Insomniac's Wonderland

Meet Stella.

Here's the beginnings of the sock pattern I mentioned in my last post.  It features one cable panel on the front and a cute little seam down the back.  I really dig the seam and it looks exactly how I pictured it in my head (that never happens).  I'm knitting the sample out of my Fission yarn (80% Merino, 20% Bamboo) and I really like the way it knits up.  It's not bulky and the fabric feels kinda light and airy.

The cable isn't very daunting and I think it makes for a nice clean pattern.  I wanted to avoid it looking too busy.

I'm hoping to have this pattern available the beginning of June on Etsy with hopes of having it available on Ravelry as well.

And by the way, there isn't a damn thing on TV this afternoon.

Knitters (and crocheters) have the BEST tools!

I'm a gadget geek.  That doesn't only extend to my love all things techie, it extends into my fiber habits too.  I've recently found myself in a postition to upgrade a lot of my equipment and get some new toys as well. 

Moving from smallest to largest we have:

This is my new Strauch Jumbo Ball Winder that I had to have after using one that the girls at Madeline Tosh had at DFW Fiber Fest.  It replaces my trusty old blue Royal ball winder (that if anyone wants send me e-mail and I can get you a very good deal).  Have I mentioned before how cool Amy and Kris of Madeline Tosh are?  If you haven't checked them out before you really should.

 

Now this scary looking thing is my new Strauch (do you see a pattern here?) Petite drum carder.  This is a new venture to me and to be quite honest I haven't gotten the hang of it but I'm working on it.  Hopefully I will have hand carded batts available in the shop sometime this summer.

This is my favorite of all my new toys, this is a Fricke 2 yard Electric Skeinwinder.  It's totally electric and also counts yardage!  I can't even begin to express how much time this will save me.  With this I can go straight from the swift to a perfect 2 yard skein!  My previous process included going from swift through yard meter to ball winder and then back to the skein.  All. By. Hand.  My shoulder already thanks me.

This is also a new venture for me, pattern making.  This is a-scarf-yet-to-be-named knit on size 4 needles with my Fusion Sport yarn in the Aggieland colorway.  I also have a sock pattern in the works.  I'm thinking that the scarf pattern will be a free download on here and on Ravelry and the sock pattern will be available for purchase on my Etsy shop and also through Ravelry.  But I've also toyed with idea of making these kits with yarn, pattern and needles.  Nothing is set in stone quite yet.

Hope you all had a great weekend and your Monday hasn't been too terrible. :)

Why weren't my engineering projects ever this cool??

Oh yeah, because I went nuclear instead of electrical.  So in my first installment of 'Cool Things on the Web Friday' I give you Slashbot.  This guitar playing robot was designed by electrical engineering students at my very own alma mater, Texas A&M University.  It's pretty farking sweet.

Did you know...

That the American Horsehoe Crab is an essential part of medical science? 

When you get a medical injection, many quality control tests are performed on that substance to make sure that it is free from bacterial contamination.   One of these tests (one I actually perform twice a day) is an LAL (limulus amebocyte lysate) test.  Where the crab comes into play is through it's blood.  It just so happens that the blood of the american horseshoe crab has properties that keep it from getting infected with bacteria.   

An amebocyte blood cell present in the crab that clots when it comes into contact with bacterial endotoxins.  The clot that surrounds the bacteria suspends it and keeps the crab free from infection.  Which is pretty cool when you consider that the crab doesn't have an immune system and is at risk from the many bacteria present in seawater.  When humans are infected with these endotoxins it typically causes an injection fever.

So how does this help me?  Well...since you asked...in the LAL test I mentioned earlier small samples of injectable substances are tested using the blood cells extracted from the crab.  If a clot forms then we know that the sample has been contaminated and it is disposed of. 

The crabs are not harmed in the "bleeding" process.  They are harvested and then released back into their habitat once the process is complete.   LAL researchers only perform a bleeding process on an individual crab once a year even though they can technically be bled up to 3-4 times a year.  This is very similar to human blood donation.

Pretty cool, huh?  The random things you can learn at work.

On deck for the upcoming week (I swear I'll blog more): new equipment, a yarn car, more shop news and other random useless information.  Now where's my beer?

Little things to be thankful for.

Wednesday March 26, 2008 5:59pm - Last years shorts still fit!  WHEW! 

That's one horrific shopping trip I can avoid this summer. :)

It went up last week....

but I've been a little busy here lately.  Soooo, rovings (sock yarn to follow soon) are available at The Loopy Ewe.

Hopefully this weekend I'll get around to posting some knitting content, but there's only 10 days until I leave for the DFW Fiber Fest so I can't make any promises! :)

Call for Photos!

I'm getting ready to open up a customer gallery.  If you have any photos of finished objects using my yarns or yarns spun from my rovings please send me an e-mail with your picture, first name and if you would like to be linked include your website or blog address.

This gallery will be featured here on my blog, my shop site and on my new website (coming soon!).  I would love to show off your mad knitting skills. 

I'm also toying with the idea of doing a fiber club sometime this summer or fall.  On the suggestion of some very good friends you could either sign up for yarn or roving and the same colors would apply.  But more on that later.

Runnin' with the Big Dogs.

About a week or so I promised you big and exciting shop news, so here it is:

My first wholesale order!  All of this will be available at a fabulous online store, The Loopy Ewe.  If you haven't checked out her shop you definately should.  Not only does Sheri run a fab store, she's a total doll to work with.  They really don't come better.

Honestly, I never thought that a year ago when I started my little dyeing biz that I would be here a year later.  To say that I'm stoked would be a HUGE understatement.  So keeping with this sentiment I've got to start preparing for my second big Fiber Fest, the DFW Fiber Fest which will be April 4-6.  If you are going please come by and say hi, I'd love to meet you!

Later this week I'll have some knitting content.  I dived right into my second fair isle project after the Ivy League Vest, I've been working on Eunny Jang's Deep V Argyle Vest.  I'm also working on Cookie A's Hedera socks in my Twilight Colorway.

I hope you all have a great week, I now have to go make sure I didn't break my little toe 'cause clumbsy ole me ran into the table and my toe is still throbbing.

Drumroll please.....

Oh my gosh you guys, this was a really hard decision.  All of the entries were great and I truly appreciate each of you for helping me! 

And now for the winner!  The winner is.....

AMY!  for Aurora Borealis.  Thank you!  I'll be contacting you soon to get you your prize.  Sometime this weekend this yarn will also be available on Etsy.

Thank you all and have a wonderful weekend!

Stick a fork in her, she's done.

FINISHED!  Ivy League Vest by Eunny Jang.  I knitted this with Knitpicks Palette.  I'm so pleased with the pattern, the colors and the fit!  It fits like a dream, I was worried for awhile that it wasn't going to fit around my waist, but that's not a problem.

I have big announcements concerning the shop coming sometime next weekend and remember you have until midnight to get in your "Name that Yarn" contest entries!  The entries already submitted have been fabulous, it's going to be a tough decision.