fairytale wigs

Here are the pictures of the finished wigs. The base hat was crocheted using the divine hat pattern by Sarah Arnold. It is such a quick and easy hat to make, if you crochet, I highly recommend it. I then looped long strands through the cast off edge, making slip knots, and braided.

Here are a few pictures of my boys modeling them. Yes, it is the afternoon, and they are wearing pajamas. No, my older son was not thrilled to have me take his picture in the blond wig. Apparently, he wanted to be a redhead. The fact that my younger son possessed something his brother wanted tickled him.

What I have been up to...

Well, the truth of the matter is I have been sticking my fingers in too many pots. I have too many projects going, and with work and the children, very little is getting accomplished. The boys and I went on a lovely vacation to Washington DC to visit with some good friends. My friend Vanessa gave me some stunning fiber from Australia, that I cannot wait to start to spin. It is practically calling my name.

I have all but finished 2 crochet hats, for some darling children of a friend. They are sure to be featured soon, because they are hilarious.

My loom is warped with more cloths, I need to sit down and finish them. I also need to warp the big loom for towels.

I started some socks, toe-up. I have only ever knit socks top down, so this has been exciting. I rather like it. I used Judy Becker's 'magic' cast on (it was absolutely magical), and just started the Fleegle heel. The yarn is Knitpicks, bought entirely because it is roughly the same colors as the Doctor's scarf, minus the olive green (and then, naturally, I had to buy other things in order to reach the minimum for free shipping). I considered adding the green in, but decided against it. The yarn isn't special enough to warrant extra effort, and the dye colors have bled into the cream color, which is vexing.

I have been working on an Elizabeth Zimmerman cardigan (also known as the February Lady Sweater). For whatever reason, gull lace is my cryptonite. I have knit and frogged the lace 4 times. FOUR!! This project has been placed in time out until I feel less like attacking it with scissors. The yarn is Mosaic Moon 'copper patina' on an organic merino base. I coveted this colorway for years, so I think it will be gorgeous once I finish it.

I also just finished spinning this fiber. It was dyed and given to me by my friend Lamar (of ...a time to dye). This is one of the first rovings she dyed, and she did an excellent job. Given that it's a merino/superwash blend, and merino felts if you look at it funny, I was extremely impressed. The finished yarn is a 2-ply, roughly worsted weight. It is going to live with a dear friend of mine, Nicole.

King's Day

"All this was a long time ago, I remember,
And I would do it again, but set down
This set down
This: were we lead all that way for
Birth or Death? There was a Birth, certainly,
We had evidence and no doubt. I have seen birth and death,
But had thought they were different; this Birth was
Hard and bitter agony for us, like Death, our death.
We returned to our places, these Kingdoms,
But no longer at ease here, in the old dispensation,
With an alien people clutching their gods.
I should be glad of another death." ~ TS Eliot, excerpt from The Journey of the Magi

Here is James with his little knitting Nancy that he received as a king's gift today.

He worked intently for about an hour before scampering off to keep busy in other ways. An hour!

James was less enthused than I had hoped over the gift I made him for the holidays, but here is picture of Eliot wearing his:

It was actually snowing when I took this picture. By snowing, I mean spitting slushy precipitation that we pretended was snow because Winter has been so mild this year. I love Winter, so this has been very disappointing for me.

I made this cutting out diamonds of fleece, and sewing the center of them in a line up the spine of the sweatshirt. Once this was done, I sewed the sides of the diamonds together into triangle ridges.