Trapped

The kids have a stomach bug. Again. I'm trapped in the house and have to shampoo my carpets. Please send healthy thoughts our way! ~~~~~ Just so y'all don't think that it's just been spinning here, may I present a finished pair of socks! Pattern: Scale Skin Socks (from the Six Socks Knitalong) Yarn: Polynesian Pools from Mama-E's These were a fun knit, but man did the second one drag. I made two modifications. Instead of swatching for gauge, I just casted on. Very soon I could see that they were too loose, so after ten repeats I switched to a smaller needle. Voila! Calf shaping! Then instead of continuing the pattern into the heel, I substitued with stockinette. Just a matter of preference. Bad picture, bad coloring, but it shows the different pooling throughout the sock. This is the most accurate shot of the colors. Indeed there has been more spinning going on. This was finished up last week, but it's the first time I've had a chance to spend more than two minutes on the computer. "Joshua Tree" South African Fine from Spunky Eclectic 194 yards, approx. 11 wpi I achieved a nice tight twist as well as a fairly consistent thicker yarn. I see mittens in my future. In fact the yarn calls so loudly out to me, that I had to put it away so I don't cast on. I have to finish some other things first! Two more rovings are being worked on, so I should be back later in the week with more handspun pretties for you.

Disclosure

I didn't mean for everyone to have to guess what the latest sweater is. I just forgot and then when I realized, I figured it would be fun to see what the guesses would be. It's Gathering Intentions from Inspired Cable Knits. So far I haven't lost interest, but progress is slow. I'm still quite enamored with the spinning and only work on this a little bit each day. About an inch more and then I can start the shoulder shaping. Of course, I'm not cold so there's really not a rush on this. BFL dyed with teal and purple by myself 4 oz., 400 yards I just love Blue Faced Leicester. It's so soft and the luster is wonderful. It's one of my favorites to work with. Which would explain the tons stashed away. After having success with the dyeing process, I turned back to the dye pot and came up with some other colors. Neither turned out exactly how I wanted, but I learned some things. I had alot of fun playing around, so I ordered some other wools to dye up. Colorways that I have in mind have been written down, so I don't forget. I tend to do that. Boys are calling... Have a great week!

Back in the Groove

I had a feeling that once I found the right project, everything would be just fine. I may have been right. Though, I'm only on the second ball of yarn and as I progress, boredom will eventually set in. It always does. For now I'm enjoying the cabling and super soft yarn. Just look at those cables pop! I'm still spinning away at night after the children go to bed. For far too long, I didn't spend alot of time doing it. The urge was there, but knitting always seemed to take top priority. I'm trying to make an effort to balance the two out. "Clover" from Hello Yarn 4 oz. Corriedale Wool 404 yards Really, I should get into the habit of measuring my wraps per inch while skeining the yarn. Forgetfulness is a common trait of mine and I never seem to remember until after I've tied it up. Oh well. In my real as a mommy, it's been a busy week. It was registration week for school and spent quite a bit of time trying to make sure I had all the necessary documents. Frankly, I can't believe I have a little boy going to school in the Fall. It seems unreal that he's that big. Sigh. On the other hand, I can't wait because he's driving me nuts!

Spin, Spin, Spin

Somewhere along the way of the past couple weeks, I misplaced my knitting mojo. I looked in the knitting basket, I looked online and I looked in the boxes of stash. Nowhere. I attempted to force it into existence by dragging out needles and lots of yarn. Nope, still not there. If anyone has any ideas to find it, let me know. I want to knit again! Thankfully, there's back up entertainment: the spinning wheel. Boy, is she ever getting a workout too! First, I finally finished this up. I did the first half months ago and started on the second right after Royd's leave in February. Love how this turned out. Plum Honey from The Yarn Wench 6 oz of Falkland Navajo plied, 700 yards Next up, I spun up some Superwash Merino. I was going for thicker singles this time. When I first started spinning, my goal was superfine singles. Once I got there, it was really hard for me to make them thicker. Of course, this was practice and it's not all that great. Autumn from The Spunky Eclectic 4 oz of Superwash Merino 314 yards This is a horrible shot of the colors, but it shows the inconsistency in spinning. Lots of practice is needed! This is what I'm working on now and below is what I'll be starting next. Well, I'm off to finish predrafting some more roving in preparation for tonight's spinning.

Bad News

Read it here. Comments Closed

Anniversary Socks

Pattern: Anniversary Socks from Favorite Socks Yarn: Paprika Merino Tencel from The Woolen Rabbit I finally bit the bullet and finished these up. Halfway through the second I got bored as I usually do and had to put them down. The other day it started to nag on me, so I fished them out of their bag and got to work. Easier said than done. I made so many changes, of course I didn't write them down and had a horrible time trying to figure out what I did. Lots of counting was involved and I only made one error in replication. I can live with that. When will I learn to write these things down!?! Overall the pattern was great but the changes I made were based on personal preferences. First, I made the diamond pattern over a panel of seven instead of six. It seemed off center to me with only six. Second, the cables nearest the back stockinette portion weren't separated by a purl so I added one. Third, I used four decreases on the toe instead of the three. I have to have at least one sock on the needles so naturally I started another one. I first saw these over at Pat's, and I just loved them. Digging around I found the perfect yarn. It breaks up the swirling colors without disrupting them. As for all those other projects that are lingering... well, I'm getting to them. Eventually.