Here's my progress on the scarf. Try and ignore the mistakes. This is start #2. I started with size 5 needles and decided it was too close a weave so I ripped it out and started again with size 6 needles. I like it much better a little bit looser. The alpaca/cashmere is so incredibly soft. I'm loving working with it. I've started taking it to work with me. I work on it on breaks and during my lunch. It's very relaxing.
Drafted roving waiting to be spun.
The second time is the charm. I dyed these two rovings in the crockpot, this time adding plenty of water so they didn't burn. They turned out perfectly. I can't wait to spin them up but at the moment my wheel's bobbins are full. I spent the rest of the weekend spinning some incredibly soft superwash merino from Crown Mountian in their Happy Together colorway. The merino was such a pleasure to spin.
This coming weekend I'll be visiting The Spinning Loft in Howell and buying a jumbo bobbin and flyer to ply the above singles. As you can see, the bobbins are more than full already. I'll need a much bigger bobbin when I ply.
I cast on for a new scarf but I'm such a newbie at knitting I've made a mistake already that I don't know to fix. I dropped a stitch and because it's in a knit/purl section, I can't figure out how to pick it back up again. My LYS (local yarn shop) has a Q&A night on Wednesday and I'll get help then. The yarn I'm using is an amazing alpaca/cashmere blend that I'm loving. I found a great yarn shop online and I was able to buy the yarn at an unbelievable prices.
I received an order of sock yarn from The Loopy Ewe yesterday. A beautiful yarn called “Aegean” from Fleece Artist and one from Yarn Pirate in the “Daisy” colorway. Yarn Pirate’s merino/tencel yarn is the softest sock yarn I’ve ever felt. I can’t wait to wear the socks I’ll knit from it.
Last night I made my first attempt at crock pot dyeing. Let’s just say that things didn’t go well. I didn’t add enough water to the pot and after about an hour and a half, the smell of burned wool started to fill my condo. Burned wool is NOT a good smell. I’ll try again tonight, this time adding plenty of water, assuming I can clean the crock pot where the wool burned to the sides. Here’s hoping!
So many hobbies, too little time. In my 40-some years, I have worked in stained glass, counted cross-stitch, quilting, beading, blackwork embroidery, bookbinding, rubber stamping, letterpress printing, block printing, papermaking and now spinning, dyeing and knitting. I find a great deal of joy in creating something beautiful. My friend Rita has given me an Ashford spinning wheel and I can't get enough of it. It's amazing to watch the wool twist into yarn and then to ply two or more strands together. It's so much fun!
I've canceled my television cable subscription in order to spend more time with my arts and crafts. I realized I was wasting far too much time watching the telly - time I wasn't going to get back. I confess I have an addiction to television and my cable network was just enabling me. I also realized that if I just sat on the couch and watched mindless TV, I would never accomplish what I wanted to do with my life. So, the cable goes. Let the fun begin!
Recent Comments