Mittens!!

OK, its November and I'm going to try and post more regularly, at least for the duration of SP11 but hopefully even afterwards because its fun to have a journal of my knitting projects.

I finished mittens this morning. They're the first project I've knitted up with my very own handspun. Normally I'm not a huge fan of mittens, but I lost all my gloves last winter and its been pretty cold. Plus the yarn matches my coat. The mittens look a little odd. They're a little square on top, probably because I designed them without checking other mitten patterns first. They're also a little long. I originally planned to make wrist warmers, but changed my mind in the middle and didnt want to rip them out. Oh well. They're still fun.

Fiber into Yarn

It so exciting to see fiber transformed into yarn. I've been spinning more than knitting lately. Theres something about the rhythm of drafting the fiber and letting the spin travel up thats so hypnotic and soothing. Even after 5 or 10 minutes I feel calmer, which I really need. I finished the brown BRL that was on the bobbin. There's another 250 yds. Maybe there'll be enough for a shawl, although I dont seem to have a lot of patience for shawls. But thats another story. I'm not sure the WPI of the fiber, but its probably no more than a worsted weight.

The fiber from Blarneyarn was a little bit more coarse that the brown, maybe because the brown isnt dyed. Once I stopped trying to make perfectly even yarn the spinning went much more quickly. I really had fun spinning it. Go figure.

I'm also making progress on the Thuja sock. Just started turning the heel. Progress feels very slow but its nice to be making socks again.

Knitting Updates

I finished the blue cardigan. Its Reynolds chunky alpaca, my own design. I love it when something I designed actually fits!! But I'm very disappointed because its a warm sweater and we're having unusually warm weather for October. I'm not much of a fan of cooler weather but I really want to wear the sweater. Its supposed to cool off a little next week maybe then I can show it off!!

There's the wonderful yarn from my secret pal. The sock itch is finally being satisfied without having to use those tiny sock needles that bother my hands. The yarn is Artful Yarn Handpaint Stripes and I started making toe up Thuja socks. Its very soft and striping up nicely.

I bought some BFL roving from Blarneyyarn. I love the colors but its the first time I'll be spinning variegated yarn and I'm a little concerned about how the colors will be broken up. Maybe its time to start dying my own fiber.....I havent started spinning it yet because I want to finish the fiber on the wheel. I'm hoping to have around 500 yards when I finish but have no idea what to do with it yet. Its very exciting to finally spin fiber that looks like yarn.

Oops

Guess I hit the wrong key and published that oh so riveting post. I've been very industrious lately, knitting and spinning away. I picked up Clapotis again. I forgot how mindless it is. Perfect for knitting group, TV watching. Its also not too taxing on the wrists. Slow and steady win the race..... A little progress on Swallowtail shawl. I wish I could knit more but I dont want to re-injure myself. Barbara from the knitting group said it took her wrists 6 mos to heal!!

I've also been spinning. It bothers my hands less. What a spin-tastrophe that was. I kept breaking the fiber, I think because there was not enough twist. After several attempts I finally couldnt even find the end to re-join. I thought maybe another fiber would be easier. But when I took the bobbin off the wheel the top thingee came off the bobbin. I ripped the yarn off the bobbin hoping to try again. I went rummaging through the stash. There was fiber everywhere.

Finally I was able to draft the brown BFL. Even more amazing was the realization that it was so much easier to let the twist travel up the drafted fiber instead of trying to spin and draft the fiber at the same time. Duhh. I finally settled down and me and the BFL have been getting along pretty well now. The fiber has been returned to its original hiding place and order has returned.

Well maybe not to the entire apt. I promised myself I'd organize my papers before I started the new job but thats less than 2 weeks away...

I've been baking a lot too, which no doubt is contributing to my inability to fit into several pairs of pants. It could be worse. It could have been Haagen Daz. This is a little GF fruit crisp. The topping is another Rebecca Reilly recipe using GF corn flakes, brown rice flour and butter. Yummm

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!