Repeats

This morning I braved the chill and still-falling snow to go out and take pictures of a few of the rovings I dyed up this weekend. These three are my favorite and I've decided to keep them and spin them up for myself. Depending on how attached I become to them, I may or may not add them to the shop (I know, it's kind of selfish).


:surrender colorway:

At least this time I payed careful attention and took really good notes while creating them so I should (in theory) be able to repeat these three. Also, as much as I love kettle-dyed rovings I'm trying to get away from doing them because so many of them seem impossible to repeat. I'd like to start having some of my own colorways that I can repeat for customers so they can still get a braid of something they like even if they missed out on it, or so they can get another if they'd like to pursue a larger project.


:shipwrecked colorway:

I should be dyeing some more rovings in a few days (trying to do some repeats) and I do plan on adding those to the shop. So, if you see one of these and plan on hunting for them keep your eyes on the shop this weekend.

:night song colorway (though I'm still revising this one):

P.S. That's not fuzz on the last one. It's snow.

Embarrasing behavior...

In my last post I mentioned something about having dyed up some nice rovings and that I'd post again with pictures as soon as they were dry. I've been trying to make a post for the last couple of days and for some reason, it wouldn't work. Tonight it's finally cooperating, so here are a couple of my favorites.



This one is lovely plain merino. I was trying for something else when I did this one and it came out very different from what I was aiming for, though I think I like it even more. the colors are just so pretty and girlie.



And here is my favorite of the SW merino/alpaca blends I put in my shop (gone already). I love the way this one came out. I can just envision how stunning this one would be as a 3 ply sock yarn.



On a different note, I fell off the wagon bad this week. At the beginning of this year, I made a deal with myself (and my husband) that I would have to earn my hand-dyed braids of fiber by losing weight. Well, I cheated. Twice.

The first cheat was kind of small. My excuse was that it was okay because it was for the AllSpunUp Ravelry Spin-A-Long, and I always participate. So I bought one braid for the spin-a-long.

The second cheat happened last night. I was fiddling around on Etsy and I noticed that Kristin was just listing fibers in her shop. I was looking through them with the intention of admiring them (just admiring them) when I saw one that absolutely had to be mine....

I was checking out with it before I new what was happening. Shame on me. I hope I can snap out of it and regain some self control.

Also, I've finished knitting the baby cardigan for my sister-in-law's baby boy (still not born yet, I think he might turn out a bit stubborn) though I haven't finished sewing it up yet. Did I mention that I also have a pair of socks that have been sitting around for well over a month now, completely done except for one toe?

What I really need right now is a nice long weekend to sit quietly, and finish stuff. I've been hearing a rumor for the last day or so that we're supposed to get more snow. I know it's wrong to think this way, but all this unfinished stuff is making me hope we actually get it.

What the?.....

Seriously?



Why is it that for the last couple of years we've been getting the short end of the snow stick at Christmas, and then have been getting it dumped on us right as spring should be arriving?

For the last couple of weeks it has been raining (because you can't have spring with out showers, right? -especially in the Pacific Northwest), but still getting progressively warmer and nicer with more sunny breaks in the rain. Then this happens...

That's over 6 inches on the top of my jeep.



We had a few flurries of snow yesterday afternoon (not entirely uncommon to this area at this time of year) and then we started to get a dusting of snow last night. I said to myself, "No big deal. We'll probably get a couple of inches and have late-start school in the morning. No problem.", until my husband woke me up early this morning and informed me that we had 6 inches of snow and school was cancelled. I think I'm in for a long weekend of snow pants, cocoa and the real cure all (for me): knitting some nice, warm wool.

P.S. I dyed some really beautiful SW merino/alpaca rovings last night. I'll have some pictures as soon as they're dry.

P.P.S. It's still snowing.

Oh, that Funky goodness...

...Mmmmm. I do love this yarn. This is the latest 3 ply sock yarn from the wheel and it's all mine. It was spun from gorgeous Funky Carolina merino roving in the Grey Room colorway and it turned out just about as yummy as it gets.



I forgot to weigh this one, but it's around 4oz and an assured 470 yards. I was spinning extra fine to get the necessary yardage for a fingering weight Swallowtail Shawl (Ravelry link). I didn't get the recommended yardage for the fingering weight version (516 yards), but I've seen a lot of projects on Ravelry and many people get by with 450-460 yards, so I think with my 470+ I should make it through this one okay (I hope).



Right now I'm part of the way through knitting a baby cardigan for my first nephew, who is do to arrive in less than a week and I'm going to have to barrel through the rest of the knitting fast, as it has to be ready to go in just two days. I'm think I might end up mailing this one after all. Still, it's not impossible... and wanting to start the Swallowtail Shawl might be exactly the kind of motivation I need to get it done.

There really ought to be a drumroll...

... At least it feels like there should be. I've been working on this update for what feels like forever and here, I give you Mason, the final handspun yarn for this evening's update.



Mason is a 2 ply handspun merino yarn, sport to worsted weight, approximately 4.2 oz and 280 yards. The fiber was called Maison Modern and came from cloudlover69.etsy.com. It was beautiful, lovely stuff to spin and the finished yarn is just as bright and lovely and smooshy as is gets.



Just a reminder, tonights shop update begins at 6:00pm pacific time and I hope everyone who can make it scores something nice! Thanks and Cheers! =)

Port Town

Here's the last handspun sock yarn for Friday's update. I've named it Port Town.



It's approximately 3.8oz and 375 yards of 3 ply (Navajo style) superwash merino sock yarn. I really enjoyed spinning this one and I hope whoever decides to give it a new home will really enjoy it. The colors are numerous in this one and are very festive as well.



As of now I only have one yarn left to ply, which I will probably do either tonight or tomorrow morning and then to finish preparing everything for the update (all the little details, photos and such). I'm starting to get very excited and I hope things go smoothly (mostly I've begun worrying about my somewhat iffy internet connection).

I'll be posting again in a couple more days with a preview of the final finished yarn.

Purple

I went out today, braving the freezing-cold drizzle with my stuffy nose to photograph yarn #7. I have yet to decide on a name for this one. It's 100% merino, handspun in a thick-and-thin style.

The roving I spun this from was hideous, as was the resulting yarn. I had intended on having a nice blue and brown roving and instead this one came out blue, navy blue and orange with almost no brown (I still can't figure out where the orange came from). I figured that once the yarn was all spun it was probably going to have to be overdyed, I just hadn't made up my mind about which color to use over the blue and orange. I strongly considered green, but ended up going with Cushing's garnet. I haven't had a lot of luck dyeing roving with the garnet as it always comes out a really dark fushia (which I'm not that fond of), but as it turned out it's excellent for over-dyeing several different degrees of blue. I'm very pleased with the results.

I have no idea of the weight or yardage yet. It's probably between 180-200 yards and in the neighborhood of 4oz. I think this one will knit up beautifully.

I'm still working on the next sock yarn. I've been battling yet another cold since this last Sunday and I've had a very difficult time motivating myself to stay at the wheel. At this point, I'm speculating that I'll have met all my update spinning requirements by this coming Sunday, and I'll have a few more days to possibly work in some extra wooly stuff. Hope everyone has a nice Valentine's Day. Cheers=)

Sumatra

I need a moment to express my glee, as I'm now coming in ahead of schedule for the update. Here is yarn #6...




I've named her Sumatra -after my one of my favorite coffees. When I was dying this roving I was going for a nice coffee brown and I think this one came out just as it should have, a lovely coffee-on-cocoa brown.

Sumatra is a 3-ply (navajo style) superwash merino sock yarn. It weighs approx 3.8oz and an estimated 405yds (estimated because I haven't washed and reskeined it yet, which also explains why it still looks a bit "curly" in the photo).

I'm glad to be ahead of the game for once. I'm about a third of the way through spinning the next sock yarn. I'm hoping to be done spinning that one by Sunday. Maybe, just maybe I will manage to squeeze in another sock yarn before the update. I know better than to expect it of myself, but it's still fun to think I might be capable. Cheers till then. =)

Reef

Here's the latest completed handspun yarn for my next update (which has been officially scheduled for Friday, February 20th at 6:00pm Pacific time). I had to take a good long look at this one and really mull it over before a name popped into my head. I'm calling it "Reef"...



... because the more I look at it, the colors remind me of one of those tropical underwater scenes. Reef was spun from a 4oz braid of the mystery wool, which still reminded me a lot of BFL, though I'll never really know.

I started out spinning this one pretty fine, like I would for a two-ply sock yarn, and decided later that the fiber would have been somewhat better suited to a thicker yarn. In the end I decided to cable-ply it.

In cable plying, you spin your single(s), then ply back in the opposite direction as usual but with extra twist, and then finally ply the plied yarn back on itself in the same direction as the original single. This yarn is very dense and very strong. While it would be soft enough to wear against the skin, its texture reminds me more of a soft linen or hemp yarn. This baby doesn't bounce.



At the finish I ended up with around 200 yards of sport to light worsted before washing (it still needs to be reskeined), though I don't expect this one to shrink very much as it doesn't have much give.

Like the Sea Nymph art yarn, this one really surprised me. It's my first cabled yarn and I'm really growing attached to it. If it doesn't sell quickly I may nab it from the shop for myself.

I also have a sock yarn still on the wheel, which should be all spun by tomorrow morning, and I plan on beginning yet another 3 ply sock yarn while I let that bobbin rest. The one I finish spinning in the morning will be yarn #6.

When the update is ready I should have 4- 3ply sock yarns and 5 handspuns that are not sock yarns. Oh, and the yummy rovings should be in there, too. I'd aim to have 5 sock yarns ready, but I can already feel it in my gut that the 5th wouldn't be dry in time.

Well, I'm off to bed. I've got a breakfast date with the wheel. =)

Progress Photos

As promised, here are some pictures of my latest efforts. The first is called "Berry Picking"...



It's a 2 ply handspun BFL yarn, sport to worsted weight, approximately 4oz and 225 yards. The second and third pictures are of some of the SW Merino/Alpaca (70/30) roving I've been dyeing. I love this blend of fiber. It's become my absolute favorite. I may end up stealing one of these guys to spin for the update.





Now, I'm off to go spin before work. Yarn #5 is drying now and I'm aiming to have 2 more done before the end of this week. Wish me luck and wicked-fast speed. =)

Catching Up

I meant to have some great pictures of the things I've been working on lately, but my internet service is not being cooperative enough for me to upload them at the moment. I'll try to post some shop update progress pictures later when things are working better.

As I mentioned in my last post, I've been bitten (hardy-har-har) by the Twilight bug. I started reading the series less than two weeks ago and I finished the fourth and final book of the series yesterday afternoon. What an amazing read!! Thankfully, now that I'm done, life can continue with its usual schedule. I've finished spinning another couple of yarns, both of which are sport to worsted weight and I've been dyeing more roving as well (SWmerino/alpaca blend).

I'm thinking that most everything should be ready by the third week of February -if all goes well. In the next few weeks I'll be working hard to make this update a good one. Happy Ground Hog Day! =)

A bad week for wool (and other distractions)...

This last week my progress for the update has been greatly hampered by several things, including two separate (and disappointing) wool experiences as well as two unbelievable books. I'll begin with the wool experiences.



Last week I purchased and received a cone of Henry's Attic Kona Superwash Sock Yarn (I don't have pictures of the dyed skeins yet, but I'll try to remember next time around). As I skeined this yarn off the cone I came across knots. A lot of knots. So many knots that I wasn't able to get even one knot-free skein from the cone. Six skeins. All with knots. This was very dissappointing for me, as I was hoping to add them to the update. Bummer.

Still, I tried to keep my chin up. I had a pound of merino roving on its way. At least I'd be able to dye that up and have it ready for the update.




So, it came and I remember thinking when I started weighing it out that it looked a little bit different than all of the merino I've bought in the past. I started dying it. I spent the whole day dyeing it. All things considered, the dyeing process went really well. But as I gently rinsed the cooled roving, I noticed that it had taken the dye somewhat differently than merino usually takes dye. It reminded me a lot more of BFL than of merino. As the roving dryed it began to take on more of the fuzzy qualities that BFL has. I also noticed that it was much shinier than non-superwash merino generally is.



So, once the first braid was dry, I decided to sacrifice it for a test run on the wheel. It doesn't spin like merino. It spins like BFL (or another fiber similar to BFL). The singles are intensely shiny (even when compared to the bobbin half-filled with superwash merino next to it) and when I let a stretch of single ply back on itself, it has none of the characteristic springiness of merino.

I emailed the place I bought it from and they insisted that it's merino. I disagree. Oh well. At least the wool is nice, soft, and draughts nicely. The other braids from the pound I received dyed up even more beautifully than the one I sacrificed for testing and I will be including them in my February Update. I'm calling them "mystery wool" and leaving it at that.

As for the books, when I went to work on Monday (with no knitting) to work really hard and get lots of special chores done, I arrived to find that my mother-in-law had gone nuts with the cleaning and there was almost nothing to do. It was also Martin Luther King day and it was terribly slow. At the suggestion of my sister-in-law I picked up her copy of Twilight and I started reading. I didn't read much of it, but it was starting to interest me. Tuesday afternoon I picked it up again and it started to get even better - so good that I called my sister-in-law and asked if I could take it home with me to keep reading. Within two days I finished the book and decided at about 8:00 last night that I couldn't wait to start the new one so I went out and bought it. Dudes, I finished reading New Moon in one day. These books are so good, I can hardly stand it. I'm pretty sure my sister-in-law is done with the third, and I fully intend to borrow it from her to start tomorrow. I have to know what happens.

So, more progress with the update will happen...

...Just as soon as I find out what happens to Edward and Bella. =)

Simple Yet Effective Shawl

Yesterday morning I finished my Simple Yet Effective Shawl (pattern by Laura Chau) and here it is in all its glory.



I had a very difficult time photographing the colors in this shawl but at least the photos aren't blurry like the last batch I took.



Up to this point I haven't really thought of myself as a shawl knitter (especially since it's very unlikely I'll ever have need of a shawl in my wardrobe) but I really enjoyed the process of knitting one. I like how they 'grow' as you're knitting them. I also like how you can still enjoy looking at them -even if you don't actually wear them...

Today was my first day back at work. I only worked for a couple of hours but it was a refreshing change of scenery. There's a lot of deep cleaning that needs to be done and it will probably be a long while before I have need of bringing my knitting to work with me. I'm guessing I'll have 4-6 weeks worth of work-days filled with deep cleaning before I'll have any time to knit, and hopefully when that time comes business will have picked up enough that I'll be too busy to knit.

We're also getting lots of work done around our home. This afternoon when I got home from work my hubby cleaned out the garage and I started painting the kitchen cabinets. Once the kitchen is done and put back together I'm going to start painting the bathroom. I hope we can get the bathroom finished by Tuesday. There's so much work to do... but at least we're starting to see some progress.

I'm gonna go knit...

P.S. I'm still spinning. It's slow going, but I haven't forgotten the update.

Shawl Progress

I wanted to take a little break from working on the house (I've been sanding the walls in the bathroom -we're getting ready to paint) to give a little sneak peak at how the Simple Yet Effective Shawl is coming along...



I love this yarn. I love the way it feels, I love the way it drapes and I love the way the colors are shifting in it (the picture really isn't doing it justice, the colors are off and I was having a difficult time with blurring this morning). When I eventually get the second half of this fiber spun, I think whoever ends up with it is really going to enjoy it. After working with this yarn all day yesterday, I've decided to spin the second half of the fiber the same as I spun the first.

I've been spinning so much over the last week that I'm feeling a little burnt out at the wheel and am happy to be knitting instead. Another couple of days and I'll be back to it, as I don't want to get behind on the update. It also gives me a little extra time to work on the house which we're really tring to get ready to list.

Oh, and I almost forgot -I'm going back to work! I'm actually really happy about this because I spend way too much time at home. It's to the point where it's not good for me anymore. I'm starving for a change in scenery. Plus, it'll help put some money in bank. I start back at work this Saturday, and I'm hoping that as long as I manage my time well when I'm at home, I'll still be able to get everything I'm working on for the shop ready in time for the update.

Now, I'm off to do laundry and sneak in a few more rows on the shawl. =)

Octarine

Yesterday afternoon I finished plying the first half of my Spin-A-Long fiber. I love this stuff, it's becoming my favorite kind of fiber to spin. It's easy like Sunday morning.



Handspun SW Merino/Alpaca Sock Yarn
Navajo 3 ply
Fingering Weight
Approx. 4.2oz and 477 yards

It's named Octarine after the Colour of Magic (the 8th color in Terry Pratchett's discworld -generally visible only to wizards and cats) which is a kind of a bright green/yellow/purple.

I'm pleased with the way this one turned out and I've not yet made up my mind about what to do with the second braid of this fiber. More than likely it will become yarn for the shop.

As for this half, I'm keeping it. I've already decided it's going to be a Simple Yet Effective Shawl. I'm going to go put it on the swift and wind it up as soon as I'm done here.

Other than that, I'm already working on the next handspun for the February update. It's a SW Merino in a beautiful range of browns which I dyed myself. It reminds me of coffee. Hopefully it'll be done by the end of next week.

I'm off to begin my shawl, I'll have some pictures once I've made some progress. Cheers. =)

A New Leaf

Yesterday as I was spinning the last of the Pigeonroof Studios BFL (into singles for a 2-ply sock yarn) and thinking that I wasn't entirely happy with my spinning on this one, I was struck by a sudden irrational thought... Art yarn?



Turns out, my irrational thought was a saving grace. I'm convinced that if I had ignored my instinct on this one I would have been dissappointed with the resulting yarn. Thankfully, this one turned out to be 78 yards of coily-spun beauty. I love it, and so far out of all of the contenders for my February update this is the one that I want to keep for myself. However, I probably wont, because it's highly unlikely that I would actually knit something that would require this kind of yarn.

Aside from that, my spin-A-long fiber came yesterday, and it's absolutely beautiful...



These colors are amazing, I'm very happy I ordered a double dose. I'm spinning the first as a three ply sock and I haven't made up my mind about the second one yet, or whether or not I'll be keeping both of them. I ordered the double dose so that I would have the option of selling one and getting my whole investment back. We'll see...



I hope everyone is having a good new year so far. My is coming along good (even with the diet). I've been exercising faithfully and really pruning my eating habits. Hopefully, if I keep going this way I'll have earned new fiber by February. Cheers =)

Beekeeper

Today my Mama Blue Knitting Goods Troika Sock in Beekeeper came and I was not disappointed.



This yarn is some of the most gorgeous, buttery soft yarn I have ever held in my hands. I'm not exaggerating, not even one little bit. These two little skeins are a treasure. I actually considered winding it and starting another Henry immediately. I really shouldn't since I have so many projects on the needles right now. I'm wondering how long I'll be able to hold out.

Also, as promised, this is the remainder of the beautiful Funky Carolina roving.



The purplish one at the top is called Grey Room, the bottom left is Mikos and the bottom right (and my personal favorite of the three which I am most likely to keep for myself once it's done) is Tweedy Fellow.

Today I'm about half way done with my Pigeonroof Studios BFL. I think I'll have it all done and plied by Friday, which is perfect because it looks like the AllSpunUp Spin-A-Long fiber may come as early as Friday after all. Perfect timing.

This Spin-A-Long fiber is going to be it for me for a while. I'm going on a diet... in more ways than one. For the last four years I've progressively been gaining more and more weight. Sadly, I've not been able to find the motivation to do something about it - until yesterday.

My husband and I have both decided to go on a diet January 1, 2009. In the past, my main difficulty with weight loss is that I lack the discipline required to reach my goal. It takes a lot to get me properly motivated, and yesterday I stumbled on just the thing to help me stay dedicated toward reaching my goal.

I've promised (not just myself, but my husband and now any readers of this blog - so there's no backing out) that I will not purchase any more roving until I lose my first 10 pounds, and then I'll allow myself as much as three 4oz braids. Then no more roving until I've lost another 10 pounds. Every 10 pounds I lose will earn me another 3 braids.

This plan seems too easy, but it's already working. Usually I would be spending my last two days of calorie-consuming freedom indulging on everything I could get my hands on, but I'm already terrified about not being able to buy more wool. Right now Pigeonroof Studios is having an update and though I wasn't going to buy any wool today anyway, I'm really bothered by the fact that I couldn't if I did want to. My impulsive desires for food are vanishing. It's as if my brain is in control again. Now when the body says, "food?" my brain says,

"Nope. It's all about the wool."

Let's hope this newfound motivation lasts. Wish me luck!! =)

Lullaby

Last night I finished another handspun merino sock yarn. This one was spun from some of that gorgeous Funky Carolina roving...



The colorway was called Sickly Petunias, but I'm renaming it 'Lullaby'. It's a soft combination of pastels with just enough gray to tone it down a little. I've thought about keeping it and knitting a February Baby Sweater, but it was only a passing thought -this one is for my February update.

It's a Navajo 3 ply handspun merino sock yarn
Approximately 3.6oz and 375 yards
Fingering Weight



I've been meaning to take pictures of the rest of the Funky Carolina roving I have and just haven't set aside the time to take pictures. Today is a cold, overcast day so maybe I'll get out there and make myself do it.

Now that this one is done I'm spinning some Pigeonroof Studios BFL I got last week. It's in the Harlequin colorway and it's very Caribbean-looking. It makes me want to drink rum (which I don't really even like, I'm more of a gin lover). It's soft and pretty and is being spun into a nice 2-ply fingering weight yarn. The spinning has been a little awkward for this one as I've been doing 3-plies for a while, but I think it'll come out alright as long as I remember to take things slowly.

Other than that I'm expecting my Mama Blue purchase to arrive any day now, and my AllSpunUp spin-a-long fiber should be on it's way soon, too. Cheers =)

Henry

I'm happy to say that the Henry is done, and just in the nick of time, too. I really want to post pictures (I've tried several times this morning) but every time I begin uploading pictures to the internet my modem plays dead. I'm so thankful that my Dad will be getting this in time. I had a few spasms of fear the other day thinking that I might actually not make it. It feels nice to have this little victory.



I am so behind on my Christmas shopping that it's frightening, so I'm heading off to get everything else done. At least I'm nearly done baking.

I'll try again later to post pictures of the Henry. Merry Christmas everyone!!

ETA: Yay! I finally got the picture up. =)

Feeding Frenzy

Well, it's only a few days before Christmas and I'm fighting through the effects of my procrastination to finish the Henry by tomorrow, so I can do the crazy-long bind off and get it washed and blocked in time to give it to my dad on Christmas eve. I do anticipate finishing this on time, though it's not going to be done without cheating a bit -I've decided to do only six of the seven pattern repeats (which I can get away with because this scarf is already much wider than I expected it to be). This is double good news for me as I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I can't possibly run out of yarn with this decision either. Aside from that, here's some yarn...



It's approximately 4.3oz and 430 yards of 3-ply handspun sock yarn (Navajo plied), spun from gorgeous 70% SW Merino/30% Alpaca top from AllSpunUp. I love this blend and this skein is a total triumph for me. A while back I got about a pound of this lovely fiber blend from Kristin (in different colors) and I've been saving it to spin for a Serrano. Until now, I've been extremely worried that I wouldn't be able to spin it fine enough to get the yardage I need. I did the math a while back and I figured that I'd need to get at least 420 yds out of each 4oz braid. So this project (while still a long ways off in my queue) is something I can conceivably pull off at this point. Deep sigh of relief.....

At this time I'm spinning for the next update, which wont be happening for a while, definitely not until after the new year and possibly as far off as February. It's a long time to wait, but I've got way too much that needs doing around my house at this time to be spending several hours a day at my wheel. But I do think this next update will be well worth the wait...



And speaking of great updates, I just scored 2 beautiful skeins of Mama Blue Troika Sock in Beekeeper from the Mama Blue Knitting Goods update tonight -I'm stoked! Last update I managed to get a skein of Sea Merino in Palomino, but I've always wanted to get one of her yarns in the Beekeeper colorway- it's one of my absolute favorites. Ever since I've been working on my dad's Henry I've had this thought in the back of my head that I would probably never knit another Henry unless I could make one out of Mama Blue in Beekeeper. Now the thought of knitting another Henry is sounding appealing (I should totally slap myself right now). Oh well, I'm still stoked. I'm confident that I'll love this color and I've heard incredible things about the troika yarn. I do hope that this will quench my hunger for Mama Blue for a while, though. Shopping one of her updates is like finding yourself amidst a school of hungry piranhas. Seriously. Brutal. I'm going to consider myself a very lucky woman.

I'm off to finish my row requirement for the Henry this evening while watching season 7 of Smallville (I do miss TV sometimes). Cheers =)

Celebrating Progress

Here I have what is hopefully the last of the yarn I need to knit the Henry. It's funny, as much as I've talked about loathing the Henry, and never wanting to see this color again, I can't help but love this yarn and want to rub it against my skin... So soft....



And for a yarn that is so brown and austere, it's quite likable. I'll have to remind myself of this when I'm another fifty rows or so into the Henry and I'm hating it again.

I've also been working on some beautiful Freckle Face Fibers merino in the Enchanted Hollow colorway. I'm spinning this into another 3-ply sock yarn (for my Etsy shop) and I think it's going to turn out beautifully. I'm hoping that I'll be done spinning it by tomorrow night.



After that I'll be finishing the second half of the merino from my last post and then I think I'm gonna dig out some of that beautiful Funky Carolina Merino (assuming I can handle waiting that long, I've been wanting to spin the Funky Carolina since it came). Cheers =)

Yay For Monday...

I'm glad it's Monday again... I love having my husband home on his days off and I love having my little girl home on the weekends (sleeping in, if possible, is always awesome), but sometimes I'm just happy when it's Monday again and I have the house to myself for a while.

There wasn't a lot of progress on the knitting this weekend except that I started yet another scarf. I'm beginning to think that my startitis was actually scarf-itis (I'm currently working on 4). I was reading through the show and tell posts on the ravelry AllSpunUp forum and Kristin (the amazing lady behind AllSpunUp) was knitting a beautifully simple scarf for her niece out of some lovely semi-solid orange handspun in a slanted garter stitch that showed off the handspun beautifully, and realizing that I already had yarn spun that would be perfect for this pattern I dug out the yarn and cast on right then. I'm going to keep that project with me this week (since I don't need a pattern) and hopefully it will get done quickly.

I did get some spinning done. This is the first half of some hand-dyed merino. It's a fingering weight Navajo 3-ply, approximately 216 yards. I pulled this roving out of the shop as it seemed no one was going to buy it. These aren't exactly my colors, but I think someone out there will love it.



I'll also have to get some photos up soon of some beautiful roving I bought from Funky Carolina on Etsy. I've got more of her beautiful rovings on the way right now and I can't wait 'till they get here - they're gorgeous! Carrie is one of the sweetest people I've had the pleasure of buying from on Etsy and a very talented dyer/fiber artist, too.



Anyways, this morning I'm finishing up what I hope will be the last of the yarn I need to knit my Dad's Henry (I'm currently in the middle of plying). I've spun the 3oz I had and am thinking that it might get me through till the end of the scarf, since the first half that I already had spun (and thought wouldn't get me quite half-way through) is making it further along in the pattern than I expected for its yardage. If not, at least I have more of the top to work with if I need it.

Knitting for Christmas... Or not.

Well, Christmas is approaching and I've been doing a lot of knitting lately. I think I'm almost over my startitis (thankfully) and I'm trying to finish first-priority knits first.



First in line is my Dad's Henry. It's coming along beautifully. I'm almost halfway done knitting it and when I did the math, I discovered that if I knit 6 rows a day (2 in the morning, 2 in the afternoon and 2 before bed) I should have this bad boy all done in two weeks, and before you scoff at my six rows a day, I'd just like to mention that each row is over 450 tiny fingering-weight stitches, and takes me about 20 minutes to knit.

I am also happy to report that the spinning for the Henry is almost complete, though I did end up ordering more of the Ashland Bay Merino in Forest (I'm never going to want to see this color again. In fact, I anticipate that any future sightings of it will bring on fits of violent, projectile retching.) because the last bit that I ordered, and assumed was 4 oz (that's what I paid for) ended up being only 3oz when I weighed it. It's odd, I would never normally weigh fiber bought from a big online store but it looked a little on the small side when I retrieved it from the stash and I had this feeling that maybe I should just weigh it, which proved to be a very good thing, as I would have ended up being a whole 100 yards short of my needed 800 yards total.

Then there are the Selbuvotter mittens (NHM #5). These mittens are from the tail-end of my startitis. I wasn't planning on knitting these right away, but my munchkin started nagging at me about them a week ago, and as I was still in startitis mode, I cast on immediately.



Sadly, these aren't exactly beautiful, but as I'm not ordering any more yarn right now and I don't have time to spin for anymore personal projects at the moment, she's getting a blend of some rainbow BFL handspun that I had on hand and some leftover commercial sock yarn. Even with the mis-matched yarns they're not all bad. She seems to be pleased with them at the moment and if she's happy, then I'm happy. (Please note: I'm still working on the whole fair isle thing. I haven't done fair isle in a long time, but it's improving as I go. I'm hoping that some of the unevenness will come out when I block them -cross fingers-.)

And here is a project that I love more and more every time I look at it.



It's my munchkin's eyelet heart scarf from my own handspun and it's getting prettier and prettier all the time. This yarn is so soft (if I do say so myself) and the colors look so great on her with her little pale-redheaded complexion. I love knitting things for my little girl, but this is definitely the kind of hand knit gift that should be loved and treasured.

I'm pleased that I haven't let myself fall prey to the delusion that I could knit gifts for my whole family this Christmas. I'm just finishing my Dad's scarf, because (though he doesn't know it) it was supposed to be his Christmas presents last year and my spinning/knitting endurance was, obviously, not as awesome as I hoped it would be. If I didn't get it done on time this year I would have to hang my head in shame. Instead, I started several projects and decided that if some of them happened to get done in time, and could work as gifts, then that would be cool...

Turns out it's a good thing I expected so little of myself, because I do not see myself getting anything but the Henry done. To those who are facing the Christmas challenge, I wish you luck. =)

Happy Thanksgiving!

This morning has been a blur of pie-baking fury, but I did find enough time to list this new handspun. It's another 2-ply SW merino sock yarn, spun from Allspunup roving, 384 yards. I loved spinning this one and plying it was even better. It's very soft and lovely and I was tempted to keep it and make myself a Simple Yet Effective Shawl, though in the end I decided to list it (mainly because I came up a few yards to short, and I haven't any desire to alter the pattern if I were to run out of yarn, even though making an alteration would probably be much easier than I think). We'll see what happens. If no one buys it by the time I finish my Dad's Henry, I might take it back. =)


Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I'm off to change for dinner (I've got yam on my pants).

Driftwood

I've just added a beautiful new superwash merino sock yarn to my etsy shop. I love this one. I had to slap it on the wheel the second it arrived in the mail from AllSpunUp. I finished it early yesterday and I've been very tempted to keep it, but seeing as I've been giving into my fiber-temptations too often this last week, I'm going to have to sacrifice this one to the shop. I have got some absolutely gorgeous rovings piling up around here. I like it a whole lot.



This one is approximately 4oz and 392 yards of 3-ply (Navajo/chain ply) superwash merino sock yarn. I've called this one Driftwood. It's soft and lovely and it should make some lucky person's feet very happy.



There's been so much spinning lately that there has been almost no time for knitting, though whenever I think about it I try to slap out a few rows on my father's Henry.

I've also been spending a lot more time deep cleaning the house which is very, very good. I don't know why, but I like cleaning in the times right before and after Christmas more than at any other time of year. Those few weeks (beginning in late November and lasting through December) are the one time of year that seriously industrious cleaning seems to just happen 'naturally' for me.

Well, I'm off to do some laundry and work on the lovely 2-ply that's currently on the wheel. Cheers.

Lots going on...

I have been a bad, bad blogger. Lately there have been just way too many things going on and I've had start-itis big time for the last few weeks. I've finished my socks from the Allspunup Spin-A-Long (I forgot to post a picture here- maybe next time I'll remember), I've also been working (a bit less diligently than hoped for) on my Dad's Henry for this upcoming Christmas (I'm about 1/3 done with the knitting, which is good, but I still have to spin the second half of the yarn which must be done soon), and in the last two weeks I've also started an Icarus Shawl as well as this cute little scarf...




I'm using the eyelet heart stitch pattern from the Vogue Stitchionary (Volume 1- Knit and Purl) with some of my own sport-to-worsted weight handspun merino yarn.

In between the knitting there has been a lot of spinning. Here is the first half of some SW Merino sock yarn (fiber by AllSpunUp). It's another Navajo 3-ply, and I like it very much. It has a very beachy feel to it. The colors remind me of sand, foamy waves, driftwood and seaweed. The second half should be finished in another couple of days.



I've just bought a few delicious fibers from some other sellers in the last few weeks (I even splurged on some Mama Blue Knitting Goods SeaMerino Sock Yarn in Palomino- yay!) and there should be some very beautiful stuff coming along soon (well, maybe not so soon- these 3-plies are gorgeous but they take a long time).

Surprise!

This morning I decided to go ahead and list the spinning fibers and yarns that are ready to go. The shop has already been updated and there will be a few more yarns coming soon. Cheers!

New Rovings Done!!

I have spent the last couple of days dyeing all of the remaining roving. I still have to take pictures of the others, but was able to take a picture of this one as it was dry.



It's around 4oz of plain merino. I was going for a rainbow coloring. It came out very... psychedelic? Close enough, I guess.

I'll have more pictures of the others once they're dry. I'm still on time (sort of) with my spinning schedule. I should finish the merino/silk I've been working on by tomorrow, though it's still looking like it's going to be a while before the shop update.

I do have good news, though. A while back I had that wonderful dye pot mishap that became the mountain colorway, and I had been worried that I wouldn't be able to repeat it. Well, this morning I came close to repeating it. The only difference is that in the first one I used some olive green and since I'm currently out of olive I mixed a green which came out different, but still pretty. As far as I can tell it's going to be nice. Oh, and it's a merino/silk!! Yay!!

ETA: The 2nd attempt at the Mountain Colorway came out lighter (a lot more gold than brown) than the first but is gorgeous none the less. Yay!