Yummy Bamboo Goodness

Today Rori and I went to the Fiber Christmas in July in Kellyville, Oklahoma. I managed to come home with an item or two (and I even managed NOT to buy a whole bunch of other stuff I wanted).

That 8 ounces of hand-dyed bamboo fiber is sitting on top of a piece of hand-dyed wool fabric for rug hooking. Yes, I also hook rugs although I haven't done much lately. The frame/scissors/hook were all just too tempting for my boy, although now that he's 3 1/2 he might be a little better about staying away from them. Yeah, right.

I also bought some lavender sachets, but since my blog doesn't have Smell-O-Vision, I didn't take a picture of them.

Here's a gratuitous close up of the bamboo:


Mmmm, isn't that just luscious? Of course I'm somewhat intimidated by it since I've never spun with it, but you gotta start somewhere, right?

They had a drawing for a new spinning wheel, too, but I didn't win it. That's probably for the best since I'm still learning on my Fricke. And loving it.

While we were at the fair I tried a Babe wheel, which is made of PVC with a wheelchair wheel as the drive wheel. It's very clever, but the take-up on it was insane. *I* couldn't spin on it, but I know enough about spinning wheels that if I sat down and played with it, I could spin with it after an hour or so. Probably.

There were so many things I'd have liked to buy, but of course economics and questions like "what do I do with it now that I've bought it" come into play. I've been patting myself on the back for coming home with as little as I did, although it was hard.

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I'm down to three more repeats on the edging of my Shetland Tea Shawl, so hopefully I'll have it finished by the time the fifth clue comes out for the Mystery Shawl. As it's getting down to the wire I'm finding that I keep putting it down--almost like I'm mourning the end of the project, and trying to delay it. I've never felt that way before. It's always been a race to finish a big project, like "ah, finally, now I can start another (big) project!" And while I really want to get to that point with this shawl, it's just odd. It's going to be a stunning shawl when it's finished.

Of course once it's done I need to figure out what I'm going to concentrate on to finish next. I don't have a shortage of UFOs, of course.

Now's as good a time as any for a needle check, so here goes:

1. Hanging Garden Stole. Approximately 75% complete, maybe. I'm on the 10th repeat of perhaps 12, and then I'm going to pick up stitches all the way around and add an edging.
2. Rose of England Shawl. This on is closer to about 15% complete, and I'm thinking I might enjoy it a lot more if I switch it onto bamboo needles rather than the quick KnitPicks needles they're on now. It's not quite the right finish for the yarn, although Bamboo might be too grabby. I might have to break down and try some of the Addi Lace needles that I've heard people rave about.
3. Sweater for me using Bernat Satin yarn that I won a while back. The sleeves need about two more inches, then I'll have to make some decisions about the body of the sweater.
4. Bag out of recycled silk yarn from my Aunt Louise. I'm not going to take a picture yet, but maybe next week or so. I'm making it up as I go along, although I do have a rough kind of plan.
   
5. Socks, also using yarn from Aunt Louise. It's too dark right now to take a good picture, but maybe tomorrow. Just plain stockinette, and I'm thinking about a short-row heel instead of my usual eye-of-partridge heel flap. I'm definitely going to do a short-row toe on these like on the Victorian Lace Sox.
6. The Mystery Shawl, which is finished through clue four. Now I just have to wait ever so impatiently until Friday for the next clue, and the reveal of the theme. I had to stop getting any of the list mail except for the special notices because all the panic was driving me crazy. I guess some people don't get enough drama in their lives and so feel the need to create some. Of course if they'd just read it would help.
   
7. And I don't think this counts, since I took it off the needles and it's languishing on waste yarn: Scarf using my hand-dyed lace yarn in an Old Shale pattern. I was horribly, unbearable bored with it, but I'll finish it some day. I just haven't been in the mood for that much repetition lately. You know when you start making really stupid mistakes in simple lace that you're either way too tired (or on too much medication) to be working on it, or too bored and not paying attention.
   It was the latter in my case.

That's all I can think of for right now. I've actually managed to finish a few projects, but I'll have to take pictures tomorrow.

Happy knitting everyone!