How The West Was Spun

FO: Knotty Gloves

First off, just to let y'all know, I have a small handful of yarn skeins to go into the shop either later today (Friday) or on Saturday.  All of them are cormo wool, with one cormo/angora blend skein.

Last night at the knit group, I darned in all the ends on my Knotty Gloves and those are finished!

 

Project Specs:

Pattern: Knotty Gloves (Ravelry link) by Julia Mueller.  This is a really nicely written, easy to follow pattern.  She gives all the reversed shaping for the left and right hands (so that the cable stays on the upper side of the wrist) without you having to do that for yourself. The cables take a little bit of concentration to figure out where you are in the pattern, but if you color-code them with highlighters, that is made much easier.  The rest of the glove is a piece o' cake.
Yarn:  STR lightweight in "Rare Gem" colorway.  This is a blend of purples, blues and browns.  I used 2.3 ounces of the 360-yard skein for these gloves, and I have 1.7 ounces left (maybe enough for a pair of fingerless mitts?  Definitely enough if you wanted to make a pair of baby booties.)
Needles:  US size 2 bamboo DPNs.
Mods:  None - believe it or not.
Notes:  I love how these fit.  There's enough interesting detail in the pattern to keep you moving through it, but not so much as to make it fiddley to work.  I used up a skein of sock yarn I probably wouldn't have ever made socks with - so another stash-buster project done!

All for now....

Waterlily Merino/Tencel Laceweight

Yesterday afternoon, I took an hour out of my normal jam-packed schedule after work, sat myself down and finished spinning the merino/tencel laceweight singles I had on my wheel.

The original roving is from Funky Carolina.  Carrie's got a great little Etsy shop with lots of different batts and yarn and rovings.  (She's also hosting a sweater Spin-Along, with information in her Funky Junkies Ravelry group if you are interested.)

The original roving was 4 ounces of merino/tencel top, dyed in the "Waterlily" colorway.  (You've seen this photo before, most likely....)

 

I decided I wanted this to be laceweight. The tencel makes the finished yarn beautifully shiny, but also very dense and drapey.  I also thought it'd be a nice colorway to go with Mim's "Flutter" scarf (I posted the link yesterday for it.)  I tried to dredge up some muscle memory about the original soy/alpaca yarn, as I did the dyeing for all of the colorways for the original yarn Mim used.  I think mine is a little bit light compared to the original, but having seen some of the other beautiful versions on Ravelry made with even lighter yarns that this, I know it's going to be beautiful.

 

The natural light version.  Colors are a little blued, I think.

 

Artificial light version.  The colors are a little tipped towards yellow in this photo.

So, the final specs:

Fiber:  50% Merino Wool and 50% Tencel top, handpainted by Carrie at Funky Carolina.
Colorway:  Waterlily.
Finished yardage: 582 yards (plenty for the Flutter pattern, with some leftovers).
WPI:  I'll check - it's hanging to dry.

All for now.......

WIP Wednesday - 01/28/09

Project #1:  Amanda Sweater

My 16" circulars came on Saturday, so I did get some knit-time on the first sleeve for Amanda this weekend.  I finished what wound up being 12-1/2 inches of the body knit and then started on sleeve #1. Here's where I am on sleeve #1, with about 14-1/2 inches knit (bonus cat paw included for scale - snort):

 

Goal:  The sleeve is 20" long, to the point where you rejoin it to the body to begin the raglan shaping.  Finish knitting this first sleeve.

Project #2:  Knotty Gloves

I finished glove #1, except for darning in the ends, and started on glove #2.  Thanks to some chit-chat time at the new SnB group I've found (thanks, Ravelry!), I knit the ribbing for the cuff and then worked on the knot work pattern during my few semi-lucid moments on Saturday morning (before the mail came with my circulars).  I've been cruising along on this one.  I've got 2 more fingers and the thumb left to knit.

 

Goal:  Finish these!

Project #3:  Waterlily Roving

Before I get going on any other new designing, I thought I'd try to get this roving spun up and off the wheel.  This is a 50% Tencel, 50% merino roving from Carrie over at Funky Carolina.  Colorway is "Waterlily", and I decided to spin this up to knit Mim's Flutter scarf from it in singles.  I think the colorway will marry beautifully with the little delicate, flared edge of that pattern, which actually reminds me of lilypads skimming the top of a pond.  I've got perhaps two-thirds of the roving spun. 

(The colors are a little off in this picture - I think the bright sheen off the tencel is throwing the camera lens for a loop.)

Goal:  I have 1.4 ounces of roving left from the original 4 ounces.  I'm going to try to get all that spun up this week.

All for now...

Making Plans

So I've assured myself now that I can actually knit something more than "just" sweaters this year.  I have 2 of my 12 for the NaSwe-etc. challenge done, and I'm about halfway done sweater #3.  While I won't have three full sweaters finished this month unlike some other people (cough.... Susan!.... cough), I will definitely have my Amanda cardigan finished up in early February and then can start sweater #4. 

I have a couple of sock designs that I'm going to work up for my buddy, Nancy, over at Long Ridge Farm out of her CVM/Romeldale flock's yarn (can you say yum!?!), and I also know I want to work up a beret pattern out of the skeins of alpaca sportweight that Terry sent me as a thank-you for designing the Filey Bay Socks for her.  The skeins are absolutely decadant.  Like good dark chocolate... only without the calories.

 

I also decided (because .... I mean... what the hell?... I've apparently got time enough to churn out a pair of gloves in a week while I knit on a sweater......) that I shouldn't wait until next year to work on some accessories, since I have SO many nice skeins of fingering-weight yarn.  Taking my cue from the concept of a sock club from your stash, I went thru my storage bins this weekend and pulled out 10 skeins of fingering yarn and made myself up 10 brown paper-bag care packages so I'll surprise myself.  Most of the skeins already have patterns chosen for them, but I did leave 3 that I might opt to make into more gloves or a hat. 

 

I need to seal the tops of the bags up, so there is some element of surprise when I open the bag.  I have no timeframe to work on these, and I will obviously prioritize the custom design work so I can try to get those finished for Nancy before S&W season is upon us.  I have found that sometimes I need to give my brain a break and just knit without thinking about stitch count or where I need to add decreases so I can get a fresh perspective on things, and I think these little surprise bags will be just the ticket.

All for now......

The State of the Weather, The Shape of the World

Anyone else remember that catch-phrase from the McNeil-Lehrer New Hour on PBS?  We used to watch that at dinnertime when I was at my grandparents' house in the summer.  They pretty much only got PBS, and my Gramps was a nut about the stock market.  Anyhoo.....

Some random tidbits about the state of my world.  First up, some shop news. Having gotten started on dyeing for the Shakespeare in Lace club, I have come to the conclusion that custom dyeing through the shop just ain't gonna happen until we are in some other living setup.  Every 4 skeins dyed means a trip up and down 2 flights of stairs with dripping wet yarn carried over beige carpeting (in a rental house!), and the charm has gone from that particular aerobic exercise already.  So, until further notice, I will be listing OOAK skeins and fiber over at my Etsy store.  You can, of course, also click on the link in the upper right-hand side bar to be taken there as well.  I'll try to remember to post update notices here at the blog too, so you'll know when I have something new up for sale.  I have a few skeins of a KSH-esque laceweight and some fingering-weight yarns in there right now, and I'll probably have a few other things next weekend as well. (And of course, this does NOT change anything for the lace club members - business as usual.  No worries.)

We had a quiet weekend here.  Tuesday, I broke in a new doctor for my autoimmune stuff, and while I will not force most of you to hear that particular tale of woe, let's say it was not pretty.  I did, however, twist some arms and got a set of orders written for my Remicade infusion, and was set up for Friday a.m. at the hospital for it.  I have to be honest - after the nerve-wracking experience I had with the doctor, I wasn't sure what to expect when I went over to the hospital.  Which is small.... like 45 beds total.... in our little town.  But it turned out to be a very nice surprise.  The nurses, Cathy and Anya, were absolutely wonderful.  It only took 2 tries to get an IV started (trust me... for me... this is very good).  I got a private room that was big enough D got to sit there with me and not only did they have the heat on, I got two heated blankets to sit under for the duration.  They played Mozart softly in the background and it really was a nice setup, considering everything. 

I think, in retrospect, however, that they ran the infusion a little too quickly because by the time I was ready to leave I was already running a fever, was very flushed and had a killer headache.  I came home, re-medicated with some Benadryl and Tylenol and went to bed for 4 hours like a zombie.  Saturday was a little bumpy too.  I still didn't feel very well, had a headache and some low-grade feverishness, but by Sunday, I was mostly back to the land of the living.  I had some things to do around the house (including keeping D hydrated, because now he has the flu or something, and let's just keep our fingers crossed I do NOT get that right now!), and thought maybe I would go to work Bhen for an hour, but in the end decided I needed some Emma nap time and knitting. So that's what I did.

And finally, we also got the boys a new farrier this weekend.  He is a very nice guy - very patient with the boys and does mostly sporthorse shoeing (he does a lot of hunter/jumpers in the area), so he understands about the need for a good foot care.  We got new shoes put on for Sam, who is Mr. Pansy-Foot (mostly because he has very flat feet and .... well... is a mama's boy), and trimmed Bhen and Digger.  I think I may try Diggs barefoot with some Renegade boots like Bhen's this year.  The farrier, James, noted that Digger has "mule feet".  Meaning.... very hard, strong feet (most mules don't need shoes), and I laughed and said "Yeah, to go with his mule head."  All three of them did well for James, tho, and stood fairly patiently while he got their feet taken care of.  They'll be all set now for the next month and a half or so, and we are ready to do some riding!

All for now......

Silverback Roving - SOLD OUT

Edited to add:  This is all gone as of Thursday afternoon at 4:45 p.m. Eastern time.

As I mentioned yesterday, I got back a box filled to the brim with lovely, soft, pin-drafted roving from Deb at Stonehedge Fiber Mill.  I had shipped off the components for this blend the week before we moved, told her there was no rush, and then whoosh! it arrived here at my door in NM.  Pretty swank, eh?

The blend is a 58% light gray alpaca, 40% dark gray bamboo and 2% silver angelina. (Which is apparently extremely hard to photograph appropriately.)

 

The bamboo is not dyed.  It's actually charred to give it the lovely steel gray color.  Blended in with the paler gray alpaca and the silver angelina, it will give a very subtle heathered appearance to the finished spun yarn.  The angelina is very sparse.  I personally don't like overloaded blends with it, but just enough to give a wee bit of spark to the finished yarn.  It's so nicely blended that you can't feel anything but the softness of the alpaca

I have just over 3 pounds of this blend available for sale.  I'm going to list it here first before I add it to my Etsy store.  If you have interest in it, please shoot me an email (the link is in the upper left-hand side bar under the picture of my male model).  Price is $4.25 per ounce, or $65.00 per pound.

I must say that if no one wants any of this, I'm not going to be unhappy to keep it either.  In fact, some of it might have already found it's way into my stash.  Just sayin'.

All for now...

WIP Wednesday 01/21/2009

Okay - here with go with another WIP Wednesday!

Project #1: Amanda Cardigan

Despite the (ahem) somewhat overblown discussion to the contrary, I have NOT finished this.  Geez!  I am not exactly a lady of leisure who just sits and knits you know.  And besides, I had to order some 16" circulars to work on the sleeves.

I have knit about 10-1/2 inches of the body.  This sweater is worked back and forth on circular needles, knitting both the fronts and the back, and then you place that on hold and work the sleeves, and then rejoin everything, splitting the fronts and back to add in the sleeves and raglan shaping.  My plan is to knit the body about 12 or maybe 12-1/2 inches long (the pattern calls for 13" so I would guess it'd be fairly short on most normal-waisted folks).

 

Goal:  Finish knitting the body.  If my shorter circulars arrive, I'll start on the sleeves.

Project #2:  (New!) Knotty Gloves

I had actually started these gloves before we left SLC, but didn't want too many projects out and about, so I popped them into one of the storage bins, and then remembered this week I had those still to work on.  The pattern can be found here, on Ravelry.  I'm knitting these in STR lightweight, colorway Rare Gem, which was one of the skeins I got from the 2007 STR Club I joined. 

 

The colors are darkened in this photo - I need to find better lighting to take a shot of this colorway.  It is brighter, jewel tones than this picture represents.  (And no, I'm not jazzed about the odd pooling on the back of the hand, and yes, I plan to continue on anyway.)

Goal:  Finish glove #1 and cast on glove #2.

Tomorrow I finally got back 3-plus pounds of new roving from the mill that'll be for sale.  It was a quick moving trick I used - box up the loose fibers and ship to the mill, which equaled 2 less boxes to move!  (It's alpaca and it's gray - for those of you interested in such things.)

All for now....

FO: Bousta Beret

This late Monday p.m. post will do double duty for me today and tomorrow.  I was on coverage for the hospital all weekend, and frankly, I am bushed since I worked today as well.  Tomorrow (Tuesday), I'm off, with a few errands to do, but I also plan to spend a couple of hours with Bhen at the horse park when I'm done my to-do list.

I finished up my Bousta Beret yesterday.  I totally heart this little hat.  It fits perfectly.  Not too tight, not too floppy.  (I didn't block it, FYI - I like the puffy blackberry look of it).

Let's start with a closeup of the yarn and the lace:

 

And here's a flat shot from the top, showing the shape and the little I-cord finish.

Pattern:  Bousta Beret by Gudrun Johnston, available through the link to her blog, The Shetland Trader, but you can also purchase it as a Ravelry download.
Yarn:  Madeline Tosh Worsted (aka DK weight) hand-dyed superwash merino wool.  Colorway is: Faubourg.   I still have enough left for either a small cowl out of this skein, a pair of baby booties, or maybe I'll save it and get another skein to do a little colorwork.  Nicely plied, easy to knit.  Obviously takes color like nobody's business.  I very much enjoyed working with it.
Needles: US 5s and 6s. 
Mods:  I added 2 extra rows of ribbing around the hat band.  Otherwise, I knit it as written.

And now the modeled shots - The profile view:

 

The head-on/runway shot:

 

And the dreamy, dark-eyed, beefcake closeup shot:

 

All for now.....

New Project Start

Uh huh.  You guessed it.  I cast off the Wisteria, and cast on for the Amanda cardigan, another project from A Fine Fleece.  How I love that book!

I'm working this in Beaverslide Dry Goods merino, colorway Dusty Clover.  I think that this is actually dyed on a gray base, and not a white wool base, which may account for the subdued, lovely color.  The frosted appearance of it would also be very nice with a pattern like October Frost from... you guessed it.... A Fine Fleece, but I wanted something simpler for the NaSwe challenge, so Amanda it is!

This is a loose-fitting, boxy cardigan with a shawl collar.  The kind of perfect weekend wear that will suit sitting around the house, or running errands, or grabbing a quick cup of coffee.  I am reminded that I adore working with the BSDG yarn. 

 

The stitch pattern is interesting, but already memorized.  I've knit just under 4 inches of the body as it stands, and even though this is a weekend I have coverage at the hospital, I'm hoping to get at least another few inches knit on it before the start of next week.

Have a great weekend!  All for now....

FO: Wisteria Sweater

You knew it wasn't going to be long before I got Wisteria done, after yesterday's WIP post, right?

I am happy with this sweater on so many levels, I can hardly stand it:
1.  I have used stash yarn that's absolutely ancient.  I'm trying hard to decrease the stash this year, and this is going a long way towards it - using up yarn that I adore, but really.... it is much better having a real life than sitting in a storage bin.
2.  This pattern is very interesting and a bit outside my normally somewhat loose-ish sweaters that I would make for myself.  I was a little bit concerned when I tried it on before blocking, as the arms were a little short, as was the torso (that NEVER happens), and it was...ahem... a bit more va-va-voom looking than I would be comfortable wearing.  But after a nice relaxing bath, the cables straightened out and the arms and body length came out perfectly (my swatch didn't lie).  I actually think it is practically perfect in every way, in terms of fit.

(My pictures are just not going to be that great - D is in Chicago on a training seminar trip this week - so this is as good as they get.)

   

Pattern:  Wisteria available through Twist Collective, by Kate Gilbert.  Nicely written pattern, as you'd expect from Kate.  There is enough interest to move you along through the more sedate stockinette parts, some nice details to ensure a good fit, and an organically developed pattern that complements the yoke-neck style.
Yarn:  This is a worsted-weight 75% wool, 25% rayon singles that I bought at a knitting retreat in Virginia probably around 2000.  I couldn't find anything exactly like it in the Ravelry database, and I think the company that produced it is no longer.  It has a similar hand to the Malabrigo Silky Wool.  Colorway was unmarked, but it's overall a dark gray, with bits of bronzey-brown, plum and darker gray in the hand dye.  It didn't pool at all, even though I just knit straight from the balls, without alternating skeins.  (Note:  I think I have enough of this for another entire sweater.  If you think you might like the yarn, email me and I can weigh it out, and make you a nice deal on it! Edit:  Spoken for already!)
Needles:  US Size 8 circs.
Modifications:  I shortened the torso about 2" in total length.  I knit to the first decrease round for waist shaping, and then only did 10 rows in between each of the next 2 repeats (rather than 15), and I left out the final 6 rows of the cable pattern at the hem.  I shortened the arm length just slightly, as the pictures in the pattern show the sleeves very long.  I deleted 4 rows from the "work rows even until 14-1/4 inches" part of the instructions.

 

Final thoughts?  I LOVE it.  It's lightweight enough I think I could just throw on a camisole under it, but still warm enough to qualify as a winter sweater.  I can totally see wearing it with jeans (my normal daily uniform),  but it's also nice enough, especially with the sheen from the rayon content, that I could wear it with a long gray flannel skirt and boots to go out to dinner.  It fits me perfectly, and I love the colors in it!

All for now.......