spin me a river of purple and gold

so i finally did it...
i finally bought myself a spinning wheel !!!

of course now that i am back at camp i will have zero time to oil it and assemble it and whathaveyou ...the kiddies came today and we've all been on our feet for hours so i'm thinking that the only time i will have to put my wheel together will be at night.. as in.. right now. my only problem is that it's been raining all day and the air is all dampy and i have nowhere to leave the parts of the wheel for it to dry!

huh. i guess i should have thought of this earlier.

where oh where has lima bean?

lima bean.

(another archaic pattern on which i wanted to work on slip placement so that the bean would be more bent over to one side...)

co 3 stitches
k1fb three times (6)
k around
k1fb six times (12)
k around
*k1fb, k2, k1fb* three times (18)
k around
k1 k1fb k2 k1fb k 8 k1fb k2 k1fb k1 (22)
k around
k1 k1fb k3 k1fb k10 k1fb k3 k1fb k1 (26)
k around
k1 k1fb k4 k1fb k12 k1fb k4 k1fb k1 (30)
k1 s1pw k26 s1pw k1
k1 sipw k1 s1pw k22 s1pw k1 s1pw k1
k3 s1pw k22 s1pw k3


k around (30st.) iiiiii i iii*
*(i think that means knit ten rows)

k1 s1kw k1 s1kw k22 s1kw k1 s1kw k1
k1 s1pw k1 s1pw k22 s1pw k1 s1kp k1
k3 s1kw k22 s1kw k3
k1 ssk k4 ssk k12 k2tog k4 k2tog k1 (26)
k around
k1 ssk k3 ssk k10 k2tog k3 k2tog k1 (22)
k around
k1 ssk k2 ssk k8 k2tog k2 k2tog k1 (18)
k around
ssk k2 ssk , ssk k2 k2tog, k2tog k2 k2tog (12)
k around
k2tog around. (6)
draw string through remaining stitches
hide ends

Yummy Watermelon Slice

IMG_0038
Originally uploaded by emmilouanna

Deliciously simple and much less sticky than its edible counterpart!



here it is, although i can't promise i remember all of the statistics:

i think i used size five needles and i definitely used a sock-weight yarn
although my friend asher across seas knit it using her own gauge and made an equally fun slice.

approximate colors you will need:
*brite pink
*dark hunter green
*green
*pale green
*black

here it is in all its amateur glory just as i typed it up the day i cut the...
watermelon slice:

bottom:
cast on 40st. (dark green)
stockinette st. 10 rows. bind off.

front and back:
cast on 40st. (dark green)
knit one row d.green / change color
purl one row medium green / change color
knit one row light green / change color
purl one row pink
in pink, repeat next two lines until you have 2st. (end on purl):
>k1, ssk, k to 3 from end, k2tog, k1
>purl
pull through remaining two st.
(make two)

sides:
cast on 10st. dark green
knit one row dark green/ change color
purl one row medium green/ change color
knit one row light green/ change color
work 37 rows stock. st. in pink. bind off.
(make two)

sew using mattress st.
leave top slit open to stuff.
or leave top and one small side open to make seeds (unless you thought of this before sewing it up!)


ANY QUESTIONS?
just ask! - i haven't really gone over it again since i made it but since asher made it and didn't have any problems or cross cultural knitting abbreviation confusions i assumed it was OK!
enjoy!

rats in the garden shed, spindle in the pond; skip to my loo my darlin!

ahh the weather is so nice these days! and what luck that i have been living where there is no internet so that i can take full advantage of this gorgeous weather! living with william & without internet has me spending loads more time with my lovely little furry monsters - my RATS! william's grandmother's house where we're staying has a cute little wrap-around day lily garden that the rats love to play in and william likes to bring the rats to the far side of the yard and watch them frolic back to the cover of the towering flowers (videos will be posted to youtube).
As well, last weekend william and i spend five long consecutive nights contra dancing as part of the monadnock folklore society's IRON DANCER, including a 12-hour dawn dance in brattleboro that went all night until 7am! i totally danced through the sunrise. (although i feel as though this could not compare to the norse dancers who danced the sun up on the solstice on top of pac monadnock!)

however, all of this hullabaloo that has kept me active has also put me back a spell on keeping my ravelry updated as well as my blog! As promised, i have been working hard at a Growler Koozy and have finished prototype 1 and am working on prototype 2. I am debating, though, whether i should hold out and try to get this pattern into a Knitty issue in which case i could not post the pattern OR any pictures until the issue comes out... ?!? i'm so conflicted because i know that this is a pattern that people are waiting for.

in any case, all of my projects are coming along much slower now that my new hobby of hand spinning is taking flight! i absolutely LOVE my new drop spindle (kate and i picked some up from the NH Sheep & Wool festival that we brought our mothers along with us to... on mothers day weekend, of course!) and after having a bit of trouble with some shorter fibers i have finally figured out the trick and will never again make the mistake of dropping my spindle off of the diving board and into the lake the next time i decide to go spinning on the dock on a windy day!Also as promised, my next post will be the sought-after Watermelon Slice! it's about time, too, what with this total pick-nick weather gracing us with its presence!