Rumors of my Spinning have been Greatly Exaggerated

To malign a quote from Mark Twain, they have been exaggerated by me.   Not on purpose, but rather because I neglected to actually measure my niddy-noddy, which instead of the assumed 2-yard length, is actually 1-3/4 yard.  A funny size if you ask me, this is the one made by Ashford.  Here is the first part hand wound on my niddy-noddy and the blue section wound on my new skein winder.

So, instead of the great yardage that I was assuming I was getting, I have improved more modestly than I have been taking credit for.  That said, this spin was for the Fiber Optic spin-along, and I used a much smaller whorl on my wheel, I can happily report that this is 1250 yards (correctly rewound and measured after washing).  I am really happy with the weight and consistency on this spin, the fiber color is Turquoise to Tangerine.

Now I am desperately seeking the perfect pattern for this, as a knit-along with Fiber Optic has started. Suggestions appreciated.

 

Michigan Interlude

Last week I was in Michigan with my mother, and had the added benefit of seeing my niece and nephew, and getting to take care  of them for a bit.  While there, my mother was complaining of cold hands.  Personal experience with Dan and Sofia told me exactly what to do—make fingerless mitts! Not possessing a GPS or smart phone, I still rely on printing out old-fashioned maps.  Grand Rapids is not a city that I am familiar with, but it is not that big. Googling yarn stores turned up  A Grand Skein, and I drove there during a break to purchase yarn for those fingerless mitts.  I loved this yarn store, and the owner could not have been more helpful and nice.  So, I purchased yarn to make 2 pair of mitts, and noticed something on the way out.  The mitts were very simple, and the yarn was so soft, Mendocino by Crystal Palace, not a yarn that I had tried before, but I really loved it. What does not show up well on the photos is the color range of the yarn, a rainbow effect, plyed with a pink color, they were very pretty.

My mother loved them, and within a short period of time, her hands felt warmer.

What kept coming back to me was the thing I saw while at the yarn shop.  A big skein winder, with amazing ball-bearing gears, it spun so smoothly.  You know where this is going… I went back the next day and mulled it over for a bit and decided to purchase it.  The skein winder is made in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and I could not locate it online, I did find this demo video, and this one however.  Over the years I have learned when I find something I really like, especially if it is unique and not readily available, just purchase it.  This would have been too hard to ship, so I splurged and brought it home with me.  The winder came with either a table mount or a stand with the option of a table mount, I went full hog for the entire set.  If I want to become a custom yarn dyer, I might need the dyers 5′ winder!!  The workmanship on this is wonderful, and has been improved from the video to include pegs to wind a 1 1/2, 2, 2 1/2 and 3 yard skein.  The walnut detailing is just a plus!

And I purchased this yarn also for fingerless mitts, Ella Rae Lace Merino worsted, but did not get them knit up prior to leaving…

YarnCon’d

Yesterday was the second day of YarnCon 2013.  It was moved from the Fall to the Spring, and to a new location at the Plumber’s Union Hall.  There were many more vendors at the event than last year, and quite a different selection.  Last year I had a fun time perusing the event, but did not purchase anything, this year was different.  Lorraine was my companion for the day, she had a 2 hour class on weaving at the beginning of the day, and I had a 1 hour class on acid dying mid afternoon.  We were lucky enough to be the last of the first 50, which meant that we got a bag of goodies, which was quite a treat.

A couple of these items require elaboration.  First, the yarn is from Juniper Moon, and was donated by the owner Susan Gibbs.  This is such a soft combination of Llama, Merino and Cotton, should make a gorgeous winter hat.  Susan also gave a very interesting one hour lecture on her journey from Producer to Sheep farmer to Yarn company, both informative and entertaining.

The magazine By Hand was one of Ms. Gibbs latest ventures.  This issue is from last Fall, and so of course I had to purchase the current one.  The magazine celebrates everything done by hand and is broken down into chapters titled:  Cook, Grow, Build, Stitch and Craft .  There are some amazing recipes that I am anxious to try, including Turnip Bacon Soup, and Rhubarb Chutney.

My shopping was limited.  I have learned to make at least one round at fiber fairs to see what catches my eye.  Later I allow myself to purchase, and this has greatly reduced my spending. There was so much yarn from Indy Dyers, and I was really only interested in the sock yarn.  I had gone to the event thinking that I would purchase from one particular vendor, but this beautiful yarn from  Happy Fuzzy Yarn caught my eye.  And she is located in Ann Arbor, Michigan to boot (my alma mater)! This is 50% Superwash Merino and 50% Tencel.

And how can one pass by at least some fiber for spinning.  I was not drawn to any of the hand dyed fibers at the event, and this may not look like much, but I wish that you could reach through the computer and touch it, Shetland and Angora (from rabbits), it is so incredibly soft.  Will make a great pair of mittens.

And one bump of dyed fiber to add contrast to this luscious soft fiber.

My last purchase was something that was not even on my radar, a new project bag from poise.cc.  The structure of this bag, having a square bottom that always sits upright, intrigued me.  When the designer mentioned that the top fabric is Vintage Japanese, I was hooked. I already love this bag, and it will become my go-to project bag from now on, attending knitting with me tonight.

The afternoon ended with a class on acid dying yarn.  Given that this was the first and only time that I have attempted to dye fiber, I am very happy with my end result!

And, if you do not have enough craft supplies, check out this sale, coming up in 2 weeks in Chicago.  Love the mantra: Do it Your Own D*mn Self!

Marigold

This yarn was spun with a specific pattern in mind.  It might be the first time that I have actually done this, and completed the project.  Fiber was by JulieSpins that I purchased from a destash.  She is now one of my favorite indie dyers (more to show soon).  This was a dream to spin, I just wish that I had a bit more of it.

 

Sofia chose the pattern Marigold from the book The Sock Report.  I had to reduce the number of repeats at the beginning from 7 to 4 at each side, so it was not as long as planned.  The pattern is really off on yardage also, I kept weighing it after each repeat to maximize the yardage used.  The result is very pleasing, and a wonderful play of yellows, pinks and oranges.

 

And Voila!

Pattern: Marigold
Pattern Source: The Sock Report
Yarn: Handspun 2ply from fiber by JulieSpins
Needles: US 6
Date Started: 2/15/13
Date Finished: 3/2/13
Finished Dimensions: 19” wide x 64″ long

 

 

 

 

And the Winner Is…

Me!

I made this shawl using some handspun fiber that had been dyed up for the KnitGirllls podcast by Fiber Optic.

I loved the colors, and did fairly well with the yardage.  Then I went on a Ravelry search for a pattern that I felt would both maximize the use of my yardage, and also show off the colors well.  Centrino was the pattern that won hands down.  When the blocking was all finished and I had final photos I posted it on Ravelry, almost instantly I received a nice note from the designer, Laura Nelkin, complimenting me on the project and asking if I would post it on her forum, they were having a KAL for the first quarter of the year.  Happily I posted, and got dozens of lovely comments.  A few weeks later, another surprise, as Laura gave out a grand prize for the month, and she selected this shawl!!!

Here is what I won, a complete set of ChiaoGoo interchangeable circular needles.  It was so exciting to win, I usually do not win things.  They will be accompanying me on an upcoming trip, and used to start a new project.

 

Spring Cleaning

Fiber Optic is having a spring spin-along with whatever of their fibers one has on hand to spin. And I have a lot… My first spin was this pencil roving, 50% superwash Merino and 50% Bamboo. This was my first spinning with a bamboo blend, it took me awhile to get into the groove, but once I figured it out this was a very pleasant and easy spin. I achieved 330 yards of a 2 ply wi 5 ounces, I am sure I would get better yardage next time, will have to keep my eye out for this blend.

The color for this was Jing Tai, and it was from Kimber’s fiber club a couple of years ago. After finishing this I needed to choose another fiber to spin (this is going until tax day). It was time to really take a counting of all of the Fiber Optic fiber that I have on hand. It is easy to collect when they go into lots of different nooks and crannies. I tend to purchase her gradients that I like when they come up for sale, as some are not repeated often. So that said, here is my stash of just Fiber Optic braids.

Since this is a spring spin-along, I wanted to choose a bright cheery color.  I choose the Turquoise to Tangerine which also has lots of color changes to keep me interested.

 

Posted with Blogsy

Always new things

Even though I have enough to spin for quite some time, I can’t seem to stop purchasing the Fiber Optic rovings.  Kimber keeps coming out with these amazing color combinations, and they are irresistible, and only occasionally available.  So, I must stock up, mustn’t I?

This is a Once in a Lifetime color (meaning it was an experiment and is not formulated to be repeated).  It is a blend of 40% Merino, 40% Baby Camel, and 20% Silk top.  I wish that you all could feel how incredibly soft this is.  I think that this will be next on my wheel after the Southern Cross Fiber is finished.

And this is Wensleydale, a wool breed that I have never spun before.  It is called Evil Queen, because it darkened up in unplanned spots during the processing, she was looking for a Queen’s Red on the fibers.  I love the variation.  Again, a one-off.

Lastly, the latest of the great gradient braids, this one is called Honey to Fig.  How could I ever resist this?  Very pretty colors, and like always, very difficult to capture with the camera.  Her colors are so intense and rich.

I also purchased this book, Colors of Shetland by Kate Davies.  It is a history of the Shetland Islands, intermingled with the author’s Shetland inspired designs.  The photography is amazing, and the history is fascinating.  I am not sure that I am drawn to any of the knitted items at this time, but maybe in the future.

Let’s try again

I was working away on my Marigold shawl with my handspun from JulieSpins.  The yarn was equally split, and I kept weighing to make sure that I had enough to finish.  Sadly, the bad part about handpsun is that not all sections weigh equally.  I realized that I needed to knit back and take out one of the early repeats.  The needle placed part way down indicates how much I had to rip out.  The good news is that I have reknit this and more since yesterday.  The benefit of a boring mandatory meeting.  The color is not as intense in this photo, I will get better color shots when it is finished.

While nothing about these flowers looks real, I purchased them as they made me happy and brightened up a cold winter day.

 

I finally finished spinning this Merino braid from JulieSpins.

The yarn plied up beautifully with the overall feel of a soft orange or tangerine, but upon inspection and when knitting with it, the yellow, cream, pink and orange are more distinct.

 

The finished yarn is being knit into the Marigold shawl by Susanna IC, which is in the publication The Sock Report, compiled by Janel Laidman.  Having less yarn than required for the pattern requires careful weighing and measurements, and reducing the length by a bit.  Still, I will be cutting the yardage incredibly close.  I am knitting this with the full knowledge that I may have to rip half of it back and knit it smaller.  Luckily the shawl is knit out form the center for the 2 sides, and I have my yarn almost equally split.

 

 

KnitGrills Shawl

The bind off of this shawl finally got finished yesterday, it seemed to go on forever and was not intuitive, so I had to have my pattern up all the time.  I also put in a lifeline prior to starting the lace bind off, and good thing as I made a mistake at one pint that might have cost me quite a bit of repair time.  The bind off was a 32 row repeat, done 36 times and each row between 4 and 7 stitches and turning the work each time (that’s about 6,000 stitches just for the edging!) Thank goodness for my iPad!  I found a free PDF markup program, and need to research more which would be the best one to purchase.

This photo does a pretty good job of capturing the colors.  The finished diameter after blocking is 44″.  I am excited to wear this to my knitting group tonight.

Pattern: Centrino
Pattern Source: Nelkin Designs
Yarn: Handspun 2ply from Knitgirlls gradient by Fiber Optic
Needles: US 6
Date Started: 1/18/13
Date Finished: 2/10/13
Finished Dimensions: 44″ diameter

Here is my helper with the photography session.

About 75 yards of the red left over. Perfect because I was not nervous, but not too much left that I am disappointed it was not bigger.