Thursday, May 30, 2013

F. O. or Finished Object (photo heavy)

I eventually get around to finishing projects, I'm just not very good at getting pictures of them once they're done. For this one though I wanted to make sure I got it documented for my own lack of memory.

Remember this yarn?


It has become a Strangling Vine Lace Scarf for my mom.


I knit most of it while sitting in the waiting room of the hospital, waiting while my mom went under breast cancer surgery on both breasts.


I always thought I was a crappy knitter because my knitting kept coming off the needles looking like this.


But it turns out if you block, like this:


You can end up with a very nice piece of knitting.


Just make sure you are careful to get all the corners blocked, or you end up with something like this.

I had a Durpy moment there for sure.

Also, if you have cats, they will want to help.


They are very good at keeping things from being to neat and folded.


But either with or without our feline help, I think I'll start knitting more and remembering to block. Maybe I'm not such a bad knitter after all?



eta: All photo credits go to my daughter Caraline.


Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Too busy and already exhausted

Between trying to get this place spring cleaned, the basement organized so I can wash/dye wool for Tour de Fleece next month, and my mom going into surgery for breast cancer next week, I think I'll just plop the rest of the yarn that I've spun so far this year into one post and get it over with.

Woolgathering's Falkland - light fingering, 308 yards.


Into The Whirled's
Ravenswood -

Two braids, light fingering, 612 yards.

I may have shown one of these braids already spun. I'm not sure if I spun both or just one since the first of this year.

Fiber Fancy's Beatles Club - Maxwell's Silver Hammer

I wish I had gotten a picture of this before I spun it. I didn't seem to take one though.
This is two braids of Merino/Tussah/Bamboo, light fingering, and 730 yards. These two actually look alike. The one on the right just has more of the oranges showing.

And that's it from me for a while.



Sunday, May 12, 2013

If I were rich

If I were rich I would haunt Into The Whirled's store and buy up everything just as soon as she posted it.

This is Inara, from her Firefly/Serenity club.


Several people weren't happy with the colorway and I can't for the life of me figure out what their problem was. I snatched up one that someone sold and would have gotten more if I had the funds.

I really wish I had gotten a picture of the fiber before I spun it, but, the two braids of Romney became 330 yards of worsted weight that, along with some of the 'Random Falkland', I'm hoping to turn into a bag some day.


Saturday, May 11, 2013

Some Targhee

This is Into The Whirled's Nomadic By Nature in Targhee.


I have a very temperamental spinning wheel. Most days it is very happy to do what it was made to do. Other days, like this one, it throws a hissy fit and refuses to cooperate.

396 yards of mostly lace weight.

I have another braid in this colorway. Hopefully I can get it on my wheel when it's having a good day.

Friday, May 10, 2013

Spunky Eclectic - Change

This fiber was from Spunky Eclectic's club.
Change - Falkland 276 yards of finger weight.

This was one of those fibers that I didn't like until I'd spun it up. Now I quite like it. And as an added bonus, it always puts David Bowie songs in my head.

Oh look! I did take a pre spun picture of the fiber.

Thursday, May 9, 2013

Still postin' em

Fiber Fancy - Beatles Club - While My Guitar Gently Weeps

This is her picture of the main braid.

Polworth
I also had the coordinating braid that was semi-solid brown. I divided main and coordinating braids lengthwise into 4ths, then each of those 4ths horizontally into 4ths and alternated each braid section while spinning, creating stripped yarn.


759 yards of mostly light fingering.

Sunday, May 5, 2013

More random Falkland:
Denim

Sport weight, 200+ yards.

PJ Pink

Sport weight, 214 yards.

Peach

Fingering weight, 80 yards.

Lemon Lime

Worsted weight, 260 yards.

Saturday, May 4, 2013

Fiber from Fiber Fancy - Clique

Merino/bamboo 534 yards fingering, 2 ply.

Thursday, May 2, 2013

Next up, the yarn of DOOM...

Fat Cat Knits - Wizard Island
What started out as beautiful colors of soft fluff


Ended up in colors of crunchy mess.


This yarn was hell to spin. Not because of anything the dyer did, or the fiber mill, or even the sheep. It was hell to spin because about one fourth into it, my bobbin broke. I didn't notice it at first so as I was happily spinning away the yarn started imbedding itself and tangling itself in ways that, once I realized what was happening, took me hours to dig back out. I think I even had to cut some of it. I'm not sure. I've blocked that day from my memory.

Once I did get it all untangled and rewound onto my Doctor Who spindle and got spinning again, my spindle fell apart. By this time it was late and I'd had about all I could handle so, I set it down for a couple of days until I could deal with it again. I finally got it wound onto another bobbin but somehow had put the bobbin on backwards (don't ask how I didn't notice) and didn't notice it until the bobbin was nearly full and not spinning the way it should. I now have rub marks where any sane spinner should not make rub marks on their wheel.

The end result is 494 yards of ill spun, ill plied, 'crunchy' in places, yarn of pretty colors.

That refuse to show up for the camera.





Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Still working on all the yarn I've spun this year and have neglected to record until now.



From Fiber Fancy fiber - Culture Club/Boy George

268 yards of 2 ply fingering Polworth.