fire island winter

Spring Projects

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I completed the Duxbury sweater from Simply Shetland and sent it off to Chelsea, after I tried it on.  I wanted to wear it for a day or two but the weather wasn’t going to allow her to wear it for too much longer this season.Duxbury complete

I love the way it came out.  I enjoyed the Celtic knot in the front and back and had fun attaching the shoulder straps.  Perhaps the armholes are a bit big but…

Duxbury front Now I am on a felted clog binge.  I had wanted to make these for a long time and the local Michael’s had a sale on Paton’s Classic Merino.  First I made a pair for myself and then DH and my son wanted a pair.   I will surprise Chelsea with another knitted item.  The Paton’s Classic Merino felted easily – I have to finish all the felting projects quickly because we move onto the boat May 1 and will no longer have access to a top loader washer.  I erred in the cuff of my pair and decreased much more than suggested but I have a narrow foot and they fit great. I felted DH’s and am finishing my son’s.

felted clogs finished clog

Too bad I am finishing these super warm clogs just as the weather begins to improve.  Hopefully the moths won’t get to them before I need them again.

Now I have just selected my knitting project for our backpacking trip to the Grand Canyon – of course I am not finished packing yet but have decided on a laceweight Pi shawl  Light to carry, compact and should take forever.  I am going to use a pattern from A Gathering of Lace, called the Shetland Tea Shawl.  It’s basically a variation of EZ’s Pi shawl but all the math has been done.

I have plied my Kood aid fingering weight and am happy with the results.  I think it will become a scarf or shawl.  I am experimenting with black overdyeing to get a deeper tone (?) for some of my other Kool Aid yarn.

Kool aid skein

I will be sad to leave Fire Island in a month.  The winter flew by and I even made some knitting friends here, through Ravelry and the Spinning Study Group of Long Island.  At least the internet will keep us in touch and I’ll be sailing through this way again.  The SSGLI meets monthly and also runs a fiber study group, where I have learned a lot about breeds of sheep and spinning techniques.  Last weekend there was a workshop and I had a spinning immersion.  I’ve concluded that my Kromski spinning wheel will join me and the cats on the boat at least for the first leg of our journey.

A Valentine Trek

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DH decided it was time for me to leave the knitting and spinning at home and take in some fresh air (well actually I packed my socks to take with me) I was duped into leaving the cozy couch by the offer of a nice meal out at a restaurant. This is a big deal because the only restaurant that remains open all year on the island is 2+ miles away on sandy unpaved roads. The tide was right and we were able to take our bikes along the ocean for a bit, where we saw a Harp seal that was wounded and had washed up on the beach. Help was on the way from the Marine Foundation. Further down the beach we found a bunch of sand dollars. We sipped hot cocoa and pressed on, actually past the restaurant – hey this was more than I signed up for.

We rode through the Sunken Forest and through Cherry Grove and the Pines. This added about 5 miles one way to the trip. We ran into some people who chewed my ear for a while until DH was ready to pack off again.

Back to the restaurant and a wonderful meal, and cocktails. Then the ride back home in the dark on the ocean. What a life!

Back at home, I am  knitting my the Duxbury cable sweater without any cable needle. What freedom!  I have experimented with a few different methods and have found the best ones for me.  On the spinning front, i’ve been swatching some recent yarns and making big plans.