As easy as…
22 Jun 2011 1 Comment
in Off the Needles, Spinning a Yarn
One: Two if by Hand, Mixed BFL, April Club “Diving Horses”
Two: Fingering weight singles, ~375 yards
Three: Hamamelis Shawl by Kirsten Kapur
Destination: A special friend in New Zealand.
Swimming the Channel.
06 Jun 2011 1 Comment
This weekend I finished knitting what may possibly be my favorite knitted sweater to date! There is just nothing like picking a luxury yarn, in a color you love, and ending up with a garment that fits and flatters. I wish every sweater journey could end this way, but I’m very happy when it happens.
The Pattern: Channel by Yelena Malcom
The Needles: US 5′s
The Yarn: Squoosh, Merino Cashmere Nylon, Colorway Tsunami
The Verdict: I already proclaimed my love for this. I wanted to call the garment Tsunami (after the colorway) but cast on immediately after the tsunami happened in Japan, so instead I went with swimming the channel. My favorite parts of this sweater are the wonderful rounded neckline, and the swirls detailing the bottom which flatter the waist. The yarn was absolute luxury – the cashmere makes the yarn so unbelieveably soft. And of course it’s my favorite color. I will almost certainly use this pattern again!
In which I confess my inability to follow a pattern.
23 May 2011 Leave a Comment
in Off the Needles, Spinning a Yarn
A while back I bought a GLOWING braid from the fabulous Micamynx. I mean it practically glows in the dark.
I decided to challenge myself a bit and split the braid in two lengthwise. My goal was to spin the halves separately and ply them together. I was hoping that I would spin consistently enough that the colors from the two halves would match up. The results weren’t half bad.
I ended up with about 250 yards of a worsted weight yarn. Next I had to decide what to knit. I found a cute little free pattern on Ravelry – Little Shells by Holly Griffin-Weidener. The only problem is that once I printed the pattern out, I sort of goofed it up by not reading carefully enough. So the idea for the pattern is definitely not mine, but it’s my own interpretation of it!
Progress
06 May 2011 4 Comments
in A Home of Our Own, Off the Needles, Spinning a Yarn
I still feel weird coming back to the blog and posting about things that don’t seem important – and these days there isn’t too much that seems important. That said, there are things happening in our life.
On the home front, we just undertook a big project: re-siding the house. We didn’t exactly undertake it ourselves really, we hired a company to do it for us. It was a BIG job and it’s costing us, but we’re so pleased with how it’s turning out.
This was what our house looked like when we bought it:
This is what it looked like 2 days ago:
On the crafting front, I’m continuing in my quest to knit 11 sweaters in 2011. This one is a bit different though, in that it’s my first handspun sweater. A few months ago I went into my stash and pulled out 5 braids of fiber. The pile looked very colorful and I wondered idly if I was going to end up with a beautiful sweater or loads of rainbow barf.
I began spinning early this year, and it took me a while to spin 6 bobbins worth. But I did:
I held my breath as I plied the yarn, hoping that I would like what I got. And guess what? It was pretty!
I finished up with 1000-1200 yards. Then I had to decide what to knit. I settled on the Shalom Cardigan because it was a simple pattern that would show off the handspun. I had to do a little math to make it work, since my yarn was a worsted weight and the pattern called for bulky. But I think I made it work.
I finished the sweater in the car last week, and blocked it early this week. I wore it for the first time yesterday and loved it SO much that I wore it again today. At lunch today, over ice cream, sitting outdoors in the sunshine, I had a friend snap a photo.
Whippoorwill
16 Apr 2011 2 Comments
in Off the Needles, Spinning a Yarn
Sometimes I have original ideas and sometimes I shamelessly copy my craft friends. I was inspired by my friend Sarah’s project where she spun her own singles and then knit a beautiful shawl, so I decided to give it a go myself.
The fiber is Falkland from Cloudlover and the colorway is Illustrus. The pattern is Whippoorwill by Carina Spencer.
Sunshine and Pinwheels
11 Apr 2011 Leave a Comment
in Off the Needles, Spinning a Yarn
For the last few days it has been summery here in Kansas – temperatures of 80-90 degrees and breezy. It’s a little warm for my tastes, but it’s a refreshing change from snow, snow and more snow. It seems fortuitously coincidental then that I just finished test knitting a shawl called Sunshine and Pinwheels.
In knitting this I used my own handspun, some that I had spun when I was still using a spindle. I loved knitting it but I can also see how much progress I have made since I started spinning.
When I spun, I combined two separate fibers. The first was a luscious set of batts by Jela’s Fibers. The braid was from Funky Carolina and calls Isles.
When I was done I had between 350 and 400 yards of yarn.
Then I just waited for the right pattern to come along. I think this is it!
Knitting the winter away…
01 Mar 2011 2 Comments
in Knitting Content Ahead, Off the Needles, Spinning a Yarn
Well February has been a mixed month for us here in Kansas. It has been VERY VERY cold and snowy and icy. And then it has been warm (70 degrees!) and muddy. I’ve also been feeling a bit under the weather, which allowed me to finish up a few things this past weekend.
The Pattern: Off the shoulder cabled aran by Calista Yoo
The Yarn: The Plucky Knitter MCN, “Tara’s Velvet Drapes” inspired by Gone With the Wind
The Needles: US 2 & 4
The Verdict: I started this on January 1, 2010. It got abandoned pretty quickly because I was upset that the yarn kept bleeding color onto my hands. This month I decided to suck it up and finish the sweater since I really really want to wear it! I still need to soak it in vinegar and try and exhaust the rest of the dye, but I love the overall look and fit and the yarn itself feels divine.
***
A while ago I spun up approximately 440 yards of yarn from some Beemiceelf fiber. While I loved the individual braids, I was a little disappointed in the resulting yarn. I wondered if by plying the variegated with the semi-solid, I had overpowered the lovely transitions between colors in the variegated braid.
Then I found a pattern that I thought might work. This is Chrissy Prange’s (LeftSideKnits) Unwinding Hours. As I knit this pattern, I was thrilled to see that the subtlety of the colors hadn’t been lost. I think I’ve fallen in love again!
Faraway, At Hogwarts
11 Feb 2011 4 Comments
in Off the Needles, Spinning a Yarn
A few weeks ago I posted a picture of a few skeins and promised they’d become something shortly. Well… they have!
1. The fiber:
(all of these fibers were purchased from Funky Carolina and are her Harry Potter themed colorways: Minerva, Snape, Herbology and Defense Against the Dark Arts)
2. The yarn:
(The yarns were spun between October and January)
3. The shawl:
If you’re getting bored…
03 Feb 2011 4 Comments
in Off the Needles, Spinning a Yarn
Then I promise this will be the last one/two/three for a while:
One: 
Two: 
Three: 
But I’ve also been knitting. I finished my first “sweater” of my goal. Since I’m counting all things that are vaguely sweaterish and worn on the torso, I’m counting my new little vest as sweater #1!
The Pattern: Vestpa
The Yarn: Blue Mountain Fiber Arts Woobu, color Tanzanite
Needles: US 3′s (apparently I’m a loose knitter)
The Verdict: Love it. I love the yarn knit up even more than I thought I would. It was a simple easy knit that took about a week and half (thank you snow days!) and I love everything from the fit to the detailing on the ribbing.
I might be a little addicted.
21 Jan 2011 5 Comments
in Off the Needles, Spinning a Yarn
This is just too much fun. It’s as easy as
One…
Two…
Three…
The details:
The fiber was inspired by The Magic Flute and was dyed by Cloudlover. I spun it up in thick singles, approximately 200 yards. The pattern is called The Age of Brass and Steam.
