Okay, this is an update on my progress on my goals for the year, but it is also a celebration of how well I feel at the moment and my launch into several projects that are rocking the color right now. Seriously, I am so drawn to colors at the moment that I’m pretty much doing some silly impulse shopping. Who cares. I’m having a good time!!
You want to see the silly impulse shopping and/or pink things first?
I could not leave the local garden center without that pink flamingo for my garden! Hello, it glows in the dark with an LED body. š What do you think about my Knitting Goddess fabric? Yep. That was a late-night Etsy impulse purchase. I’m thinking that it will make a fabulous project bag. What do you think about that Noro yarn? That will become a crocheted tote bag… I also needed to buy some brightly colored hooks to make the bag, and there may have been another big ball of beautiful yarn that fell into the shopping crate before I checked out, but I’ll never talk about it. My feet are hurting because of the spinning I’m doing, so I had to get those wicked compression socks!!! Yep, I am a total sucker for pink. Well, raspberry pink to be specific, but I will settle for hot pink. Finally, Hannah kept trying to drag off my knitted finger protectors, so I made her and Mateo some little tube-like cat thingies to play with. They like them!
Speaking of color, look at my progress on the spinning for Tour de Fleece.
Can you see that I am making progress? The bobbin on the right is where I am today. I’m almost through the crocus-colored roving (50/50 yak/silk from Greenwood Fiberworks), then I get to start on the variegated roving. I’ve been watching episodes of Vera on BritBox while I spin so I’m actually coming to think of this Tour de Fleece as the Tour de Northumbia… I am happy with the spinning as I think that my drafting is getting easier and the thread that I’m spinning is getting smoother. It may also be slightly larger, but I can live with that!
I don’t want to talk about this book yet because it really is remarkable, and I am changing my opinion about it as I go. It’s like entering a dream world and just experiencing the adventure without worrying too much about what’s going on. In time, I’m sure, I’ll understand what is happening. Maybe. I don’t care. I’m so entranced at the moment I’m reading a couple of hours a day during the heat of the day.
There is color in the garden, too. Look at this:
There is more color in the garden to replace the fading roses. My veronica is finally blooming, and I went back to the garden center to buy more lavender plants. I now have 11 lavenders in the garden… don’t you think that I should get another, so it is an even dozen? The pink yarrow is hard at work. Oh, yeah, there was also a garter snake in the garden today. Not a lot of color, but a ton of fun to see.
So, how much progress has occurred over the last 6 months?
- I finished 30 hats and 28 PICC line covers in the first 6 months. I was hoping to get 50 of each done this year, so I am on track.
- I have removed 76 skeins of yarn (100g of yarn = a skein) from the stash through knitting and donations. I hope to get 100 skeins out before the end of the year, so I am on track. I did just have a 6-skein slip, but I’m not worried.
- The other knitting accomplishments are two sweaters and two pairs of socks.
- I finished a quilt and got it hung up on the wall!
- I learned how to double knit. Actually, I’m really stoked about how fun it was and I am looking forward to doing some cute projects. (I found that chart online and watched videos to figure out how to do this. Piece of cake, as it turns out!)
- I have finished 32 books.
Well, that’s the progress report. My son helped me get my table loom set up for me to use and I’m dreaming of warping the floor loom before the end of the year. (Mateo: that sounds like fun!!) I’m wondering if I can weave something with the yarn that I am spinning now, and I’ve pulled out another quilt kit that has been languishing forever in a cupboard so that I can work on that in my sewing room. I’m entering the last few days on the full dose of prednisone; the dose will be tapered off and stopped over the next two weeks. While I was on prednisone my rheumatologist gradually stepped up my immunosuppressant to a final dose that is double what I was on previously. I feel really good right now and I have huge plans for the rest of the year.
Scleroderma, behave yourself!!
Yarn, Books & Roses 
Super cute project bag!! Will be so fun to use. I’m currently knitting Ste[hen West’s Spiraling Cables Shawl and use Noro as the contrast color yarn. I love it. The yarn you are spinning is beautiful. Wishing you continued good health.
Spiraling cables! That might be a really good pattern for me to use with the (ahem) yarn that accidently fell into my shopping crate. š I just love Noro! Thanks for the good idea.
Scleroderma, listen to her, OK ?!!
It’s so lovely to read about your feeling good: I wish it could go on and on, but I do know that you can’t take steroids for long (especially you !).
I hope you derive total pleasure from everything in your life, right now; and I LOVE that goddess fabric !!
Your achievements are impressive, as ever ! š
Isn’t that the best fabric ever? I need to get cracking on sewing the project bag; I may have to make more than one. I am working in the garden every single day and it is so nice to be back outside and feeling like I’m making progress on more than one front at a time!! I go for bloodwork tomorrow and then I start tapering off the prednisone the next day, so the days of grace may be coming to an end, but I really think that I am way out of that nasty flare and things are looking up. š In the meantime, I am doing everything that I can (and buying all the raspberry colored things that I want!)
I can’t wait to show off the crocheted bag!! Please be kind to me because I’m on YouTube figuring out how to do things that are probably quite simple for you people who crochet all the time.
NO ! she cried sternly: I cannot be kind to you.
[grin]
Firstly itās great to hear you feeling well and with energy. What a fabulous post! So many beautiful things on every photo and for a fellow pink and purple lover šš it had so many things to āohhā at. The spinning looks fabulous, Iāve been thinking about weaving with my TDF spinning too, Iāve not woven with any handspun yet. I look forward to seeing what the next 6 months makes are.
Pink and purple!! I love all the grey colors (and black) because I can combine them so well to show off the colors that I love. I am really thinking about weaving something with the handspun. I’m also seriously considering plying the purple with the variegated yarn because I’m afraid that it will get kind of muddy if I ply it against itself. The issue is… how will that weave up? Once I get the variegated spun up I guess I will play with it to see how it looks plied. So happy to have all of this energy!!
Good to see you still up-beat. Vera is a great series
I just love Vera! Also, great for knitting/spinning binge watching. š
Your spinning is glorious. So glad you are feeling good! Love the fabric, of course,and all the things!
Thanks. It feels pretty good to be spinning again and that makes me look at the looms with some creative ideas again…
This is all looking great! The flamingo is just perfect, it sounds like a very happy-making purchase. And Noro is really hard for me to resist whenever I’m near it in shops, too. It’s just got such striking colors. Congrats on all the wonderful progress!
Thanks. It has been a good 6 months even with the speed bumps that I had to deal with. š
You’ve accomplished so much It is terrific you are feeling well. I love your spinning. I wish I could feel it, as your spins sound very soft.
So glad you are feeling well! Your spinning is just beautiful š
I finished one roving tonight and now I’m debating what to do with the variegated one. I forgot how much I loved to spin.
Well your spinning is lovely!
Thank you!
Forgot to say, I love all your pink and purple purchases š Love the flamingo and fabric, and that Noro yarn is beautiful as well!
You can never have too many happy colors, huh!
Very true!
Wow thatās a lot, everything is so beautiful (as always)! I havenāt been commenting much but definitely paying attention. Iām super glad youāre feeling better! Prednisone makes me produce more but man when itās tapering down coma city.
I just love the colors! I started tapering down on the prednisone late last week so I guess I’ll see how fast the party ends. It is super-hot here now right now so I’ve been taking it easy.