I've been knitting them.
Yeah, that's right, I have now knit FOUR complete items. I can also comfortably say that I enjoy knitting with handspun luxury blends a whole lot more than I like knitting with commercial wool blends from The Hobster Lobster. Which is what I'm calling Hobby Lobby now.
This yarn is way cooler.
I just finished making two baby socks (no they don't match). The first was a hilarious underestimate of the size of my baby's foot, and was made on a trip to Iowa. We're talking, ribbing didn't make it past the toes, here. Just kinda...wiggled...hanging off his big toe... Total fail.
The second was AWESOME and I'd post a picture if my a) phone was on, b) I felt like making a Ravelry entry at the moment, c) both a and b are true.
I'm super passionate today, y'all.
ANYhoo, the second sock actually fits (for now) and is made of merino, bamboo, and silk. It was one of my many phat fiber samples that has been laying around, this one from The Droll Eclectic. It's super soft. I spun it into a fingering weight two ply and LOVED knitting it. Even when I started over five or six times. I even had a little left, which is exciting, considering how terrifying working a sock ankle-down is when you have like 30 yards of handspun and no clue how far that will go.
MADE IT.
So yes, socks made. I need to make more, though. Which is good, because me with no ongoing projects and only ends to sew in is basically disastrous.
NEVER SEW IN ENDS.
Just...here, if we have to justify it, just say everyone who deserves knit projects from you has probably pissed you off at some point that you just forgot about so give them a finished knit with loose ends and just let them THINK about what they've done wrong. They'll humbly apologize (or not mention that you gave them an unfinished project) and everybody wins. You win because you didn't have to sew in ends. They win because they learned something about themselves.
Possibly that they, too, loathe sewing in ends.
Hey, why don't I make matching socks? I have a reason for this. It extends beyond Punky Brewster. It also extends even beyond the fact that I can't remember the last time I wore matching socks.
See...babies lose socks. They lose ALL the socks.
If they never matched to begin with I won't notice the loss of my dear handspun hand knit socks.
Plus I never have to knit a sock's mate.
HAHA!
I win.
It's also because I have like fifty 30-yard skeins of handspun from Phat Fiber samples and nothing to do with them, and I think puff blankets are weird and much too long of a project for someone as attention deficit as moi.
Okay, bye.
-Wednesday
Oh, P.S. - adorable sock pattern is here.
13 October 2013
11 September 2013
Thick and Thin
Hey, so did you know that spinning thick and thin yarn (intentionally) is really not hard at all?
I didn't. Until yesterday.
IT IS TOTALLY AWESOME.
A while back I spun a tight core of black and white BFL. Then...I let it sit on my wheel. For a while. Because I just didn't feel like I could get started on the thick and thin half that I wanted to spiral ply around it. Learn a new technique? Nyeehhhh...
Laaaaterrrrrrr.
WELL LATER IS NOW, BITCHES.
I tore off an arm-length strip of roving and split it into eight. First I attempted (sloppily) to separate the black and white halves, and ended up with four (mostly) black strips and four (mostly) white ones. I'm alternating. Joining is kind of weird because of the different distribution of twist, but I'm getting the hang of it.
I only have two on the wheel right now, because spinning with a young infant is like...it's like... I don't even know. The second you sit down and wrap some wool around your arm, that diaper is going to be THE wettest, poopiest thing of all time, he's going to be STARVING, sad, tired, gassy, his onesie is going to be covered with something mysterious... the sky will grow dark, rain and hail will start pelting the windows, someone will break into your car, the dogs will have to pee, the light bulb will go out, and for good measure, the baby will pee AGAIN and this time it is so going to hit you.
Kids are exciting.
So is thick and thin yarn.
Once I get more going I'll post a link to the handspun on Rav. :)
-Wednesday
I didn't. Until yesterday.
IT IS TOTALLY AWESOME.
A while back I spun a tight core of black and white BFL. Then...I let it sit on my wheel. For a while. Because I just didn't feel like I could get started on the thick and thin half that I wanted to spiral ply around it. Learn a new technique? Nyeehhhh...
Laaaaterrrrrrr.
WELL LATER IS NOW, BITCHES.
I tore off an arm-length strip of roving and split it into eight. First I attempted (sloppily) to separate the black and white halves, and ended up with four (mostly) black strips and four (mostly) white ones. I'm alternating. Joining is kind of weird because of the different distribution of twist, but I'm getting the hang of it.
I only have two on the wheel right now, because spinning with a young infant is like...it's like... I don't even know. The second you sit down and wrap some wool around your arm, that diaper is going to be THE wettest, poopiest thing of all time, he's going to be STARVING, sad, tired, gassy, his onesie is going to be covered with something mysterious... the sky will grow dark, rain and hail will start pelting the windows, someone will break into your car, the dogs will have to pee, the light bulb will go out, and for good measure, the baby will pee AGAIN and this time it is so going to hit you.
Kids are exciting.
So is thick and thin yarn.
Once I get more going I'll post a link to the handspun on Rav. :)
-Wednesday
25 August 2013
Making Time
Little Spawn passed out next to me on the day bed last night and stayed that way for a good hour, so I got to get a little spinning done. Yeah, yeah, I SHOULD have been folding diapers and making wipes solution...cleaning up the room a bit...changing the rabbit cage...doing the dishes...
Hush, you.
Instead I spent an hour in pure heaven spinning more of my paca/polwarth/silk/nylon blend. I was so euphoric about it, I even emailed the fiber artist who made it to ask if she was still up to making batts and if she either had more, or could whip me up something similar.
Like I have the cash for that.
Honestly, I'd sell ass on the street for more of this blend. Is that the fiber high talking? Might be.
Anyways, got a little spun on that.
I also added a handspun entry on Rav for my Phat Fiber samples. I have a BILLION of these things and only about half of them are spun so far - the rest are waiting patiently for me to touch them and get them on my smaller drop spindles. These are the perfect travel project and I am going back to work tomorrow, so I think more will be cropping up soon. It's also fun because I found a site where I can make free, professional looking, gorgeous collages of the fiber, yarn in progress, and finished yarns.
Check out the collective Rav entry and beautimous collage here.
Mmkay, I should be doing all those things I mentioned earlier and more now, while husbandcreature is watching dear Spawn.
Toodles!
-Wednesday
Hush, you.
Instead I spent an hour in pure heaven spinning more of my paca/polwarth/silk/nylon blend. I was so euphoric about it, I even emailed the fiber artist who made it to ask if she was still up to making batts and if she either had more, or could whip me up something similar.
Like I have the cash for that.
Honestly, I'd sell ass on the street for more of this blend. Is that the fiber high talking? Might be.
Anyways, got a little spun on that.
I also added a handspun entry on Rav for my Phat Fiber samples. I have a BILLION of these things and only about half of them are spun so far - the rest are waiting patiently for me to touch them and get them on my smaller drop spindles. These are the perfect travel project and I am going back to work tomorrow, so I think more will be cropping up soon. It's also fun because I found a site where I can make free, professional looking, gorgeous collages of the fiber, yarn in progress, and finished yarns.
Check out the collective Rav entry and beautimous collage here.
Mmkay, I should be doing all those things I mentioned earlier and more now, while husbandcreature is watching dear Spawn.
Toodles!
-Wednesday
22 August 2013
Knitting Group
Guess what!!
I finally got to go this evening to our local knitting group! It was SO NICE to get out of the house for a couple of hours.
I was half an hour late (for a two-hour get-together), so I thought folks would be there already, but I made two laps of the joint before someone else came in, and it turned out everyone else had been busy. We chatted for a bit anyways, she working on a nifty shifting blanket thingy, and me working on my turkish. I'm pretty proud of myself - I finished one of three batts I will be fitting on the spindle for this ply.
Here's the yarn I am making, and the fiber I am using for it.
I am really excited to make this a weekly thing!
I am also excited that Ravelry has introduced not only the handspun feature, which I just never stop being thrilled about, but also a fiber stash! I am in the process of photographing as much of my fiber as I can (only about 2/3 of it is at my house right now) and entering it in. It takes a long, but it's so exciting, beautiful, and nice to touch it all again (and to be able to flip through it all on one screen!).
Also nice to boast about. ;)
Gotta keep the post short, as little one is pretty fussy tonight. Catch y'all later!
-Wednesday
I finally got to go this evening to our local knitting group! It was SO NICE to get out of the house for a couple of hours.
I was half an hour late (for a two-hour get-together), so I thought folks would be there already, but I made two laps of the joint before someone else came in, and it turned out everyone else had been busy. We chatted for a bit anyways, she working on a nifty shifting blanket thingy, and me working on my turkish. I'm pretty proud of myself - I finished one of three batts I will be fitting on the spindle for this ply.
Here's the yarn I am making, and the fiber I am using for it.
I am really excited to make this a weekly thing!
I am also excited that Ravelry has introduced not only the handspun feature, which I just never stop being thrilled about, but also a fiber stash! I am in the process of photographing as much of my fiber as I can (only about 2/3 of it is at my house right now) and entering it in. It takes a long, but it's so exciting, beautiful, and nice to touch it all again (and to be able to flip through it all on one screen!).
Also nice to boast about. ;)
Gotta keep the post short, as little one is pretty fussy tonight. Catch y'all later!
-Wednesday
07 August 2013
Knotted Box Pillow
I finished everything on Sir's pillow today except the final edge and stuffing it. I'm going to use a pillow case filled with fiberfill, I think. It may wait a couple of days until I can find a pillow case I'm willing to part with and cut up/sew shut.
The link to the project is here.
That's a Ravelry link, so you'll need a Rav account to view it, I think. Blogging is tough for me without my own computer right now, so that might be the best way to share photos for the time being. Sorry!
The two panels were knit flat separately using some yarn from a cute little shop in Ames, Iowa. I used a knitted box stitch from NewStitchaDay on Youtube (check them out!). I thought the fastest way to link the panels was to turn them right side in and take a crochet hook and slip stitch all the way around (except that last side I need to use to stuff) using the ends from knitting. This was the quickest way and conserved the little yarn I'd left for myself, plus it won't come apart later if I knot it up at each end point. Since it's seamed on the wrong side, when I turn it right side out to stuff, those seams won't be as obvious or stick out.
Ooh, and the best part is that since it's a pillow, I don't have to sew in any ends! Woohoo!!
Okeydokey, I'll be back with more updates later!
The link to the project is here.
That's a Ravelry link, so you'll need a Rav account to view it, I think. Blogging is tough for me without my own computer right now, so that might be the best way to share photos for the time being. Sorry!
The two panels were knit flat separately using some yarn from a cute little shop in Ames, Iowa. I used a knitted box stitch from NewStitchaDay on Youtube (check them out!). I thought the fastest way to link the panels was to turn them right side in and take a crochet hook and slip stitch all the way around (except that last side I need to use to stuff) using the ends from knitting. This was the quickest way and conserved the little yarn I'd left for myself, plus it won't come apart later if I knot it up at each end point. Since it's seamed on the wrong side, when I turn it right side out to stuff, those seams won't be as obvious or stick out.
Ooh, and the best part is that since it's a pillow, I don't have to sew in any ends! Woohoo!!
Okeydokey, I'll be back with more updates later!
New Splurge
It's been a long time since I had money to spend, but for my birthday, my father gifted me a hundred dollar spending spree at anywhere I wanted. The rules were that I had to be able to stand for extended periods of time, and eat a meal without throwing it up.
Sounds like weird stipulations, I know, but when you consider that I had my first baby five days later, it kind of makes sense.
Well, two and a half months after that event, I finally felt like I had and needed the time to get out and about.
And you know perfectly well that I went to a fiber shop.
I went to WC Mercantile in Navasota, Texas. It's not quite the mom and pop one hopes for, but they always have something special. My haul:
A teeny adorably tiny kromski niddy noddy, a 5 foot ashford niddy noddy (which I only learned after opening is not actually a finished piece...oi), another bobbin for my Sonata Ginny, a WPI tool (no more marking inches on sharpies and pencils!), and two GORGEOUS rovings. One is 60-40 merino and bamboo that is basically the exact color of sherbet and makes me hungry just to look at. The other is good ol' BFL and is this beautiful brown and orange streaked thing that makes me think of fall, hay rides, pumpkins and pumpkin pie/lattes/everything, crisp autumn air, the whole amazing season.
If a fiber makes you smile that much, it's worth buying.
Well, with birthday money, anyways!
I think that's it? I could be forgetting something. But I don't think I am.
As amazing as those fibers are, I actually already have something on the wheel and all spindles. Right now I am working on a black and white braid of BFL (think Cruella - it's like one long black and one long white roving glued together). I've split it into fourths, and am spinning one fourth with lots of twist and very steady and thin. The other three fourths will be my first attempt at thick and thin, again slightly overspun, and I'm going to take a stab at a spiral plied yarn with the two. My last attempt was pretty frustrating (now I know why so many people use commercial cores), but hopefully I've tweaked my methods enough to not waste this fiber!
I'm also hoping to go to a knitting group (maybe to knit...maybe to spin...we'll see!) tomorrow for the first time in years. It may not work out this week, though, because husband will be out of town for the day and then very tired when he returns...so I may spend the day with little one instead. :/
Sorry for the overuse of parentheses and lack of proofreading! I have some killer allergies right now and Claritin doesn't do a darn thing for me. That, and the pharmacist just told me I'm DEFINITELY NOT EVER supposed to take Benadryl while breastfeeding, which I'm pretty sure is crap, but I'm putting up with the splitting headache and awful sinus blahness just in case...for now...
So bear with me! :)
Sounds like weird stipulations, I know, but when you consider that I had my first baby five days later, it kind of makes sense.
Well, two and a half months after that event, I finally felt like I had and needed the time to get out and about.
And you know perfectly well that I went to a fiber shop.
I went to WC Mercantile in Navasota, Texas. It's not quite the mom and pop one hopes for, but they always have something special. My haul:
A teeny adorably tiny kromski niddy noddy, a 5 foot ashford niddy noddy (which I only learned after opening is not actually a finished piece...oi), another bobbin for my Sonata Ginny, a WPI tool (no more marking inches on sharpies and pencils!), and two GORGEOUS rovings. One is 60-40 merino and bamboo that is basically the exact color of sherbet and makes me hungry just to look at. The other is good ol' BFL and is this beautiful brown and orange streaked thing that makes me think of fall, hay rides, pumpkins and pumpkin pie/lattes/everything, crisp autumn air, the whole amazing season.
If a fiber makes you smile that much, it's worth buying.
Well, with birthday money, anyways!
I think that's it? I could be forgetting something. But I don't think I am.
As amazing as those fibers are, I actually already have something on the wheel and all spindles. Right now I am working on a black and white braid of BFL (think Cruella - it's like one long black and one long white roving glued together). I've split it into fourths, and am spinning one fourth with lots of twist and very steady and thin. The other three fourths will be my first attempt at thick and thin, again slightly overspun, and I'm going to take a stab at a spiral plied yarn with the two. My last attempt was pretty frustrating (now I know why so many people use commercial cores), but hopefully I've tweaked my methods enough to not waste this fiber!
I'm also hoping to go to a knitting group (maybe to knit...maybe to spin...we'll see!) tomorrow for the first time in years. It may not work out this week, though, because husband will be out of town for the day and then very tired when he returns...so I may spend the day with little one instead. :/
Sorry for the overuse of parentheses and lack of proofreading! I have some killer allergies right now and Claritin doesn't do a darn thing for me. That, and the pharmacist just told me I'm DEFINITELY NOT EVER supposed to take Benadryl while breastfeeding, which I'm pretty sure is crap, but I'm putting up with the splitting headache and awful sinus blahness just in case...for now...
So bear with me! :)
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