Froot Loop Socks and Birthdays

One thing I accomplished in all the turmoil of the past month was Finally Finishing the Freaking Frootloop socks. I adored the pattern, and working with the luxurious Koigu yarn that Jennifer bought me.
I shoulda taken some more pictures of these - it's hard to see the pattern in this slightly blurry closeup. But you can see it here, in the pattern from the designer.

And now that they are, at last, complete, I am even more happy to turn them into a birthday present...although somewhat belated. (Happy Birthday, Windy. Love ya!)

Busy Busy Busy

I don't exactly have mad blogging skillz anymore, but stuff happens. I've promised to keep my blog lighthearted and free from preachy stuff, philosophical meandering, ranting about politics and bringing everyone down with personal horror stories. I'll hold to that promise, and just say this: To all my friends and family, try to stay healthy and ALIVE, please, because I love you all very much. Thank you.

In the meantime, dealing with all the disease and death and destruction and even the occasional fantastically good news (Guess whose mommy does not have cancer anymore? MY mommy! YAY!) I haven't had much time or motivation for spinning and knitting, which naturally can't be prioritized over sick friends and mommies. However, the occasional sock gets knitted in a waiting room here and there (more on that later) and I do have, belatedly, some spinning things to show off.

Finally, with some Louet brand Fine Gray Shetland wool I'd bought on that fabled trip to Yarn Barn, I learned Spinning From The Fold, and it was the best thing in the whole world. I sat down and spun half a pound of wool in one weekend. I could not stop. It was marvelous.

Dug was so amused by my obsession that he took the above photo of me spinning like a madwoman. See how I've got the wool folded over my index finger, so I'm feeding the wool into the twist from the center, or fold of the fiber, rather than the end? Easy! Fun!
Here's one of the resulting three skeins of wool. I ended up with about 500 yards of 2 ply sport weight. I'm told that I will be using this snuggly yarn to make socks for Dug.