I haven't disappeared

Hiya!  I know I haven't been around lately, but I haven't been idle.  Can't stand being idle...

 

More dish cloths but I've moved on to square ones.  I just like using a square cloth over a round one.  Plus, a cloth made up of 1/2 double crochets (my favorite stitch for dish cloths) is thinner than the round ones and easier to wield.  Yeah, I'm funny that way.

 

I so love these colors together.  This is 50% Merino / 30% bamboo / 20% silk and it feels wonderful.  I'm considering running it back through my wheel to add a bit more twist.  It'll make it a bit more durable when I turn it into socks.  Unfortunately, I only ended up with 225 yards which isn't enough for a decent pair of socks.  I might dye up more roving for toes/heels/cuff or I might cruise Fat Cat Knits site for more roving.  Nope, I just checked her and she doesn't have anything that will work so I guess I'll be dyeing my own.

 

This is 300 yds. of Corriedale from Crown Mountain Farms in the Cold as Ice colorway.  It's a little more than half of what I'll need for the Faraway, So Close shawl.  As soon as I'm sure the tendonitis in my right elbow is gone... and I spin the rest of the roving I ordered tonight... the shawl is the first thing I'll be knitting.  It looks like a fun knit.  Of course, I'll have to buy the right shirt to wear under it.  I'm not fancy so I'll probably stick with a long sleeve white t-shirt... although I might throw caution to the wind and go with a button-up shirt.  I know, I'm a radical.

 

I love this fabric.  I need to take a couple more photos but it'll be going up in my store by the end of the week along with a bunch of roving.

I've also been working on a quilt top which I finally finished today.  I'm working on the back right now.  I'm hoping to have the quilt sandwich (back + batting + front) done by the end of this week and dropped off to be quilted.  I tried machine quilting myself a number of years ago and I really stank at it.  Plus, my machine doesn't have a lot of room for cramming a quilt underneath while attempting to free-hand stitch.  After all the work I will have put into the darn thing, it deserves to be quilted by someone who knows what they're doing.

The strawberries are now in season.  Yay!  The plan is to pick Sunday morning and then start jamming.  I don't really eat that much of it during the year but it makes great gifts and I owe my neighbor some for doing me a favor.  I don't eat much but fortunately for my friends and family, I love making it.