Black Sheep

Spinning!

Here is that Kool-Aide dyed yarn Andean plied:

I really like the way it turned out! I’m working on some more singles that I will Andean ply again. I think I am going to make this into a hat/scarf combo. Like the one in the latest Knit Simple (I think I’m going to knit that vest for the Fall Cable KAL). I like the idea of a hat/scarf combo thing, but I might do my own thing with it.

5 comments September 8th, 2007

Spinning

A middle-of-the-week picture for you. My Kool-aide dyed singles, before I Andean Plied:

2 comments August 30th, 2007

Hedera

It feels like I’ve been knitting these forever! but I finally finished them the other day.
Pattern: Hedera by Cookie. Found at Knitty.com
Yarn: Rowan 4ply cotton in the discontinued black colorway. I used 2 balls.
Needles: Size 1. One one sock I used 4 dpns and on the other I used two circs.
Started: June 1st 2007
Finished: June 14th 2007

I’ve been told by two seperate people that these look purple. And they do on my monitor at work! how strange. They are black in person. Could it be the green background doing that? Or maybe it was the evening ligt when I took the picture. It’s weird how that happens. Anyway, I love the way these look. I love black lace. Love it, love it, love it. And I love cotton, too. The marriage of a perfect summmer sock. I am wearing these right now and they are very comfortable. The cotton feels very soft. However, the drawback is that they are not staying up. They are a bit scrunchy and loose. The cotton stretches out a bit. But I do like a cotton sock for summer so I may consider using it again. Maybe a cotton and nylon mix would be ideal.

Here is some off the yarn I’ve made with the Yarn Pirate roving that I bought a few weeks ago:

I’m actually kind of proud of the hank on the far right! Not extremelly happy with the two on the left. The two on the left I soak using the method I was taught: soak in hot water for a good hour and then hang to dry. I also had major plying issues with those. I tried to ply from both ends of a center-pull ball and things got really tangled. It was not pretty. So may have lost some twist then. But I’m wondering if the hot-water bath untwists the yarn a but, too. I’m not sure. The yarn on the right I soaked in cold water for 15 minutes and then whacked it against my shower wall a few times, as per the instructions in the book, “Spin to knit”. that one turned out way better. But I was also very careful with the plying of that one, too.

That’s it from this corner of the web. I have started a new project which I will post in a couple of days or so. Take care!

6 comments June 16th, 2007

vacation crafting

I’m on vacation this week. I had hoped to go camping someplace fun, like Mount Hood, or something. Anything. But it’s been raining and cold all week. No matter! I’ve been crafting! And it’s been so fun! A week of crafty goodness. So I started the week casting on for Hedera, my first Project Spectrum project for June/July. I am using some leftover black Rowan 4ply cotton. So far I like them. The pattern is, thankfully, easy to memorize. There have been no knitting tantrums so far with this sock. Thank goodness.

My intention was to knit the pair of these this week. But that’s not going to happen. Why? Because of that nice little packet of roving I got in the mail last week I’ve been sucked into the spinning vortex and can’t seem to stop. Help! I love to spin but by do I get obsessed with it when I start. I can’t think about anything else. Anyway, here is what it’s spinning up into:

So pretty. So very pretty. I Andean Plied it and it’s really lovely yarn. It’s still drying but I will take pictures and post them later.

Hope your week is going well

3 comments June 6th, 2007

I didn’t show you these

I finished spinning that blue and copper roving a few weeks back and this is what it looks like:

It still looks kind of like newbie yarn, but I’m getting better I think. My spinning goes in spurts. I’m really into it for a few weeks and want to do nothing else and then I get distracted with something else for awhile. So my learning curve on this is going slow. But that’s okay. That’s why I like it. It’s all about the process. I have no idea what i’m going to do with it. I don’t even know how many yards I have because I haven’t figured out how to determine yardage with handspun yarn. Maybe it will be some sort of scarf or something.

I also finished another Tuscan Sun quilt block the other day:

This one is called Sister’s Choice. I machine pieced it.

Sewing on the skirt is still stalled. I need a sewing maching that does more than sew straight lines. I’m super broke at the moment so I think my purchase will have to wait a bit.

That’s all the energy I have for you at the moment. I’m sick as a dog today. I stayed home from work with some bronchial-coughy sickness and have no energy. ugh.

Have a great weekend!

7 comments March 3rd, 2007