) mindset as me, and created this label for it, for my stash on Rav:

I've been tinkering with what I'm calling an entrelac granny square, though to be honest, the foundation of four squares (in TSS) is worked in the round into a ch6 ring like you would a granny, entrelac around, short row TSS triangles to square it off, then "grannied" around. I've done a few rounds of "grannying," and now I'm contemplating shifting back to entrelac. Just to toy with it.

ETA: As of 7/1/15, this granny/entrelac item is still languishing in my WIP pile. I love the dynamic colors of it, and hope to pick it up soon, if/when the mood strikes.

Another friend wanted me to write a pattern for what I have thus far, and I hate, hate, hate writing patterns. I do freeform to avoid reading other patterns and for me to problem-solve or trouble-shoot as I go (that's where I find the fun, the brain activity involved in making the piece "work"). So I haven't finished what I'm doing, but managed to shoot off a picture as well as how I got the foundation squares started and the first and second rounds of entrelac written out. Sloppily. This is the same friend who so graciously offered to help write out the pattern for my interlocking rings "Celtic Knot" granny square.

I have no idea ultimately what this entrelac granny will become, and have no designs on it evolving beyond a passing fancy at this point. In the last five years, I have started all manner of afghans and mid-way through, the bloom is off the rose, creativity stifled or I grow incredibly bored (see my baby blanket of doom in my projects section on Ravelry if you're brave), and then start working on something else to juice my creativity.

If I work on big chunky yarn with big hooks, I switch it up to thread crochet work and lace; if I'm doing too much traditional crochet, I switch to Tunisian/Afghan, and then there's always my passion for entrelac.

Another (now-former) friend (I am truly blessed in the friend department, both on and offline friendships), gave me some new yarn, DPNS, and a pattern and is convinced she will get me to KNIT socks. Please peruse my projects section and see the two partially finished KNIT clapotises which are languishing, begging to be completed. I've hibernated a few of my projects today, and hope to at least finish the Noro Lily Clapotis in time for my trip to Europe in the Spring.

ETA: Re: Clapotis, to see how, "Gee, that escalated quickly," click here.

So getting back to the thoughts of getting me to KNIT socks. Sure. I'd love to do so. However, ANOTHER friend a few years back gave me a book on crocheted socks, and I figure I owe it to myself to finally attempt it, even a small pair for my niece, so I can get the mechanics of it down, because, I want to attempt something else, naturally, a crochet version of something else I saw, which of course, was knit. (If you're curious, as of today, it's at the top of my queue.) ETA: 7/1/15, I did manage to try out socks, and my first sock pattern I tried was Shirley's Socks.

Also in my immediate future: Fat Bottomed Bag

Daydreaming about: Converting "African Adventure" into a crochet version.

The Weekly Update: As Promised, Loads Of Pix

Surprise surprise. Another bag in the making. I'm addicted to these little bags; and this one

will be the littlest (gauge-wise).

Features: Shortrow pinwheel, puff stitch, entrelac, more puff stitch... it'll be

a sampler bag, I suppose.

And no, you can't have the pattern! Why? Not because I'm a bitch...

I am too lazy and too busy (if that makes sense! I'm a conundrum, so what!)

to sit and count stitches and remember what I did where.

Do what I do: I sit and count stitches and figure things out on my own.

A close up of the puff stitch rows melding into the entrelac... my heroin... my

sweet, sweet, crochet addiction.

Here are three skeins of sari yarn I purchased through one of the "Greater Good" sites,

I believe the Hunger Site. Each skein is predominantly red, but distinctly different from

each other. I hope to make more bags with these (and alternate with black wool), and

I might sell them in my Etsy shop... should I ever get off my duff and

set my shop up! Stay tuned on that one!

Here's my clapotis in all its mishapen glory. This was started with the intent to:

1. Be a learning experience, as I never truly learned knitting terms;

2. Be a learning experience, as I never truly learned how to follow KNIT patterns;

3. When completed, I will forward it onto the Red Scarf Project.

As you can see, I am about to start my seventh repeat (I'm currently on row six, the row where

you add the extra PM at the end of the row...)

I like the project, hate hate hate the yarn (Caron Simply Soft); though it is a bit

more manageable on metals. First I tried it on my rosewoods, then bamboos... and a friend

loaned me her metals, and so far it's not as snaggy/splitty/whateveritis!

I hope to have this finished by the end of the month for the WIPs Wrestlemania*.

I get the greatest stuff in the mail from friends I've never laid eyes upon!

I got this great bundle of bunny fiber from my friend Logan.

Isn't she sweet? Isn't the fiber just yummy!?

I don't have carding combs, so I think I'll go to PetCo and buy two grooming brushes

for cats, and I think I can blend some of this with some of my Cormo

that another friend sent me.

I cannot wait to play with this fiber!

I'd be remiss if I didn't acknowledge her Royal Bunnehness, Tiffany.

Isn't she gorgeous?

*Speaking of WIPs Wrestlemania, I am hosting a party tomorrow TODAY (current time: 2:32 a.m.). I finally sat down around 1:50-something after hours of food prep. I always fuss like this for parties, and I go through a period of dread as the date of the party gets closer. For me, a good lot of the fun is in the planning.

I love my friends, love the idea of the party, but something clicks in with me, and for a few moments I think to myself, "Shit, I got myself in too deep." But that's my fear of failure always on the sidelines ready to devour me and my best laid plans. I also believe it's this fear which is keeping me from setting up my Etsy shop etc, or being more aggressive about going to a business mentor to set up a business plan for both, the Etsy shop and my tour/yarn crawl gig.

My problem is, once I start the food prep, I can't stop. I AM ALL ABOUT THE SMALL DETAILS. I love making finger sandwiches and canapes. I broke down and bought aspic cutters, so every single veggie has been cut in a shape. The menu so far:

Dates stuffed w/pistachios, blue cheese and wrapped in bacon (to be broiled);

"Pigs in a blanket" (perverted to look like genitalia--Good times);

Frozen horsd'oevres;

Watermelon salad (w/cuke, onion, red wine vinaigrette, fresh mint and minced gaita olives);

Tuna salad (pate style) w/sprouts on white bread w/bread and butter pickles (bread, of course cut with a festive cutter);

Goat cheese, pickled beets and mache on brioche "buttons" (with little heart cut outs of beet as garnish);

Cheddar, apple and bacon on toaster waffles;

Calabrese styled sandwiches of pesto and sliced tomato and mozzerella on baguette;

Cream cheese and olives;

Lavash pinwheels w/Bulgarian eggplant spread and hummus and olives;

Veggie frittatta;

Sangria-champagne punch;

Iced coffee/white russians;

Thai Iced Tea;

Iced tea w/mint.

I just need to assemble the sandwiches and get the frittatta in the oven by noon, and hope I have time to take a hot hot bath.