Not Participating in Tour de Fleece. Sorta.

After seeing everyone's beautiful Tour de Fleece photos on Instagram, I may have been re-bitten by the spinning bug.

Knowing I had some fiber samples sitting around since Christmas, as well as a small 2oz braid of fiber I'm saving for a special occasion (ie: when my spinning doesn't suck), I dug out my pink drop spindle and went at it again. I wouldn't say it's going badly; I wouldn't say it's going well, either...

I'm still not participating in Tour de Fleece because my skills are BEYOND not up to par, nor do I have the dedicated time needed due to some exciting custom orders that have come my way, but I'm hoping my renewed spinning vigor will get me to a passable skill level.

The good news is, I spun all that green fiber without once breaking the fiber. That's a huge accomplishment, in and of itself. Progress is sure, but slow.

In other news, I'm:

Reading: The Cases That Haunt Us
Knitting: ZigZag Scarf 2
Spinning: Hobbledehoy Rainbow Tidbits, hand-dyed merino wool on my Hogg Wild Fibers top whorl spindle

In Memory of Wink: Let's Crochet #MandalasForMarinke

The crochet world was rocked last week by news that Wink from A Creative Being had taken her own life after battling severe depression. Her battle was no secret; in fact, her most recent blog post announced the struggle, prompting a multitude of supportive comments and private messages from friends and fans.

There's little I can say on the subject because it's not something I've experienced, but Kathryn from Crochet Concupiscence wrote a blog post that beautifully summarizes what we've all been feeling these past few days.

As a result, Kathryn has put together a lovely project for us to remember Wink by: #mandalasformarinke. I'll let this page on her website speak for itself, but I think it will not only be a wonderful tribute to a person who touched so many in our ever-growing world of crochet, but a beautiful art piece that serves as a reminder that life is, indeed, only fleeting and we never know how long we're going to have with one another, so make the most of it.

On a final note, it's worth mentioning that Kathryn is the author behind Crochet Saved My Life, a book that chronicles how crochet can be used to help us overcome a wide variety of personal health conflicts. Marinke is featured in the book, and although her story may not have ended in ways we all hoped, it's important for us to acknowledge how crocheting (and knitting) are more than hobbies to so many of us. If you're so inclined, I urge you to pick up a copy of the book (or download it on your Kindle) for some amazingly inspired stories, which is something we can all use under any circumstances.

Knitting My Beekeeper's Quilt (or: What Was I Thinking?)

If ever there was a project that could completely turn me off from knitting, it would have the be the Beekeeper's Quilt.

A few months ago, I purchased the kit off KnitCrate - I think I actually ordered it with my first shipment - and thought it would be a fun little project to work on between other projects or when traveling. Because, you know, they're so tiny and quick to knit up, right?

Turns out, they're also a huge pain in the butt. I can't tell you how many times I've stabbed myself with the tiny needles, which perhaps wouldn't be a huge problem if I were making them on circulars. I had more faith in myself, as someone who's successfully wielded smaller needles in the past for making socks (not that I've ever finished any, but I've made it to the toe of quite a few!) My hatred for these is truly heartbreaking.

Their one redeeming quality? The beautiful result I'll eventually achieve (a week from never) when I've knit up all my luxury mini-skeins and sewn them together into a lovely quilt. If blogs are still around at that time, I'll make sure to share with you a final, celebratory photo.

In the meantime, I've decided the trick is to not try and knit 300 of them in one sitting. Because I would probably hang myself from our ceiling fan using any scraps.

Finished: Crochet Vines for the #100WomenProject

So poop - I totally forgot to talk about my participation in the #100WomenProject. Well, we're changing that now!

More than a few months ago, I was asked to crochet some vines for inclusion in a University of Richmond student's Honors Thesis Exhibition. The artist, Amy Reader, sought to engage women around the world for a large display comprised of smaller, crocheted pieces resembling wisteria vines. The pieces could be crocheted (or knit!) in any color and almost any length, and would be installed to look like a forest of wisteria trees.

The photo above shows me with my two vines, which I promptly mailed out in early April to make the submission deadline. I was honored to not only be asked, but to also have been part of an exhibit that showcased women and a craft that's often tied to our assumed domesticity. I say "assumed" because I knit and crochet with such passion, but I can't sew worth a lick and my house is a childless disaster area. So to me, the combination of over 100 women crocheting art appealed to my feminist side (and gave me a chance to put my undergraduate art degree to good use - we creatives need to stick together).

If you want to read more about the exhibit, then make sure to visit the website. Or, if you want to find out why Amy decided on a women-only project, read her article here.

Finished: Handbrake

Pattern: Handbrake

Designer(s): Kay and Dan Jones from The Bakery Bears Podcast

Yarn: madelinetosh vintage

Colorway: Neon Peach

Notes: It's finally finished! I say finally because I started this on my trip to San Francisco in April, which just-so-happened to coincide with the complete loss of my knitting mojo. I managed to get it done and cast off while we were at the beach over Memorial Day, though, so here are the pictures I procrastinated on taking (of course, part of that is because I needed to soak the cowl since it's made with madelinetosh and I didn't want to wear it before getting any extra dye out).

The pattern is $1 on Ravelry and all proceeds go toward cancer research. It's such a versatile pattern that you really have no excuse not to make one! It's perfect for beginners who know the extreme basics (casting on, knitting, purling, and binding off), plus it comes with instructional videos from Kay. For more advanced knitters, it's quick, fun, and perfect for any stash yarns you have that need to be shown off with straight-knit designs.

If that hasn't sold you, you'll also get an exclusive edition of the Bakery Bears Podcast. I watched it on my plane ride to SFO (while knitting the cowl, of course!) The great thing about podcasters is that we're all real people, not typically paid advertisers who are talking about products we love or hate just to make a buck. We love what we do and letting people into our lives - we're genuine, and that really shines through in this special edition podcast episode!