The Yarn Formulator

New Years Knitting & Spinning Resolutions

2012-01-10T09:23:00.000-08:00

It takes me some time to think about what I want to focus on in the coming year. And generally I am not a News Years Resolutions kind of person. But I did take some stock in last year, and it made me realize some things I would like to do this year!
In 2011, I knit 6.6 miles of yarn. For me, that is quite an accomplishment. So I decided that I could easily try to knit 7 miles next year. It's a modest goal based on last year, but at least it's more!
My next goal in 2012 is I would like to track the yardage (grams/kilos/pounds/etc) of yarn that I spin. I did alot of spinning in 2011, but I cannot figure out how many yards; Some of it I did not label, some I did not log into ravelry, and some I knit into projects.

As for things I would like to knit this year. Well, with me that kind of goes with the wind. But in 2011, I explored knitting different kinds of projects. I did triangle lace shawls, mittens, colorwork hats, etc. I realized that for the most part, I like knitting sweaters and socks!!

I only knit 2 sweater and 1 vest this whole year. I have to say, I really missed having that "big" project on the needles. So I am trying to plan out a bunch of sweaters for 2012 and try to top my goal 5 sweaters in 2010. Even if I match it, I will be happy, because I will be knitting sweaters all year round.

As the compliment to knitting sweaters, I am planning to work on knitting down my modest stash of commercial spun and handspun sock yarn.

And in NO WAY am I going to go on a YARN DIET. My stash is actually quite slim, as I have been very mindful of purchasing yarn since my 2010 yarn diet. I am only buying stuff I really love and want to knit with and wear.

I think that covers my goals. I'll keep posting my progress. And I keep my projects up to date on Ravelry. Friend me, I'd love that!
Have a great 2012.

Fiber Prep For Woolen Spinning

2011-07-23T07:24:00.000-07:00

I've spent the last 3 weeks working on spinning ~ a pound of wool using the long draw method. I found it very satisfying. The roving was prepped from a carded batt so I did not have to do anything special to the fiber to spin it long draw. However, I was listening to the Podcast Just One More Row, and they described a method of fiber prep for long draw that I had never heard of. They called it Fauxlags(Faked Rolags). I used this method with some fiber that needed some prep because it had slightly felted, and I was really struggling to draft it. So the following is a little tutorial on how I made my Fauxlags.

First I pulled apart the roving into little section. I chose to do this by color organizing darker spots and lighter blue sections.

Pulled apart each section separating the fibers until it's fairly thin. The thinner you make this the finer you can spin your single.

Use a dowel or pencil. Place it along the bottom edge of the fibers you just separated.

Roll up the fibers around the pencil/dowel loosely.

Once it's rolled up take out the pencil from the center. Do not compact the roll.

You will spin off the end of the Fauxlag. Start by pre-drafting from one end. I organized my rolls in the order I wanted to spin them. This allow you to get long color repeats.

and this was the single on the bobbin.

This method works great if you want to spin long draw and you have top or if you want to better control your color repeats on a short-color repeat roving.

Hope this is helpful

A New Spinning Toy

2011-06-25T05:48:00.001-07:00

I had to Share a photo of my new toy. I got it last Saturday and I just had my first chance to use it last night.

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The toy came from Sharon at Loom-N-Essence. I had to wait a while because Will was out of the country, but it was SOOOO worth the wait. It is exactly what I want and it works so well.

The singles are the Labyrinth colorway from Fiber Optics. I am doing a 2 ply (Obviously). My test yarn came out to be 20 WPI.

Finished Project:
My Buttercup got finished this week. I love how it turned out. Details on my Rav Page. The Linen Yarn (Katia lino 100%) is so nice and drappy. I purchased this yarn at a close-out sale last summer at The Courtyard (32 Palmetto Bay Road, #10A Hilton Head Island, SC 29928).

Life is Good

2011-06-19T08:22:00.000-07:00

I find going on vacation is always so wonderful. I get to reconnect with my family, & kids, and this vacation was no disappointment!! A week at Hilton Head with my family topped off my June like nothing else!
One of the best parts was going down to the beach the first night. We came across a Sea Turtle, A loggerhead. She was crawling up to the dunes to lay her eggs, and it was amazing. My son said he felt like he saw a dinosaur! She looked like she weighed about 150-200 pounds. I've never seen anything like it.

We also had the chance to see a horseshoe crab and a plethora of starfish in the wild. And finally after all these years, we spotted our first alligator at Hilton head. It was a banner year for spotting wildlife.
As wonderful as the entire vacation was, sleeping for 12 hours in my own bed last night was the best.

As for knitting, I finished a started and finished a dish towel the final in my series of 3. This makes 710 yards completed for The Knit Girllls Stash Dash.

I also finished the first sleeve on my fylingdales sweater. (Sorry No sleeve picture yet)

Ah MAN!!!! I missed it!

2011-05-15T07:04:00.001-07:00

I just was going through my blogger account reading blogs that I had not kept up on in about 2 months!! I was reading AbbyYarns blog and realilzed I missed STRINGTOPIA!

That really Sucks!! I want to take some spinning classes and some of the best teachers in the country were in my backyard, and I missed it!!!!

Abby, Please have another retreat! From now on I will be stalking your website to see if you repeat this event.

More Pictures to Share

2011-05-08T08:05:00.000-07:00

Spinning:
I've completed 4 oz (of the 8 oz) of Frabjous Fibers Merino Top braid( Colorway: Summit 125) I bought at Knit-On. It's 2 ply woolen spun. For about 460 yards. I tried to do a high twist woolen spun to make it more durable in case I decided I wanted to do socks out of it, But I think this is crying to be a shawl or Infinity scarf, It is very soft and squishy!!

KNITTING:
I've completed a Chullo and mittens from Colorwork Creations: I love them both.
Bluebird Chullo:

Mittens:
These are for my Daughter. She picked the colorway so It would not be so Dramatic. But I like the subtle patterning.

For these pattern I used a fingering weight yarn. It was a combination of some Vintage (Patons brands - Nylox and Beehive and York Brands - looks like about 1960-1970's) sock yarn and KnitPicks Essential. I bought the vintage sock yarn off Ebay about 5 years ago from a lady in Canada who inherited it from her grandmother. It's not superwash (I found that out the hard way!!- Felting a pair of socks) But it is very nice to work with.

Fylingdales, In Progress:

This is being worked in Cascade 220 sport in the lightest gray colorway.

Dish Towel
In Queensland Haze Yarn (Corn and Cotton blend. Purchased at Main street Yarns. The pattern is from Mason Dixon Knitting

Picture Show: Knitting and Spinning Galore

2011-04-10T05:48:00.000-07:00

I have not taken the time to update my blog because I have been too busy to actually knitting and Spinning. Much has gotten done!!!

SPINNING!!
Ultraviolet from FiberOptics. Traditional 3-ply. 19-20 WPI

Stand By Me Crown Mountain Farms (On the Bobbins)

Traditional 3-ply 15 WPI & Navajo plied 20 WPI with seconds Bobbin waiting to be Navajo Plied.

KNITTING:
Mini Moochie in the Hermione's Everyday Sock Pattern (Free Ravelry Download).

Dead Simple Lace Socks(Toe Up Socks - Wendy Johnson)

Sweaters And Other Sundries
Girl Friday

Flyindales (A Find Fleece-Lisa Lloyd)

Traveling Womans Shawl

Black Clapotis

Nuthatch Chullo (Colorwork Creations)

Hope you enjoyed the Picture Show.

Pictures of Knitting

2011-01-15T07:36:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since I've put pictures of stuff I've been working on. I finished a lot last year and already have a finished project this year. I love looking at pictures on blogs of what people have sewn, knit and crocheted. So I wanted to put some up.
Hat in UC colors for my Nephew

Bubble Scarf in Kauni Yarn:

Slippers from Debbie Bliss Fall/Winter 2010: Cute and easy!!

Finally my finished Traveling Woman's Shawl in Ella Rae:

January, January, January.....

2011-01-14T09:12:00.000-08:00

It's only the middle of January, and the winter blues have already set in!! I've been a little slow to start this year. Usually, I have some grand plan for the year ahead, and January is the month to kick it off. Not so this year.....

My new plan for this year is to find a bunch of "demi-grand" plans to get excited about. I'm still working on the definition of Demi-Grand. Can I call starting a new project demi-Grand?

My Yarny Recap for the Year 2010 - AKA, My Stash Down.
My total yardage knit was 11,000 yds.
My total stash down (which I call all the yarn that left my possession in 2010 was: 7850 yds. I now have 24,750 yards in my stash.

My total yardage purchased in 2010: technically, I bought 7550 yds.
2000 yds (Counts) from vacation yarn purchases
2200 yds (Counts) from 2 bags of closeout priced Universal Deluxe Worsted Tones for $40.00 including shipping!! No one should pass that up. And it's very nice yarn too!!
500 yds (counts). I needed Knit Picks needles for a project and I bought some wool of the Andies for A Kristin Nichols colorwork project that I had started with some left over yarn. I wanted the free shipping.

650 yds of Kauni yard Does not Count!! I bought this yarn and split it with a lady from my knitting group. We were part of the Lucy Neatby Bubble Scarf KAL. I finished the scarf. So the yarn was in and out in 2010.
2300 yds does not count!!! It counts toward 2011 purchased yarn. I had the opportunity in December to buy yarn with money had I put away since summer. In my mind, it was 2011. Oh, and by the way...I'm not counting for 2011.

Overall, my goal in 2010 was to get to a stash that I loved, to carve out the yarns that I purchased long ago with the intent of making something, but now know, that just ain't happening. I feel I'm mostly there.

My perspective on my crafting supplies, be it yarn, fabric, buttons, whatever:
Love what you have
Use what you have
And don't save the good stuff for special occasions.

Everyday is special. Treat yourself well.

This Year of Sweaters is kicking my Ass!!

2010-10-31T10:04:00.000-07:00

I've had enough!! I'm officially sick of sweaters. I want to knit everything but sweaters. I'm dreaming of stranded mittens and hats and more hats. And I want to make some cowls with my New Handspun. All my Knitting fantasies are about everything but sweaters!!!

OK, I feel better now.

Back to the Sweater Knitting:

I'm working on a simple top down Raglan based on the Spud & Chloe blog posts. I'm working on it in Reynolds Allagash I had in my stash. It's a bulky yarn, and I'm working it up on size 11 needles.

One would think it would go fast, but I feel like I've been knitting on it for about 6 months and I only have the shoulders and 1 sleeve done. I know it has not been 6 months, but I thought I could get this sweater done in about 2-3 weeks. Not so!! I guess this shows how apathetic I am about knitting sweaters right now. I've decided to force my way through this sweater, but it may be my last for a few months. I wanted to do one more before the end of the year, but I just don't think I can. I want my hobby to be enjoyable not forces.

That being said, as an escape from my sweater knitting, I've been spinning alot. I finished 4 oz of Crown Mountain Farms Superwash merino in Stand by Me colorway. It's about a sport weight 3-ply and I got 235 yards. I think I will make a cowl out of it. It's really nice and soft, and I like the colorway spun up. Even though I was not super loving the colorway of the roving.

I've heard that the uglier the roving the prettier the yarn. I've starting to believe that!!

Baltic sweater is complete!

2010-10-06T14:36:00.000-07:00

I've finished it! Yeah!!!! That is officially sweater number 4 for 2010.

It came out perfect. The fabric is not too thick. The Dark brown yarn was about 15 WPI or close to a light sport weight. As I previous discussed, I'm not sure if this yarn was hand spun or not, but it has a handspun quality about it. The Moorit color is a handspun and it worked perfectly with the dark brown. The sweater is wonderfully oversized. My kind of weekend sweater.

As you may have noticed I omitted the patterned collar and just completed the garter stitch colorwork part of the pattern. In all the Ravelry pictures I was not overly pleased with how the collar laid on this sweater. NancyBE did this collar style and I loved it. It suits me perfectly.

All the information about my sweater is here on my Rav page.

I'm thinking of designing a hat to match this sweater using the Cuff pattern for the bottom edge of the hat. We'll see if that comes to be....

I am already planning my next sweater. I still have more than 3 full sweaters worth of different yarns. But the next one will be out of Chunky weight! I want it to go faster than the Baltic!!

These sweaters are really eating up my stash. I love it! I love it! New and Exciting yarns will be coming into my life soon

Still Spinning

2010-09-25T19:22:00.000-07:00

Fun with Spinning
Just a quick update on my spinning. I went to A Wool Gathering in Yellow Springs, Oh last weekend and came away with a 1-1/2 lbs. of fiber.

8 oz of Crown Mountain Farms - Superwash Merino in the Stand by Me colorway. It's not a typical colorway for me so I'm excited to try it.

All my other purchases where natural colors. I bought the most beautiful taupe/white mixed BFL from The Trading Post. I've already spun up the following:

It's (3 oz) 190 yds of 2 ply Worsted spun (11 WPI). It looks fairly brown in the picture, but it is more gray in real life. Also, it is darker in this photo.
It is so nice. I still have 5 oz to spin. I'm really enjoying it.

I also bought 8 oz each of Dark Brown BFL and white Finn from Circle Hill Farms (Bradford, OH). I've never spun Finn. My plan is to spin up 2 bobbins full (2 oz or maybe 4 oz each) in the woolen fashion. I'm shooting for the 2 ply to be about sport weight or fingering weight. We'll see!!

I'm still smitten with the woolen spinning. It's just like magic the way the fiber drafts out so easily and has this "elasticy" feel to it. I've heard others describe it that way, but now that I've tried it, I completely understand it!

Yarn, Quilts & A Sweater Arm to Boot. Does it get Better than That??

2010-09-08T16:52:00.000-07:00

Yarn:
The woollen spun yarn came out so nice, so Squishy. And it was so fun and quick to spin. I think I Really, Really like spinning woollen. I think I will need to practice for some more before I get it exactly correct. It is amazing how much faster it goes than Spinning worsted. The motion and the feel of the yarn is just so different when you are spinning this way. I am really surprised and happy to be challenged again.

I spun a 2 ply 120 yard from 2.25 oz (65 gms) at about 11 WPI.

Baby Quilts:
Yes, more completed projects! I finished the 2 other baby quilts for the 2 ladies at work coming back from maternity leave. They are for boys, so Fish and Bugs. I like them both, but i love the Green and Purple one the best. The colors are just so striking!

And the Free motion quilting was fun. I was really getting the hang of it by the end. I was fighting the machine at first. I had it into the shop to be cleaned and they tightened up the bobbin tension. When I tried the free motion quilting at first my machine kept missing stitches, and no matter how I adjusted the tension at the top, I could not do anything more than forward straight line quilting.

So I after about a day of stewing on this, I realized that when I first got my machine, I had this problem, and I took it to the shop and the lady helped me to adjust the bobbin tension (I loosened it just a tiny bit) and WOW, Free motion quilting in all directions. As Alison Rosen says....It's like Butta!!!

Finally a Baltic Sweater Update:
I missed my goal...But no big deal, it's still too warm to wear a wool sweater, so I extended my goal to attempt to finish my Baltic sweater by the end of September....Or maybe the end of October. I only have 1 sleeve to go. If I really buckle down, I could finish it in a couple of weeks, but I have been distracted again by a more challenging project.
But more to come on that later!!!! And yes, those are my toes holding down the bottom edge of the sweater so you can see the colorwork pattern.

Post 100!!!! Really?? WOW!!!

2010-08-28T04:09:00.000-07:00

I cannot believe this is my 100th Post. I'm really glad I decided to record my work this way. It has really helped me to look back and the things I've made...The Good the Bad and the Ugly!!

I Got Skills!!
I'm not sure what it is about fiber crafts but my whole life, I've been able to spend 5 minutes watching someone do them and Presto....I seem to be able to just do them! When I was about 8-9, I watched my grandmother crochet and I just started crocheting. I don't remember if anyone really taught me to knit. I recall that a girlfriend had learned how to knit in home EC and was making a pair of slippers. I told her I wanted to make a pair with her. And I just did. As I recall they were made from Screaming yellow Red Heart Yarn!!
As far as I know I never picked up knitting needles again until I started knitting a pair of Stranded mittens in the round for my daughter about 12 years ago.

This is how my spinning experience has gone a well. About 3 years ago, I purchased a drop spindle (Schacht Hi-Lo Spindle), I watched some folks on YouTube spinning, and I just started doing it. This is my first ball, BFL.

Ever since, I've been able to get a consistent thin thread and really nice yarns (But I have used lighter Drop Spindles to get thinner yarns.)

So Now comes the wheel. I was so intimidated by a wheel. Everyone told me it was easier than a spindle, but I thought....come on!! The spindle you control everything. NO ratios, no brakes, No uptake speeds. Just spin.. Draft....Roll on the yarn.
But I do love spinning, and as most of you know, I plunged into the wheel. And I LOVE LOVE LOVE my Majacraft Rose. I tried so many wheels -all in 1 day. So I had a fairly good overview of how they all felt. One caveat, I was not able to spin on a Schacht Matchless. Which I have heard is really nice as well. I did spin on a Lady Bug...It was just okay for me.. Nothing spectacular.

The wheel spinning has been so much fun. I started with what was most natural to me. Worsted spinning with top. After 1 month of spinning I was able to make a 3-ply, 20 WPI (lace weight) superwash merino yarn....WTF!! I thought spinning fine yarn was supposed to be hard!!!!!

Last night I decided that I was going to try spinning woollen style. Now, from all the podcasts and experienced spinners I listen to Jasmin, Meghan, Shiloh, etc..... This takes Practice! I expected this to be the most difficult thing I had done in quite some time.
I did my usual. I went to YouTube and watched about 3-4 videos. I learned how to set up my wheel, how to best prep the fiber for easy woollen spinning, whether you have top or carded roving. And then I went at it.
I had some Shetland roving ( Carded) that I thought would work great, but I had pre-drafted some of it, but I decided to just fold over the predrafted stuff and spin fro the fold and it worked GREAT!!!!! Woolen spinning is so FUN! I thought that woolen yarns were always fat and underspun, but I got a nice single, Not too fat and fairly consistent- not too slubby just a little think this as you can see. It looks like the single will be about 15 WPI, And it is feeling squishy on the bobbin so I think it will e squishy one it's plyed.

I've always joked that in my previous life, I must have done all these fiber related things because my hand and body just seem to know what to do to make it all work out.

Sewing & Project planning

2010-08-06T08:54:00.000-07:00

Sewing
I have been back to some quilt sewing. It seems that many people around me are having babies and i can whip out a baby quilt in a weekend. I find this more efficient than knitting a blanket. And it's something I don't have to worry about if it will fit!

I got this one done. It needed to complete to be completed by this weekend for the shower. It took me 3 days. I forgot about the the immediate satisfaction you can get from a sewing project. I used the Eleanor Burns method of using fusible web to applique the fish. Her method is really a great method, but it was a bit fussy because the fish had some tight spots. But once I got the fish turned right side out it was simple.

I also finished the second quilt top, because it was using up the same fabrics with just a few changes. But this time I decided that the applique was not necessary. I still have one more, but i have not decided on the colors yet. that will be this weekend.

Knitting update:
Since I have finished the swallow tail shawl (No, I still have not blocked it yet!) I've gone back to knitting on the Baltic. Before I put it down earlier this summer, I was right at the point of where I had to split the front and back and start the back and forth knitting. So this week, I got the front yoke and one shoulder done. My goal now is to complete this sweater by the end of August.

The also finished the Linen/Rayon Shawl/baby/lap blanket (what ever you want to call it). It's just in straight stockinette stitch. So it was totally mindless and somewhat boring. I decided to complete the edging using a crochet chain stitch. The one where you crochet 4 knitted stitch together and then chain 4-7st, repeat. It used up all my yarn!!

Planning the Next Sweater:
This is the exciting part....well sort of. I am starting to think about what my next sweater project will be. I have about 3 more quantities of sweater yarn that I want to use up. Universal Worsted Tonals (Variegate blues tones), a recycled Alpaca Merino yarn in brown/gray variegated color (Sport weight). A chunky Maroon/wine colored.

I also have 2-4 more skeins of various colors of Cascade EcoWool (but I've already knit with these yarns, and because I don't done have enough of 1 color to do a sweater project, I will need to figure out how to incorporate a second (and maybe third) color into a sweater. Too much thinking for now!

I'm leaning towards the Corduroy (Lisa Lloyd - A Fine Fleece) in the Universal Worsted Tonal yarn (blues). A nice simple sweater to showcase the yarn. Another sweater is Rhinebeck in that same book with the same yarn. It has a little bit more patterning, and I could use a cardigan. I've been a bit on a pull over rampage this year. I feel I could really motor through the corduroy with worsted weight yarn.

The final sweater this year may be the Flyingdales in the recycled yarn. I found the sweater in a thrift store last winter. Really nice yarn!! And the perfect weight for me. Nice and thin about a light sport, I have not measure the WPI or done a swatch yet though. I got about 2000 yards too!!

By the way....Total yardage knit this year 6000 yds!! That is 3.4 miles!

My Tour de Fleece Update

2010-07-28T17:19:00.001-07:00

I did not say much this year about Tour de Fleece, but I did join the fun. I had with my new wheel and all!! My goal was to try to make a 3 ply fingerweight. I was not sure how thin I could actually spin on Chloe (My Majacraft Wheel). So I set that as my goal. I had 5 oz of 3 colors ways: one olive green , one sage green, and one silver with some light blues (mixed). I thought these plyed together would make a nice marled sock yarn.

I completed the 3 singles and got them plyed last Sunday. Just got it done under the wire. I really liked how it looked on the spool, but when I wound it off, I could see that it was underspun. I gave it a soak and that just made matters worse!!

I let it dry wrapped around my drying rack to stretch it. I probably could have lived with it being underspun, since it actually came out as a lace weight (about 20 WPI) and there was almost 600 yards. I decided this would make a nice smaller shawl instead of socks. But i really wanted a balanced yarn.

So I wound it into a ball after it was dry and ran it through my wheel again!! Yes I just wanted this yarn to be as close to perfect as possible. I re-wound it off today and it is drying now. It seems to be perfectly balanced. Yeah!!

So I feel very accomplished at being able to spin a 3 ply lace weight. Now my next spinning goal is to get it a little fatter. I still want some handspun sock weight.

I love Purple

2010-07-24T06:41:00.000-07:00

Well, as you can tell, I changed my layout. I was playing this morning. Leave me a comment if it's annoying. I can play around with the font colors.

Right now I am working on a secret project. I cannot say anything as it's a present and the person might read my blog.
Have a great weekend.

A quick summer update

2010-07-21T16:34:00.000-07:00

I've just cast off my swallowtail shawl. I think it will be very nice once it's blocked.
I have not been working on my Baltic sweater. But now that it is heading into August, I think I will start again. I've gotten the shawl bug out of my system....for now, and I am itching to start another pair of socks.

I am trying to spin a thin, hopefully fingering weight, yarn with my Chloe (Majacraft Rose). I've completed the first 2 plys and the final ply is about 1/3 done. I'm excited to see how thin this yarn will come out. The plys are not perfectly consistent but overall very thin. If it's not fingering weight it should be darn close!

Lots of Pictures- Update

2010-06-27T15:35:00.000-07:00

I've been lazy on my picture taking. So I thought I should show what I have been working on. I haven't made much progress on my Baltic. I'm just not in the mood to be knitting on a heavy sweater when it's as hot as it's been.

But I have started....again....the Swallow Tail shawl. I'm on the 5th repeat of the second chart. So far not as many mistakes as the last time I tried. I'm not sure if I elaborated on my last attempt. Suffice it to say, black yarn is hard to knit lace with. Enough said. I am using a discontinued color (Mango) of Knit Picks Gloss Lace (70 merino/30 silk).

Also before I got my wheel, I orders a bunch of dyeing for colour mixed bags of pencil roving (superwash merino). (I just noticed that she has updated her shop and has lots more mixed bags of pencil roving) I love spinning this fiber. I wanted to try to get 3 spindles full of a mix of blues/blacks/silver. then 3 ply it for sock yarn. I only have 2 spindles done so far, but the last will be finished soon. OR hopefully before the end of summer. I may just ply the yarn on the wheel to make that part go quicker.

Finally, I also want to try to make a 3 ply fingering weight on my wheel. So I started to spin up the greens pencil rovings I also purchased from Dyeing for Colour. I put my wheel on the fastest ratio, and I am getting a very fine single. (finishest for me yet!!!)

That has been it. I have been running constantly with my daughter so I have been dragging around the EZ baby blanket in the rayon/linen blend (bright teal). It is all stst so it's completely mindless knitting!! It's really boring too. So I only do it when I am waiting for softball games to start or when they get really really boring.

Finally, A Little Sweater News

2010-06-22T15:46:00.000-07:00

I have been a bit distracted by my new toy. But can you blame me? She is so Fine!!! But back to my sweaters. I'm still working on the Baltic sweater from Fishermen's Sweaters. I've made it all the way up to the arm pit (17-1/4 inches from the bottom). This is going to be a nice long sweater. I've started the back and forth knitting portion of the front. It is not exactly fun, because I have the pattern memorized for right-side knitting. So now, I have to really think about whether I am supposed to be knitting or purling the stitch when I am working my way back on the Wrong-side.

So now...About My New Wheel!!
She has been working smooth as silk. She is so lovely. I've decided to name her Chloe. When I spin on her, it sounds like the whirl is whispering Chloe...Chloe....

I've been doing pretty good spinning on her. Those years of Spindle spinning have paid off. My first few skiens are fairly fine. About 12-15 WPI. They are longer wools. I spun them on about a 9:1 ratio. I'm going to try to tackle some superwash merino at a higher ratio. ( Sorry about the poor picture quality)

I've decided to do the Tour de Fleece this year, but I won't be able to start spinning until July 11. I'm going to work on spinning my Superwash merino from Dyeing for Colour (Etsy). I want to try to get to a 3-ply fingering weight for sock. We'll see how that goes.

Since it has been so hot, I am starting to itch to try my hand at lace knitting again. Recall I tore out the Swallow Tail shawl after I dropped a stitch and couldn't figure out how to fix it. I really want a triangle shawl. I have some heavier lace weight from knit picks in a peachy color. I am hoping that knitting in a lighter color will be a little easier.

UGH!! See, more distractions from the sweater knitting. It's so hard to stay monogamous to a wool sweater when it's 93 degrees outside.

The Awesomeness is here!!!

2010-06-10T18:07:00.001-07:00

Isn't it beautiful!!

Thank you Rob Edwards-Poad. You did a beautiful job.

The Awesomeness is Getting Closer

2010-06-09T09:47:00.000-07:00

So, What is the Awesomeness?
Well, At the Upper Vally Fibber Festival. I spent 4 hours talking to everyone who was spinning about what they liked about their wheels and I tried every wheel I could get my handles on. Hands down, I like the Majacraft the best. I was torn between the Rose and the Suzie Pro. I actually found the strength to leave the show without buying the wheel at that show. OF course the vendors Tempted my like crazy...."You can have this one. It's already put together?" and "I have this one in the truck." ACK!!!!! RUN!!!!!quick, before I impulse buy!!!!!!

I have been spending about a year studying wheels - their features, designs, the ups and downs of each of these designs. But the UVFF was the first opportunity for me to actually sit down on a bunch of wheels and try them out.

First of all, I determined I do not want Single treadle. I tried 2 different types and did not like the feel/action at all!!

Also, i did not like the Ashford wheels (Heretic, I know). So many people have them around here, and everyone who has, one likes it. But for me, it did not seem as solid as the the Majacraft or the Fricke I tried. The Kromski was just okay....beautiful - Yes!! But again, not as sturdy to spin on as I seem to like. The Louet was okay but the one I tried was a single treadle and "h-a-t-e-d it." Sorry I think it was mostly the Single treadle and not the Louet.
Oh, Also, after reading reviews from MS&W, I got fascinated with the Hansen Electric Spinner. I almost actually impulse ordered one before I even tried a spinning wheel. Thankfully, I resisted that Impulse buy!! I tried an Ashford electric spinner and decided I wanted a wheel not an electric spinner. So anyway. This is my very simplistic overview of the wheels I tried.

I narrowed it down pretty quickly to the Majacraft, Rose or Suzie Pro. I needed to think on it for a few days to be sure. After all this research, I did not want to impulse buy a wheel and have buyers remorse. Needless to say, I did a little more reading about the difference between the 2 wheels and I ordered a Rose the following Friday!! I am waiting for it's arrival. And yesterday my dealer (Circle Hill Farms) emailed me and told me it may be coming this week, she got a notification it was ready!! I'm so excited!!!!!

Baltic Sweater and Other Awesomeness

2010-05-22T07:45:00.000-07:00

Baltic Sweater
Well, I haven't been posting, but I have been knitting. Among other distraction. But more about that later.
The Baltic is well underway. I've been working on it, well not exactly religiously as there have been some serious distraction but it has been my TV knitting. Now that I have gotten through the colorwork section the pattern is quite easy.

The dark brown yarn is mystery yarn. I purchased it on ebay sometime back. It looks like a single and it knits up such that the stitches have a column effect. I thought that it was a single that was unbalanced but when I wet it it does not twist on itself so It's not energized. Because of this columning effect, I did make 1 slight change to the Baltic pattern. There are columns of purl rows and I omitted 1 of the columns. This lets the diamond pattern stand out a bit more.

The light brown yarn is handspun (CVM - 2 ply)I purchased at A wool Gathering in 2008. I really like how the 2 yarns work together.

Socks (from the Toe Up)
Well, my first official Toe up sock is done. I decided to knit up the whole ball of yarn and that got me a knee sock. The pattern is Garter Ridge and the pattern is from Chrissy Gardiner's Toe Up sock book. The pattern is incredibly easy and I'm really liking the toe up idea. I'm still working on getting my heel stitches just right on the short row heel, but not too bad overall.

I have to say the book is really nice and does a great job describing every technique you could possibly need or want for toe up socks. There are many cast ons, toes and heels to try. I'm planing on working my way through all the heels to see which one is my favorite. I think to make this go faster, I will have to stop knitting knee socks and work a bunch of anklets.

More to come. I still have tons to talk about. But I must head out to my daughter's Softball game.

Le Smoking

2010-05-05T04:03:00.000-07:00

OK, Really Really Really Finished this time. I got the belt done. All 6 feet of it. And in the midst of that I started a new Toe-up sock (from Chrissy Gardiner's book). And a color work "Draft Dodger" from Color by Kristen. I realized after trying to find wool in various colors in my stash...I am very adverse to strange colors. I thought I had lots of colors, but no brights..... what so ever. This, of course, is very contrary to Kristen's philosophy of: "The More Color the Better!"

I look at this as an excuse to go out and but some odd ball colors of yarn. Oh the agony!!!

I've been doing the Draft Dodger using the magic loop method. I'm brave...Color work, magic loop and 2 handed knitting! It's been like wrestling an Octopus, but i'm getting better.

As for the toe-up socks, I decided to do just on my trusty double points. On Sunday I finished all the way past the heel. And it actually looks Pretty good, for a short row heel. My wraps and turns came out pretty good! I think I'm liking the toe up. Of course I need to try it on now. I haven't done that yet to be sure the heel is at the correct length for my foot.

Have a good one!!

Finishing Projects

2010-04-25T13:15:00.000-07:00

Le Smoking
I consider this one finished, although I think I will make the belt for it. It came out very long. I think I blocked it just a bit bigger than needed. But this can be remedied easily with a reblocking.

I originally was not going to make the belt, but, now that I have tried it on, it is more like a coat than a cardigan. So, I've changed my mind. No closures, just a belt!

Ebony & Ivory

I also finished up the second Ebony and Ivory sock (Cross-Rib Sock). I was trying to use up as much of the sock yarn as possible . I did 14 repeats of the pattern: 7 on the cuff and 7 on the foot. They fit perfect, but I could have done 9 or 10 repeats on the cuff to use up more sock yarn, as I have about 75 yards left.

I ordered the new Chrissy Gardner Toe up sock boo, Toe-Up! Patterns and Worksheets to Whip Your Sock Knitting Into Shape I'm holding off starting any new sock projects because I want to do a toe-Up sock and do it magic loop. 2 new techniques at once.....We'll have to see how that goes.

Some Mindless Knitting:
I've had some gorgeous teal blue Charity Hill Farm, Marina yarn (Rayon/linen blend - worsted). I was going to do a sweater but I wasn't sure if I would have enough yarn. So I just CO a square blanket from the Elizabeth Zimmerman's Knitter's Almanac (Baby Blanket). I'm planning on using up all the 800 yards of this yarn on the one blanket. That is if the needles will hold that many stitches. I'm planning placing an order with KnitPicks for some longer cords today!!