Something old, something new...

I just wanted to update you all on what I've got going on. For starters, I set the twist on my "Watch for Me by Moonlight" yarn and all I can say is Holy. Crap. It fluffed up and got much bouncier after drying. I can't say how much I heart it! I plan on taking pics today in the sunshine. Maybe I'll edit this post and add a pic later.
I've begun a spinning project to tide me over until I get May's SAL fiber from CJKopec Creations. This fiber is 100% tussah silk from DyingforColour (Etsy), called "Scottish Heather". I loved the name so I bought it, even though I'd never spun silk before. I was nervous about the silk, actually, since I have heard that it sticks to everything and I have dry skin that easily "hooks" on fiber. I am spinning it on my .95 ounce Golding. This is the perfect spindle for this project. It's heavy enough that I don't get the single too thin and the rim-weighting means that it spins almost until forever. I think the silk has something to do with that, too. I find that I actually have to stop the spindle before it's ready to stop, because otherwise the single gets dangerously overspun. It looks divine, though. I absolutely love it. I'm making sure to moisturize a LOT before I touch the silk, which seems to be helping.

I had April vacation last week (public high schools close for a week in April here in Maine) and had a goal of getting some knitting done. I managed only this week to actually do some. I did get my Not-So-Wispy done (I will block it today, I hope), but Girasole sat in my knitting bag untouched. I just didn't have the mental fortitude to accomplish any knitting that was anything other than mindless. I did get eleven rows done on it this week, though. I'm almost halfway done chart D. Chart D is a spiral that goes first in one direction, then another. I think I will have to change colors where the direction shifts; I didn't want to, but I only have so much of the gray yarn. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that making this choice doesn't ruin the blanket. I'd like to get to the color change by this weekend, which is about four rows away.

I knit a section of my entrelac scarf yesterday and had to wonder why I put it down in the first place. Although I'm doing it on size one needles, the entrelac makes me feel like I'm getting a lot accomplished. I love the Noro Silk Garden Sock yarn I'm using, too, because the colors are fantastic. Fan. Freaking. Tastic. The scarf will be amazing when it's done. IF it ever gets done.


Oh! I forgot to mention! My friend Karin from knit group (more on her and her SHEEP in an upcoming post) is making a wholesale order to Peace Fleece and is letting me get some yarn using the pricing she gets ($4 a skein, people!). I'm getting one skein of Siberian Midnight and one of Firebird Orange for now. I would like to knit a sweater and need several skeins of black for the body and sleeves (I'll be using my own handspun for the yoke), but that will have to wait a few months, I think.

I think that's about it right now... I'm looking for a pair of socks and some sock yarn to knit next. I've been listening to Lime N Violet's podcast a lot lately, and they are crazy about socks. They are infecting me with their sock madness! Does anyone have any suggestions? I'm looking for a toe-up sock.

Read more...

Yarn and WIPS

Surprisingly for me, I finished April's "Put your own twist on it" spin along fiber more than a week from the deadline. The fiber was 100% corriedale in black, eggplant, and lilac. Here's CJ Kopec's picture of the "Midnight Desire" fiber:

I spun it vaguely thick and thin, and tried to make a thicker single than I did last month. The fiber really reminds me of the poem "The Highwayman" by Alfred Noyes, specifically the opening stanza:

The wind was a torrent of darkness among the gusty trees,
The moon was a ghostly galleon tossed upon the cloudy seas.
The road was a ribbon of moonlight over the purple moor;
When the highwayman came riding,
Riding, riding,
The highwayman came riding up to the old in door.

The yarn totally looks like the moor and the night. But what do to with the "road was a ribbon of moonlight" line? Inspiration struck in the form of silver nylon thread. I plyed two singles with a nylon thread and created "Watch For Me by Moonlight":













These pictures were taken before I set the twist - the yarn is even more bouncy and fluffy now. I hope to use it as the yoke for Shannon Okey's Faux Fair Isle raglan sweater. I'm in search of a copy of the pattern to see how many yards are called for. This skein is 121 yards, 2.25 ounces. I don't have the WPI yet. I don't know when I'll get the rest of the fiber spun; probably not until I get the pattern and discover I need more yarn.

I've been knitting steadily on Girasole, although I am hampered at times by the need to concentrate. I can't knit in the car, or with the tv on , or listening to Lime n Violet's podcast because I have to keep utter attention on my stitch count. It looks pretty, though, and I'm on chart D:













Since I knew I was going to spend several hours in the car last weekend (a trip to my family's farm - heaven!!), I printed Knitty's Wisp pattern. I didn't have any lace weight yarn in my stash, so I grabbed some of my (very embarassing) Moonlight Mohair by Lionbrand. It looked soft, and wispy, so I cast on. I wish now that I had split the nice light and dark blue mohair strand from the garish orange and pink manmade strand. Because the mohair is soft and pretty, but the garish strand ruins everything. It looks like cat puke. Here, judge for yourself:












I like the pattern, and the fabric drapes very well, but I don't think this is going to be anything I ever wear. Anyone want a not-so-wispy? I have one more ball of yarn to go and then will be done. Perhaps it will get better once done?

So that's what's going on in my world. What are you spinning/knitting?

Read more...

Llary the Llama!

This is Llary the Llama, led by my cousin Henry. I am in discussion with Henry's mother to purchase Llary the Llama's fleece this spring. Look at how beautiful and WHITE it is! I have no idea what kind of quality the fleece is (I will meet Llary the Llama in about a week), but even if his fleece can't be used for next-to-the-skin projects, I will still have an entire llama fleece to dye and spin. I. Cannot. Fickin'. Wait.

Of course, I haven't actually been told I can HAVE the fleece yet. I did offer to knit Henry and his sisters nice llama mittens, though. I'm hoping that will convince Henry's mother Carly. I already have a fiber processor picked out to remove the guard hairs and process the fleece into roving so I can dye and spin it more effectively. Once I get the fleece, weigh it, and contact the processor, I'll know more. It'll probably a month before I'll have an update, but I seriously can't wait. I'll take pics of Llary next week to share and should be able to tell you then if the fleece will be mine or not. Squee!

Read more...

Spinning Quasi-FO

I participated in Copy Kopec's March Spin-along. I chose to spin 4 ounces of "inquiry" - a 100% merino blend of lime green, black, navy blue, hot pink and orange. I got through 2.5 ounces of the fiber in the month period. Less than I wanted, but still pretty good. Since I couldn't do the stright three-ply I wanted with only two of the three rovings spun, I navajo-plied the singles I had and came up with this:


In the 2.5 ounces there are 204 yards at 16 wpi, which works out to 1,300 ypp. If I spin the rest the same as this, that makes about 326 yards of yarn. I do not know what I will make out of this yarn yet - it looks like it'd make a funky pair of socks, but I don't think I'll have enough yarn for that. Maybe if I do them toe-up and make ankle socks? Hmm. Things to think about, anyway.

My choice for April's spin-along is 4 ounces of Coby's "Midnight Desire" colorway - 100% corriedale in shade of lavendar, eggplant, and black. Here's her picture of the fiber:


I would like very much to spin this thicker than last month's, and ply it with a crocheted silver thread. I want to single crochet it so it's a bit thicker and will be more visible against the dark fiber. I've sent an email to Coby to ask if this is "allowed" per the rules of the contest. I'll do it anyway, it will just mean that I can't win for that month if it isn't permissable. I'm really excited about it, actually, and think it will take next to no time to complete since I'm not concentrating on making it super thin and even. I am hoping to pick up the thread on Wednesday to get started on that.

What are you spinning this month?

Read more...