Titles are the hardest part of blogging … other than the actual blogging part, that is

So, I’m sitting here spinning and knitting away, getting close to finishing a few things, and I start to think about what I’m going to say about them on the blog, and then I begin to wonder, you know, when was the last time I blogged?  So I checked.  Oh.  Okay.  I’m behind again.  Some day I’ll be organized enough to actually keep up.  Maybe a New Year’s Resolution?  Nah. :-)

Yummy Falkland from All Spun Up in the catchy colourway name of November/December Spin-a-Long.  This was an easy spin, but it’s hard to capture the colours correctly.  They’re deep purples and dark blues and intense greens, livened up with a bit of gold and yellow and brown. 

I spun up all 8 oz. and ended up with 756 yards, 15 wpi, chain ply.

I love it – deep and dark, with a few highlights.  And even though I took about 100 pictures, those are the only ones that even remotely get the colours right.  I guess I should read the manual for the dang camera some day and figure out what all those other buttons and knobs and switches are for. :-)

And from a totally different colour family:

Wonky!   A quick and easy knit for a thicker yarn, and yes, it really is that bright.  I used the yarn I wrote about here.  It was knit up as a last minute Christmas gift, and the giftee loved it.  Happiness all around.   

And switching gears yet again:

This is  8 oz of merino, Holly Berry colourway, from the CJ Kopec November/December Spin-a-Long.    I really wanted to make a thick and thin art yarn type thing, but my hands didn’t want to cooperate.  I ended up spinning it into two thin plies and then holding the two together as I chain plied.

I quite like the marled tweedy effect, and it’s a good way to bulk up some otherwise thin singles.  I wasted a fair bit of the fibre when I was goofing around with it, but I still ended up with 205 yards, 9 wpi, 6 ply.

There, all caught up, again … at least until tomorrow. :-)  

Round and round

Life continues to drive me round and round, seasonal stuff, work stuff, you know, life.  Gets so you just feel like you’re running around in circles and nothing is really accomplished.

Except for a bit of knitting in the round:

It’s the Fat Cat Knits yarn from the previous post that I spun into a gradient yarn to shift from pale through orange into blue, knit into a möbius scarf/cowl thingamajig.  No pattern, just used Cat Bordhi’s möbius cast-on and carried on knitting.  And then I ripped it apart and doubled the number of stitches, and carried on knitting.  Swatch?  Who needs a swatch when you can just rip out a coupla thousand stitches and start all over again?  Easy to knit, but I found scootching all those stitches around the circular needle and through the three-dimensional warp to be a bit of a pain.  I guess I’m too used to DPNs.

When I got close to the end, I started to realize that I had to, you know, end, somehow, so it wouldn’t roll.  I did some seed stitch.  Moss stitch?  Whatever.  Took it off the needles, and it rolled.  Blocked it, and it rolled.  Steamed the heck out of it, and it stopped rolling.  For a day or two.  And then it rolled.  And I’m going to leave it that way. :-)

I’m quite happy with it, though.  It’s the perfect size.  Wrap it around the neck three times, and it fills in that spot between the collar of your coat and your neck wonderfully. But I won’t make another one.  Unless I forget what a pain this one was.  But it might be nice to have a big, fluffy one.  Hmm.

Fluffy, sparkly Happy Hooves batts from Enchanted Knoll, Good Fortune colourway.  Yumm.  Spun up the singles a couple of months ago.

These batts are about 6 oz, so a little more fibre than usual.  I wound them into a plying ball and then, because I wanted to keep it all in one length, it sat, and sat, and sat, while I waited for my bulky/plying flyer to arrived.  Which it finally did, so I plied.

498 yards, 15 wpi, of squishy green goodness.  I was originally thinking sock yarn, but it might be a bit soft.  Maybe something else, maybe socks. 

I’m not sure I’m totally happy with the plying flyer.  The big bobbins do hold a lot of yarn, but it also makes it harder to treadle with the tension set for a strong wind on.  I’ll continue to play with, but so far, I’m kinda meh about it.

I am a big, fat liar.

Note to self:  Possibly change post title to, “I sometimes fear for my sanity.”  Think about it.

So, I decided I wanted to knit a scarf, and I decided I wanted to use some of my handspun.  I picked out what was probably the most colourful one, my Grafton singles.

Not the best picture, but it’s a felted single that graduates from blue through a yellowish to red.  You can read the details about the yarn here, but I’ll save you the trouble, because really the only pertinent detail is that I said it was 175 yards and about 10 wpi, or worsted weight.  That’s also what I filled in on the Ravelry page for the yarn, which is what I use to keep of myself.

Side note:  I read somewhere on Ravelry that when you make felted singles, you should carefully rewind the hank after washing and while it’s still barely damp-ish.  I read that well after I spun the yarn, so of course I didn’t do it.  It took a full two hours just to wind the yarn into a ball because it was stuck to itself.  If I ever do it again, I will rewind.  I was pleased, though, in that it held together quite nicely all through that process.  Yippee for felting!

Back to the scarf:  The other thing I noticed while rewinding is that the yarn was, well, kind of, umm, thin.  Like, quite thin.  As in, really thin.  Yes, there were some places where it was likely worsted weight, but for the majority, maybe fingering, possibly lace.  Yeah, that thin.  See the first line of this post?  Yeah. 

The thinness made me kind of revise my scarf plans.  I didn’t really want a wispy scarflette.  I do live in Canada, and we do have winter.  I decided to stripe it with another yarn to give the scarf more substance.  The Noro Striped scarf would be wonderful, non-concentration knitting, which was just what I needed after my father’s recent death, as my concentration really wasn’t up to much more than that.  After a bit of stash diving, I found a skein of Patons Classic Merino in Oatmeal,  Perfect!  Right? 

Maybe not.  I don’t know if you can tell from the picture, but the Patons skein is just about collapsed, so there’s not much left.  The handspun, on the other hand?  Tons left.  The yellow is just barely starting to peak through, and that would be about one-third of the way through.  So the Patons skein of 220 odd yards is just about gone, and the handspun, not even a third.  But I had measured 175 yards.  Apparently not only did I mis-measure the weight of the yarn, I mis-measured the length of it.  See the first line of this post?  Yeah.

Another problem is that the difference in the yarn weight was just too much.  The handspun stripes of colour were thin and drapey, and the worsted weight oatmeal was kind of puckery and tight.  Not the best matching of yarns.

The other problem, that you can’t really tell from the photo, is that the knitting is three feet long.  If I carried on, the finished scarf would be about, what, 10 feet long?  Who knows?  Not me, because at this point I have no idea how much yarn I have. 

So what did I do?  I ripped out three feet of 1x1 two-colour ribbing, with one yarn being a single.  See the first line of this post?  Yeah.  Not fun.

Time to go stash diving again.

This was given to me by a friend, and it was given to him by his sister.  I believe she just stopped knitting for some reason, and he wouldn’t touch anything remotely woolly, so it came to me.  The yarn is a DK weight alpaca blend.  I know the yarn store it came from, and it’s been out of business for several years.  Even in it’s heyday, though, it was kind of known for having, ummm, vintage yarn. I wasn't surprised that Ravelry has never heard of Marika Country.

Starting over, I decided that I would double up the use of the handspun by knitting one stripe with both the alpaca and one with just the handspun.  I added about a third more stitches and went down a few needles sizes.

Yuck, and also uggh.  So, what did I do?  I ripped it out, again.  See the first line of this post?  Yeah.

Back to Plan A, with the larger number of stitches and smaller needles.  I decided to just knit until the handspun ran out, because that's the kind of mood I was in.  Three and a half 115-yard balls of Marika later, it was done.

What did I learn?  Well, one, to measure my yarns more carefully  Maybe even two or three times.  It’s really hard to plan a project when you don’t know what you have.  Two, those people who say you don’t need to swatch for a scarf are wrong.  It would have helped in the planning process, and I don’t think I would have dug myself in so deep if I knew it was going to end up at eight feet long.  I’m short, and if I wear it looped like I would normally, it will hang down to my knees.  Folded in half and just draped around my neck, though, it will be fine, but the colour progression isn’t as obvious. Three, my neck is going to be nice and warm this winter. :-)

And also:

Ysolda’s long tail tubular cast-on is easy and a Thing of Beauty.  

Tech Knitting’s Easy Fake tubular bind off?

Also easy, but not quite so beautiful.  I should have just Kitchenered.  And no, I am not ripping it out and doing it over, and yes, after eight feet of it, I am very much over 1x1 rib for a while.

The wheel has also been busy.

This superwash BFL from a CJ Kopec spin-a-long is now …

… some three-ply sock yarn, and it *might* be 368 yards, 16 wpi.   

585

I stopped entering blog contests a while ago because I figured I’d done my fair share of winning when I first started blogging and it would only be fair to let other people have a chance, but for some reason, when Joan had a contest to guess the yardage in a skein of yarn she’d spun, the number 585 jumped right into my head.  I checked her comments and no one else had guessed that yet, which quite surprised me, because, you know, it was SO COMPLETELY OBVIOUS.   Before I had a chance to control myself, I’d entered.  Well, turns out I was wrong.  The correct answer was 576.  But, as luck would have it, I was less wrong than anyone else, so I WON!  Wanna see what she sent me?  Of course you do.

 

Mmmm, nummies!!  Cookies, Buffalo bars (Did you know Buffalos only have 330 calories per serving?  I didn’t.), sponge candy and some wonderful smelling soap so I can wash my sticky fingers after I munch. 

There might have also been some fibre.

Hmmmm, softies!! On the right is some beautifully heathered merino in the Cranberry colourway from Firefly Farm, and on the left?   It’s from Spirit Trail Fiberworks, Moon Shadows colourway, merino, silk and angora!!  Dudes!!

Thank you, Joan -- you do know how to spoil a guy!!  The moral for everyone else?  585 is a lucky number.  Remember that, mkay?

So, what have I been up to?  Well, knitting.  Still no socks – sock mojo continues to be a a no-go – but I did knit up some of my handspun into a shawl/scarf thingy.

The pattern is the uber-simple Boneyard Shawl by Stephen West, which I still managed to screw up, but whatever.  I figured a triangle shape would suit the light-to-dark shading in the stripes. 

The main feature of the pattern is lines of garter stitch every 12 rows.  I did them every 10, because it was easier and I felt like it.  I’m quite happy with the project, from start to finish, but turns out that I prefer the back side.  Sort of makes the garter ridges moot, but I think the colour changes are smoother.  Design element, down the tubes.  That’s just the way it goes sometimes.

  The wheel has been kept busy too.

This is some super fluffy and soft superwash BFL in the Trust Me colourway from CJ Kopek.  It’s part of a spin-a-long on Ravelry where we were given photos of the inspiration behind the colourway but not a picture of the actual fibre, which I think is kind of a fun idea.  The colours aren’t really me, so I wasn’t really worried about making a yarn for a specific purpose and instead gave myself permission to play.

Techy stuff:  Divided the fibre into four lengths.  Predrafted two of them together to mix and meld the colours, then did the same with the other two.  Held both lengths together as I drafted at the wheel.  This gave me a very mixed up and marled single.  I chained the single, chained the chain and then added plying twist.

End result, 75 yards, 9-ply double chained, 8 wpi.  I like it!  I think it will make a great Wonky.  I guess I should get started on that so I can actually use it this year, eh?

End note:  Anyone else using Windows Live Writer to write blog posts? Wow, so much easer.  My only complaint is that it won’t accept my defaults and I have to format each photo.  Even that’s just two clicks,though, and it’s much easier than all the dragging and dropping I had to do before.  So, does easier equal more frequent posts?  That remains to be seen.

Distractions

You may correctly surmise by the lack of a “finished my September Sock-a-Month socks!” post that I did not, in fact, finish my September Sock-a-Month socks.

Instead, I dug out some Tinsel Toes in the Prince of the Wood Elves colourway from the Unique Sheep.

  

I got this yarn as part of their Lord of the Rings sock club, but since I’m not really sold on tencel blends for socks, it sat until its time came to be something else.  That time had arrived.

 

It was perfect for a Milkweed shawl.  The pattern is well written, and a quick and easy knit. The colours in the yarn are subtle enough that, when knit in garter stitch, they don’t obscure the pattern at all but just add a bit of depth.  The tencel gives it a nice silvery sheen.

 

 

Sometimes, when you can’t be there in person to give someone a comforting hug, a knit has to take your place.   This was quickly wrapped up and sent off to be where I could not.

I then returned to my socks, but found they weren’t absorbing enough and left me too much time to think and worry, so back to the spinning wheel I went.

 

 

This gorgeous rusty brown Corriedale was a gift from Briley.  He dyed it and sent to me, thinking it would make some nice sock yarn.  It turned out beautifully.

 

It came out at 319 yards, 15 wpi, 3 ply.  Thanks, Brian – it was a pleasure to spin, and I love the subtle colours.  I’m looking forward to knitting it up to see how the Corriedale fares compared to the merino and BFL sock yarns I’ve made.

 

So yes, I can put some music on and spin away, letting my thoughts be absorbed into the colours flowing through my fingers.  It feels strange that I now get that feeling from spinning instead of knitting, but there it is, and there’s no sense fighting it.  I couldn’t really leave the bobbins empty, could I? 

 

Out came some 50/70 oatmeal BFL/silk in some beautifully  calm, cool colours.  It’s from The Thylacine, a colourway named Sandspit River.  Silk still seems to give me trouble, but I patiently worked my way through it.

 

At 12 wpi, it’s a bit thicker than was I hoping, even though it’s only a 2-ply, but 220 yards should give me enough to do something with.  I don’t what, but something. 

And just as I was hanging it to dry after setting the twist, I got the phone call I was waiting for.  Things still aren’t good, but they’re better.  I can downgrade my worrying to a state of watchful concern.  I suppose that’s about the best one can ask for in the circumstances.  In the meanwhile, I’m thankful I have distractions.

 

Falling into Fall

I'm starting to feel a bit more comfortable with the spinning wheel. Or at least I don't think it's running away on me most of the time, which is a start.

This is 4.3 oz of merino from Freckle Face Fibers in the Aquazone colourway, an unusual combination of aqua, forest green, mint and purple. I asked it what it wanted to be, and it responded that a three-ply sock weight might be a good idea.

I think it was right. It ended up at 503 yards, 15 wpi. Still a bit under-plied, but I think it will knit up okay. When I'm spindling, I always over-ply, because I like it like that, so I'll have to try to remember to give an extra treadle or two when plying on the wheel.

I think it will make some good socks, though. Whenever I get around to knitting it, that is.

Knitting is progressing too, although slowly. I've started on my September socks. One of the problems with taking all your UFOs and throwing them into a personal sock club is that they were probably UFOs for a reason, and that reason was likely a problem of some sort or other, and when their turn comes up, you have to solve that problem.

In this case, I think it was just that the yarn was knitting up into the usual spiraling stripe that you often get with handpaints, and I wanted to mix it up a bit. I decided to try it with a slip stitch cable.

But now I can't decide if it looks delightfully muddled, or just muddy. The other side looks like the spiraling stripe is coming back despite my attempts to thwart it. Sigh.

Any opinions?

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.