Injury

I've finally had to succumb to the reality that the cramps in my hands and wrists arent going away without some serious rest. Shooting pain from my fingers to my arms really got my attention. The last straw was knitting socks on the subway home. Every stitch was painful. Not that I stopped knitting. I tried to cut back over the weekend. I cleaned the kitchen, balanced my finances, straightened the desk....you get the picture. See how clean my kitchen is!

Knitting update. Still havent finished grafting the toes on the Monkey socks. I started making Zephyr socks for my mom. Finished the first sock up to the toes because I have no idea what her foot measurements are so I dont know when to start the toe. I'll check when I see her this weekend. Started the 2nd sock. I dont much trouble with second sock syndrome. I cant seem to finish the first one before I start the 2nd one. Talk about startitis.

Finally started to make some progress with Clapotis. Its not as interested as using variegated yarn but it has an nice sheen and the splitting hasnt been so terrible.

Patches is less than amused.

This weekend Mom and I are going to MA sheep and wool!! We're staying at cheap-o Travelodge hotel. It got awful rating on TripAdvisor, but its a last minute thing so we didnt have much of a selection. The hotel is a belated Mothers Day gift. I'm hoping to pick out a wheel tho I've been reading reviews all week and I feel even more confused!!

More spinning

I plied the brown BFL. Turned out like rope. When I tried to knit it up on a pair of #11 the gauge was 1 st = 1inch. Totally unusable. I was baffled what to do with it. Noone in my knitting group could figure out what to do with it either. There was mention of a possible wallhanging, maybe some macrame...

Then I went to Seaport Yarn to look for sock yarn for my Sockapalooza4 pal. No luck, but I found the fiber. There was a new shipment from Grafton Fibers. They let me rummage through the box of fibery goodness before it was even unpacked. What amazing colors. I started to pay for my new fiber, when I spotted the Grafton spindles. They were gorgeous too. Turns out the problem I was having with the BFL was that the spindle I had was too heavy so thinner yarn broke more easily. Andrea was very helpful and suggested I respin it.

Ripping out a sweater is a breeze compared to unspinning fiber but what a difference. I can see a brown hat in my future. Did I mention I love the new spindle?




Its been only 2 weeks since I started spinning and already I have a fiber stash. Given the pace I spun with the first spindle, about 4 oz a week, I decided I needed a lot more fiber. I have this fantasy of spinning yarn to make a brown cardigan with cable edges instead of button bands. There I was ordering 16 oz of brown BFL and 8 oz of Winter Sky blue merino from Copper Moose Fibers. Cant explain the blue merino since I've been having trouble spinning the merino I already had, too slippery for my beginners fingers. The package was waiting for me when I got home from Seaport Yarn. More gorgeous fiber. I dont feel worthy. Besides, now that I'm spinning thinner yarn, it takes much longer to spin. Plus respinning the old BFL. I have enough to keep me busy for months, not like that means anything. If I believed that I wouldnt have a yarn stash. I feel like I've officially arrived to the world of spinning!!



I've been spinning a lot. My knitting projects are suffering.

Today I relutantly put down the knitting and spinning and organized the yarn strewn all over the couch. There was barely enough room for me and Patches to sit. Last night I feel asleep on top of the yarn, I guess that was a hint that it was time to clean. I got most of the yarn off the couch. Its all on the coffee table but at least I have room to sit. I finished the socks that have been living on the couch since X-mas and cleaned the kitchen. I;m exhausted.



Rapunzel Sock Knitpicks Swish, Bubblegum

Spinning...again

My plans were innocuous enough. Wind the brown BFL into a skein, wash it and make a hat. I started wrapping it around the table to make the yarn into a skein and the yarn started to break. Seems the thicker the yarn the less twist it had and the more easily it came apart. Those very thin sections held just fine. While doing the initial spinning I was so concerned about having too much spin in the fiber that I ended with not enough spin and the fiber unraveled. After much frustration and many yarn breaks I decided to re-spin the entire thing. I got lots of practice making joins that werent microscopically or look one big slub. Once I figured out how to spin fiber without it getting tangled on itself I fwas able to find my rhythm and it was fine. Though I'm afraid to unwind it from the spindle. Once I got passed the I was able to relax into it and became mesmerized with watching the spindle spin. Maybe its an Aspergers/autism thing.

I'm definitely going to ply this. The yarn isnt as thick as I remembered, esp after being respun. I'm thinking of ordering more dark BFL to ply with it and maybe a pound of BFL in oatmeal for a sweater. Hopefully by then I'll be spinning thinner yarn more consistently. I'm a little nervouse ordering on line and not being able to touch it, but there isnt anyplace I know of in Manhattan that sells such large quantities of roving. I'm a little uncomfortable spending so much on something I just started doing. But making just a few ounces at a time just makes more. Its all pretty exciting.

This is Patches trying to figure out why the heck am I spending so much time taking pictures of yarn. She's such a good sport about it

Sock Exchange

Yesterday was the sock exchange for the NY Sit n' Knit group, my first sock exchange ever. Lots of fun. Nicole loved her socks. Not only did they fit but they matched her dress!!





Cindy gave me an awesome pair of Elfine socks plus pink nail polish. I had just I ripped out yet another attempt at Elfine that morning. I was destined to have those socks. They're fabulous. How did she know I'm due for a pedicure? After the exchange, Chanin and I went to LYS nearby because I needed yarn for the next sock swap. Yeah sockapalooza4!!




The next major decision is to ply or not to ply?? I finished spinning both the cream roving and the brown BFL roving. The cream looks pretty rough. The brown looks more like yarn I can actually make something with, though they're pretty thick. I dont know if they're balanced enough to stand up to being knit on their own. I'll see what happens after I wash them. I keep forgetting it is my first attempt at spinning. The brown matches my winter coat and would make a lovely hat. I'm not very good at making hats. They're usually pretty floppy and are never tight enough around the ears. Maybe I'm just not patient enough. Hopefully they're not so overwound that they're impossible to knit. All I have left is the fuschia merino. I think its time to take the plunge and buy more fiber. Stay tuned.

I decided to make Clapotis with the yarn I bought last week. So far its pretty easy. I've never knit a shawl I've enjoyed wearing. Not much patience here either. A couple of weeks ago I started making the Swallowtail Shawl from IK, but I lost my place and havent had the heart to rip it out yet.

I'm having some technical difficulties uploading anymore pictures. Hopefully I'll have something finished by the time I figure this out.


To my sockapalooza pal:

Hope you're having fun picking out yarn. I needed was an excuse I mean reason to buy more sock yarn. Leave me a comment and say hi.

Happy Knitting!