Saturday, March 03, 2007

Finger Puppets, Moon, Spinning

This evening was a total eclipse of the moon, which was SO cool! We didn't get to see the whole thing, but I did manage to get a picture when it was about 3/4 finished:


Gorgeous, isn't it? Whenever I see things like this, I wonder what it must have been like for people in the very-distant past (and the non-modern cultures of today) to not know about how, when, and why things like eclipses happen. I feel so fortune to live when and where we do.


On to other things, my Mom sent a package and included these finger puppets for the kids (shown by Ryan):

The second one has a blanket on its back with some additional colorful stitching.

Aren't they cute? I'm just amazed at how intricate they are. All those little bumps! They're little bobbles, and the heads and necks are stuffed to keep them upright. So cute!! I have no idea where they came from, but they sure are being enjoyed. Thanks, Mom!


And now for the lace knitting, I'm having some trouble with my stitches in the Diamond Madeira section of my Shetland Tea Shawl. I'm hoping someone with more experience can help me out!


The actual making of the stitches is no big deal, it's the way they're not sitting symmetrically that's driving me batty.
And here's how it looks without all the scribbling:

So is this just the way it is, or am I doing something weird? My decreases on the right side are ssks, and the left ones are k2togs (right and left as knitted, as in where the arrows are pointing--NOT as in right-leaning and left-leaning).


And here's a little beaded pendant I made in January:

I put the pin cushion in there for scale--this piece is an inch across. I'll probably put a jump ring on there and put it on some ribbon for a necklace or something.

I bought the pattern and kit from the Beadles, the newly-enlarged bead store in Broken Arrow. I had a horrible time choosing which kit to buy--they had a bunch of really lovely ones! On another note, I'll be teaching how to make Abacus bracelets (also known as row-counting bracelets) there in April.


Now for the spinning portion of our program, here's my latest effort:


The color isn't quite right, but I'm using a daylight lamp 'cause it's 9:45 P.M. and dark outside.

The fiber is a Cotswold cross and I'm was shooting for a lace-weight to fingering-weight yarn, and I think it came pretty close! It's not terribly even, but I'm definitely getting better. I'm trying to figure out what to make with it. I got 310 yards out of the 4 ounces I started with so I'm pretty happy.

4 comments:

Päivi, Lankakomero said...

Thank you for visiting my blog! I like your Fir Cone Three-Quarter Shawl, its shape is clever and your spinnigs are lovely! I'm also planning to start learning to spin, cause I have couple of kilos Finnish lamb's wool I got from my friend, but I haven't got a spindle or wheel yet.

Anonymous said...

Maybe try wrapping your YO's the other way. You might have to knit into the back of them to keep them open. That's my best guess.

Anonymous said...

I looked at it again. I'm probably wrong. I'm sure there is some stitch manipulation that would make them more symmetrical, but I'm not sure what it is.

Spike said...

Try SKP for your right-leaning decrease--the mechanics of the stitch more nearly mirror the SSK.

To do an SKP, SLIP the first st purlwise, KNIT the next st, then PASS the slipped st over the knitted st.

Best of luck; the STS is on my never-ending list of wannado's.

Spike