SAM 8 - August

You know how sometimes you get a yarn and it just takes your breath away because it's so beautiful? This was one of those.


It's from Painted Yarns, in the Fall Birches colourway. It was extra special because it will never be available again -- the artist who painted it has passed away. I really did just want to put it in a bowl on the coffee table and look at it and love it forever.

That's what I should have done.


These socks have been on and off the needles for probably two years, trying out many different patterns. Nothing really brought out the true beauty of the colours. In the end, just to get them done, I resorted to my standard, old 6x2 rib.


I kind of feel like I cheated on them and didn't really give them their due, and that bothers me, but it was time to call enough and just get them finished. August socks, you're done.



In spinning news, I finished up the second installment of the Fat Cat Knits Mixed Blessings. This was a colourway called Hombre, and I loved the colours in both of the segments.


Inspired by what some of the other people had done with this, I decided to try to make a yarn that progresses from light to dark. I divided it up and put it into three piles, the first with just the lighter colour, the second with both and the third with just the darker.

I pre-drafted different lengths together through a diz in order to really blend the colours and give them a more tweedy look.


This was my first time spinning Falkland, and I loved it. Softer than BFL, with more grab than merino, it came out wonderfully fluffy. Spindle spun, wheel plied, it ended up at 296 yards, 8-9 wpi.



I'm quite pleased with the finished yarn. I think it wants to be a scarf ... or something.

A-long alonging

As I'd hoped, the slight pressure to get stuff resulting from joining a KAL or some-such has resulted in, well, getting stuff done.

This colours in this gorgeous yarn from All Spun Up re-kindled a yarn lust that I haven't felt for quite a while. I had to have it, and I had to knit it as soon as it arrived. Joining Sock-a-Month 8 helped keep the knitting from languishing and actually made me knit both socks. :-)

Plain socks, in a fantastic colourway, but a finished pair! Hurrah!! Mojo, are you back? Only time will tell.

The fact that I was able to finish the socks while participating in the Tour de Fleece on Ravelry kind of gives me hope that I can do both spinning and knitting. I mean, that was kind of my intention before the spinning took over.

And speaking of the Tour de Fleece, I managed to turn this ....


.... into this:

It's merino from Fat Cat Knits, in the Seaside Cottage colourway. I signed up for a three-month subscription so I would push myself outside of my normal colour range, and this certainly did the trick.

I was trying to spin it thicker and ended up with 306 yards at 11 wpi, which is on the thin side of worsted weight but not too bad.

Definitely a happy mix of colours!