Jobo Designs

Years ago when I started spinning. I bought a 2 ounce braid of gold/yellow/red alpaca fiber from Fleece Artist.  I figured since I was just learning, it was ok to buy some small braids and just learn on them.  The finished yarn reminds me a bit of a roll of Life Savers candy. or maybe a bowl of Froot Loops?

I spun a small skein of Navajo 3-ply yarn and gave it to my Mom to knit something with.

Well, she decided to make a little pair of mittens and hold onto them until someday when a little grandkid came along. well BINGO! There IS a cute little grandkid, and now she is going to have warm little fingers all winter. They are still a little bit too big, but that's ok.

They're woolly and warm, and knit by her Grandma, and that's all that matters

I've been puttering away on the knitting. starting some new things, and completing a few, but I've been a little lazy about photographing everything!  Well a friend finally called me out on it and asked if I was ever going to give her a peek of that shawl I was working on. since she had heard about it and wondered what it was like.

This one is full of Nupps!  It's a Nupp fest really - as are all of the traditional Estonian Lily of the Valley patterns.  It's basically a chain of YOs to make the stem of the flower, and the nupps are the flowers.

So. I did a pseudo block so I can show the progress so far

The baby alpaca yarn is soft and light, and though the color is difficult to photograph, I'm quite pleased with the results so far.

You can't really tell from these pics, but I'm about halfway there.  I plan on using up the two skeins of this that were in my stash, and I've knit up the majority of the first skein.  I'm relying on my kitchen scale and a little luck to eyeball how far I can go with the center panel and still have enough left to do a nice sized border.  I still have to decide on what kind of border too

So C:  What do you think?  lol

I’ve been knitting, honest! I’ve just been having a hard time getting to the computer what with the baby, and the release of Diablo III… I just never seem to get on here!

I’ve started swatching for another project… this time a sweater for Romy from some delish Alpaca fleece I got in a care package from Stella (over at Twist of Fate Family Farm)

The yarn is DK weight…. a blend of lovely Fawn Alpaca and Merino (60/40) spun into a traditional 3-ply yarn.  I really like how the wool gives that little extra bit of bounce to a lush soft yarn :)  The buttons are natural wood, and match just perfectly…. though I’m not sure if I will be dyeing the yarn in the end or not.  Beige is a lovely color, but for a teensy little girly, maybe not the most appropriate color?  I can’t remember where the buttons came from, but they are Guttermann brand, so likely bought somewhere where sewing threads are sold…

I have a few ideas for pattern, but I doubt I’ll be knitting the sweater exactly  according to any particular design.  You know me… I have to mess with things, and I rarely follow a pattern exactly anyways :)