Surprise!  We now live in Southern California; the Santa Clarita Valley to be exact.  I love it here so far, except that there are NO knitting shops anywhere.  They've all shut down over the past few years.  The closest one is about half an hour south

Then again, we're not dealing with the snow like Illinois and my home state of Maryland is.  A small price to pay depending on who you ask.

While I'm waiting to be accepted at CSUN, I've been using the free time to catch up on projects and getting re-acquainted with my wheel.  The really neat thing about living in our new place is, I get my own crafting table and space!  I'm working on getting an entire bedroom to myself, but for now the extra space is awesome.  I can leave my sewing machine out...yes I got a sewing machine.

I now own a Bernina Activa 220 and I've already made a small quilt with it.

I pieced it together and sent it away to be quilted.  This turned into a Christmas gift for my parents.

 

The Paintbox Hat way back in August was frogged because it was too big for Jake.  Instead, he got this.

I call it the Sunset hat, which is really the Pismo Hat.  Jake dyed this yarn back at the Midwest Fiber and Folk Art Festival.  He's not into socks, so I decided on this instead.  It's obviously a bit big for me, but it's a nice skullcap for Jake that doesn't keep him too warm.  We're in California now after all.  It's February and sixty degrees out as I write.

The decreases for the top make the hat a bit pointy, but it smooshes out when Jake wears it.

This is for a friend.

It is 50% complete, has cables, and is made with superwash.   That is all I will say about this...for now.

I also spun up some yarn that didn't fall apart...for the first time!

It's about 80 yards of 3-ply.  The white singles are wool and the green is alpaca.  I don't know how many stitches per inch I can get with it, but I'm determined to turn this into something.

I hope it holds up

Lastly, I've started my own Noro striped sock.  Jake picked out the colors.

This is a fun knit to watch because the colors gradually change.  I'll keep the cuff, heel, and toe as one yarn.  It's a little itchy to work with, but I'm certain it'll soften up a bit in the wash.

For those of you out in all of the snow, stay safe!

SOCK LOVE

When there is downtime at work (and there has been a lot of that over the summer), I am allowed to knit at my desk.  I've been working on my Promise socks mostly and the new lab assistant really liked it. She told me that she does know how to knit, but she just hasn't been interested in socks.

Now she's knitting socks with her daughter.

She told me that she was impressed with my socks and it would be a great project for her daughter to do for an upcoming 4-H competition.  In order to help her daughter, she is working on the same sock pattern ahead of her so she can offer help.

How awesome is that?  Mom and daughter knitting socks and spending time together.  I told her that I would be happy to help with anything they needed.  It makes me feel warm and fuzzy when people tell me that my knitting inspires them to do something creative.  Another good reason to knit in public.

SPINNING

In other news, I'm trying to spin again.  I own an Ashford Traveller and have for about five years.  After several falase starts, I think I'm starting to get it.

This is undyed Romney.  I'm told it's a great beginner fiber.  My single is starting to look more even. When I started, it was much more thick and thin than this.  Maybe after more practice, I'll try out some dyed top I have.

MORE HATS?

Of course!  Jake is sort of a hat fiend.  It makes up for his fear of wearing socks.  I haven't made him one yet this year and I always knit at least one so he has something new to wear to MAGFest.  Here is the latest creation in progress.

We agreed that a plain stockinette hat would be best and would allow the colors to stand out.  I may put some icord on top.  He gets a kick out of that.

Enjoy Nugget...

He loves you!