Hotter than a Firecracker!

The weather in New Hampshire is hotter than a firecracker on the Fourth of July.  Yep, that's a Midwestern saying that I grew up hearing in Indiana.  It fits the current weather, though, here in New England.  After Hurricane Arthur blew through, we had two lovely days of dry, 80F weather.  Now we are back to the 90s and humidity is settling back in.  No worries though - the AC is on and I'm knitting and spinning away!

On the Needles

July brought on a case of cast-on-itis.  Although I did manage to limit myself (so far) to only two new projects.  Since I had frogged my Monster Socks, it was time to cast on a pair of socks so I cast on a plain vanilla stripy socks using Party Like Its Your Birthday yarn by the Knitpurlgurl on Etsy.  I am using a basic fore-thought heel and they are knitting up beautifully.

The second project I cast on has been pretty much my sole focus this past week.  It is the Radian Yoke pullover by Wendy Bernard published in Knitscene Summer 2011 now available as an individual download (http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/radian-yoke).  This top is knit from the top down with a simple lace yoke, raglan sleeves, in a DK yarn.  I chose Silky Wool in the Cognac colorway which I picked up at my LYS, Twill in Nashua.  It is going very quickly despite the long rows of stockinette.  I am hoping to have it finished this week.

The other knitting that has been on my needles since the last post is gift knitting so I can’t discuss those projects here.

On the Wheel

This past week marked my one year anniversary as a spinner!  I am happy with the progress that I’ve made over the past twelve months.  My spinning has improved leaps and bounds.  I’ve knit several things with my handspun and felt confident enough to gift a skein to a friend.  

July 5th marked the start of the 2014 Le Tour de Fleece.  For those muggles out there - this is an event held alongside the bike race of almost the same name.  Spinners all over the world join teams and challenge themselves to match the different stages of the bike race.  I have joined two teams - Team Schact (in honor of my Ladybug wheel) and Team Sasquatch (coached by several podcasters who I follow).  My personal goal is to simply spin every day and mark my progress in the Ravelry forums.  

On Day One and Day Two I spun two ounces of Into the Whirled, merino/superwash merino/silk, in the Martini & Rossi colorway.  This will become a 2-ply, probably fingering weight yarn, after I spin the other two ounces.


Day Three begins the chain-plying of 104 grams of a Loop batt, merino/bamboo/silk, in the River Run colorway.  

July in New Hampshire

This past weekend was full of Fourth of July celebrations here in the USA.  My husband and I play in a local band, the Amherst Town Band.  We marched in a parade on the Fourth which we just squeezed in before Hurricane Arthur dumped rain on New England.  The band’s concert, normally held on the Third, was rescheduled for Saturday, the 5th.  Since it was rescheduled I ended up conducting the band.  It was a great night for an outdoor concert followed by fireworks.  You can “Like” the Band on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/AmherstTownBand?ref_type=bookmark

Link to video: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10204256665639858&set=o.152870441456603&type=2&theater