Why do I need a title?

Thanks to Battlestar Galactica Season 2.5 (what's up with that?), I got a bit of knitting done.

Noro Silk Garden, Colour No. 8, blues, greens, purples .... yummm.



This is the second time that I've run out of yarn. Luckily Noro just recycles the same colours in different combinations and I could use some leftovers to finish it up.



Can you tell which end I had to doctor?

I also finished plying the Enchanted Knoll Red Silk Kimono yarn.




As I was spinning it, I didn't really worry about how thick or thin it was; I just let it do its thing.


It ended up at about 136 yards, 12 wpi, and very textural and sparkly.


I'm surprised at how much I enjoyed the sparkles, and I might even have decided what I'll knit with it. But for now, I think I'll go out and enjoy some sunshine.

I have no clever title

It seems there's a large preference for Google Reader over Bloglines -- thanks for the recommendation, everyone! Just as comments were coming in on my last post complaining about missing blogs, Bloglines decided to pull one of those, "Oh, by the way, so-and-so has 200 new posts" dealies, so I made the switch. Google Reader is kind of wonky, as in what's up with alphabetizing blogs that begin with the word "the" under T, but I can live with that.

Last time I removed my blogroll from my sidebar, I got a few emails of ... concern ... that it had disappeared. I have spent over six hours trying to reinstate it from Google Reader, and it keeps screwing up. I'd rather spend my time doing other things, so my best advice at this point would be, "Get your own blogroll." :-)

I've been knitting a bit, thanks to Battlestar Galactica Season 2.


Noro Silk Garden No. 241A, a lovely mix of mostly greens and purples.


Yum!

I finished spinning the red sparkly stuff I was working on, but I have started plying it yet. That hasn't stopped me from starting to spin something else, though.

This is superwash merino, the May/June spin-a-long from All Spun Up. Greeny blues with a bit of white and rust, drafts like butter -- love it!

Feeling Productive

I finally finished spindling the merino top from The Arts at Eagle's Find, in the Leaves and Stones colourway, that I started way back in December.

Plying seemed to take forever, but I did it in stages and that seemed to help. I tried a different way of wrapping the yarn around my plying spindle. I kept more weight on the bottom, and more open space at the top for twirling, and that seemed to make it easier. Not faster, just easier.

While spinning it, I tried to concentrate on keeping it even. Once my fingers got used to the merino, it just kind of flowed. I put a bit less twist into the singles and bit more into the plying, and I like the result -- it's much softer and bouncier.

Even though it's mostly shades of browns, it was a lot of fun to watch the colours slowly meld into each other. I'll be watching for more semi monochromatics.

End result: about 600 yards, 24 wpi - laceweight!

I was hoping for enough for a shawl, but I don't think it's quite there. Maybe a large-ish scarf? Haven't quite decided.

I also finished another Kaleidoscope.

This is Silk Garden No. 217. Again, no knots in either skein.

What a fun colourway -- me likes it lots.

Purple -- it's a good thing

Yummmm, I love blues and browns and greens.

Who knew they were even better with a shot of purple?

Silk Garden 245. This was the first time neither skein had a knot. It was the second time I ran out of yarn at the end. Good thing Noro just keeps using the same colours over again in different combinations and I was able to throw in a scrap from another one to finish off the end.

Totally loving the purple.

Which is a good thing, because I was also working on this.



Impulse of Delight sock yarn in the Crocus colourway. If you don't follow Ruth's blog to watch how how she develops her colourways, you should - it's very cool.

It's also very cool and windy and wintery outside, so my not-very -successful attempt at an outside FO shot lasted about 30 seconds before I chickened out and went back inside. Those white speckles in the photo are snow, not lint. :-)

Apparently I need bigger windowsills.


Simple 6x2 rib, Sherman heel. Totally loving the purples.

Out with a Bang

Except now that I think about it more, the old year didn't really leave with a bang -- it was more of a DRIP DRIP WHUMP, which was the sound of the ceiling of my computer room falling down just before Christmas on account of a water leak from outside my condo. Yes, they fixed it.

There may also have been a GACK GACK BLETCH, which was the sound of a sick cat who required an emergency trip to the vet on New Year's Eve. Yes, he's all better now.

There may also have been some GURGLE GURGLE GURGLE, which was the sound of my own intestinal disturbances on account of some bug or other. Yes, it's also better now.

Let's hope that's the end of the noise and the new year progresses a little more quietly.

Throughout all that, I did manage to keep myself busy with a bit of fibre.


That's some BFL in the Caramel Apple colourway from Moonlight Baker/Hungry for Handspun.

The colours were perfect for spinning while the snow, and more snow, and yet more snow, fell from the skies.

I was again aiming for a two-ply worsted weight, but I again didn't quite make it. It' about 277 yards, 15 wpi, so right between fingering and sport. Not quite what I was going for, but quite nice nonetheless.

My knit mojo seems to be on vacation, but thanks to the rental of a couple of movies, I was able to finished another Kaleidoscope.

Silk Garden, in what I thought was No. 258. However, according to Ravelry, the last one was 258, so I've managed to mix up the ball bands and have no idea what this one really is.

ETA: It's most likely 228 -- thanks, Judy!!

Whatever it is, it's kind of a nondescript colourway -- mostly greens and browns, with a bit of orange and red and blue.

Nap time. Ciao. :-)

Kaleidoscope # 5

With the completion of the Christmas knitting (yes, I'm rubbing it in!), it's time to get back to some projects that have been sitting for a bit, patiently waiting their turn.



Silk Garden No. 258.


This colourway apparently has every colour ever invented by Noro.



In the Other News Department -- a loose end:

Yikes!! I completely forgot to mention something cool about the Moonlight shawl. It's one of those patterns that looks nice from either side. This is good when you're giving something to a non-knitter and you're afraid they might wear it inside-out. Here's the side that I forgot to include in the last post.


There, full disclosure. I feel much better now. :-)

And in the spindling department, I turned this:



into this:

The sock yarn I finished last month is being knit up as we speak, but I'm not completely happy with it. It's knit-able, but more, um, crisp than soft, so I think that means I over-spun it. This time around I concentrated on keeping the singles a bit looser. I also wanted to make a thicker yarn. The sock yarn singles were about 40 wpi, and for a two-ply worsted weight, the singles should be about 24 wpi. Trying to increase the size of the single is ... interesting. Your hands get used to a certain motion, and you really have to work at making them do something else. The finished yarn isn't completely even, but it's much softer. At 266 yards, it ended up being a light worsted weight.

I've also been working on plying tighter.

All in all, I'm happy with it. So, what shall it be? Scarf or hat? Hmmm.

Kaleidoscope # 4

Another unusual combination of colours.

Mustard and mauve ...



Black and blue ...

Me likes it ... bunches.

Of course there were knots, so I only had one black and blue part and three mustard and mauves.

Silk Garden No. 247.

In the Other News Department, the Cross and Meet sock is now available as a Ravelry purchase. Go get it. :-)

Kaleidoscope # 3

Colours so hot they sear your retinas and confound my camera.





Orange and pink, with a bit of green, brown and black.

Like an autumn forest ... on crack.

Mr. Noro, your brain must be a wondrous place.

Silk Garden No. 84.

Kaleidoscope # 2

I didn't think I'd gotten into a colour rut ...


... but it seems I'd forgotten ...

... what a perfectly glorious colour ...


... purple can be.


Silk Garden No. 232