How The West Was Spun

Stash Knit-Down 2008

Ravelry has completely sucked every ounce of willpower from me.  I will say it again - I am NOT A JOINER.  So why is is I've joined a buncha stuff over at the Ravelry Groups website?  I have no explanation for this.

Starting Saturday, the 5th, I'm jumping on the Stash Knit-Down 2008 "Knit a Mile" challenge bandwagon.  The nice thing about this is also will include any fiber I spin in that mileage number (see yet another Ravelry group - the NaSpiMoMo - I AM NOT A JOINER) , but holy fiber-frolicking Bat-Girl!  That's a whole crapload of fiber stuff!!  I'm going to give it the old college try, however, and see how far I might get.  As a wise woman once said, "Sometimes you just gotta get off your butt and go try something and see how it goes."  (This was said in regards to another thing entirely, but I find it applicable here and in many other places.  Good advice is good advice.)

The entire Stash Knit-Down group isn't a yarn or fiber diet, per se.  It's just about shopping in your stash first, and then, if you have plans for a specific project, by all means go out and buy what you need, but at least start with what you've already got.  Considering what I have in my stash (and there's still quite a bit I haven't gotten posted to Ravelry yet!), I think this is likely a do-able first step in decreasing the overall Titanic-like bulk of the fiber residing in storage.

So, my plan of attack is to keep working on my WIPs.  I have a couple of other things I haven't really posted about in the WIP Wednesday posts, but I think I'll likely keep them in the rotation of "as I have time" projects, or maybe even scoot them into the WIP Wednesday list for a bit. These include a pair of boot-weight men's size socks for a charity knitting project (DAMN IT - NO JOINING!) and Mim's Seraphim Shawl knit in Silky Wool for my Mum.  Of course, the spinning portion of it - y'all saw the merino/tencel in a previous post - those 9 ounces should keep me busy for a while.  Yardage knit or spun before 01/05/07 won't count to my final milage, but if I get several FOs out of the bargain, that isn't a bad thing either, is it?

The Knit-A-Mile challenge ends on February 19th.  Wish me luck!

All for now.....

Belle Starr Bison-Fiber Hat

As promised, my recently completed FO - the "Belle Starr Hat".  This is a sneak-preview for those of you in the Exotic Fibers Spinning Club; those packages will go out in another 10 days or so.

Believe it or not, this little hat took only an ounce of 2-ply hand-spun bison fiber, spun up in a DK weight.  It would work very nicely with the last odd 100 yards of another project if you have some lying around.  I'll be posting a free pattern for this once the fiber club folks get theirs.

Project Specs:

• Hand-spun DK-weight 2-ply yarn, spun from bison fiber.  This makes for a very soft and light, but very warm yarn.  The initial 2-ounce skein had 135 yards to it, and I used about half (the hat weighs 1.01 ounces).
• Design details include a subtle chevron-edging, which is formed by the arrowhead-lace pattern.  This is a simple 4-row repeat and works up quickly.  The crown of the hat has decreases which form a star pattern, highlighted with purled stitches.
• Needles: Size 6 (4-mm) circulars and then DPNs.  These allow for a slightly stretchy, but not very tight hat.  Those with smaller heads could go down a needle size and tighten up the lace a bit if they wished.

The bison fiber was interesting to work with.  It's definitely not wool, and it took a bit of sampling for my hands to find a groove when spinning.  I wound up going with a sort of hybridized supported long draw.  Hard to describe, but I kept my hands closer together to be sure the shorter downy fibers wouldn't pull apart, but I pulled back against the tension of the wheel and let the twist run into the fiber source. The bison also really benefits from a bit of cold water shock therapy after it's spun.  It makes for a much more even and softer finished product.

All for now......

WIP Wednesday - 01/02/2008

Happy New Year everyone!  We had a cold start to our 2008 year here in SLC.  Temps down in the single digits last night.... brrr..... Perfect weather for some knitting tho!

Here's my WIP update for the first week of the new year.

Project #1: Nevis Cardigan

I haven't blocked the right front half of the cardi (and therefore, no pics, as it's a curled-under stockinette piece), but I did get it off the needles.  I'm going to forge ahead with sleeves this week.

Goals: Cast on sleeve #1 and get that knit.

Project #2:  Rattlesnake Creek Socks

Sock #1 is finished.  I'm delighted with this pattern.  I like the cables, and it has a nice snug, but not-too-tight fit.

Here's a closeup of the cables on the leg:

Goal:  Cast on for sock #2 and get the ribbing at the top knit.

Project #3:  Bison Fiber Hat

Done! I'll post details on this tomorrow as an FO, but I'm happy with it.  I did finally get the crown decreases to work the way I wanted them to (thanks Mim!).  It's cute and easy and I may make another one to gift.  I think I have just enough yarn leftover to do that.

So...my new project #3 will be the Sea Mineral Mittens I posted about in my last post.  I've gotten the first mitten knit up through the row where you add in waste yarn for the thumb gusset.  I'm going to shoot low on my goals for this one.  I found the two-handed knitting on size 0 DPNs to be hard on my hands, so I like to put it down and knit other things in between to give me a break.

Goal for the Mittens:  Knit another full set of "wave" motif pattern repeats.

All for now....