UFOs finished and projects in progress

My Hazelwood Sweater is almost ready to wear, just a few buttons to sew on later today!  This one was planned to start over a year ago, but finally got going last September.  Of course, it was set aside off and on, but the ends have been woven in and it's been blocked.  Just some buttons and trimming of ends and it will be ready to wear!!!

I've shown you pictures of the Paris Toujours shawl, but it hadn't been blocked.  Well, now it's blocked and it's HUGE, it grew so much, but I love it!  This one is a cotton and wool blend, so I may end up wearing it year round, since it gets cool in the summer evenings.  (Just for a size comparison, those pads I'm blocking it on are made of four 2' x 2' squares, and it is almost 8' wide!)

Have swatched for a couple sweaters (shown above with the shawl and also below), but am really trying to finish up more UFOs before starting either one, however, they're really, really tempting!  The brown swatch is for Amy Herzog's Options Rowan Sweater KAL and will be striped with an off white and coral pink, just like her sample.   The magenta swatch is still under consideration, since I'm waffling between a summer cardigan (Basia) and 3/4 sleeved top (Turks and Calicos), since it's a summer yarn.  Since I really want to try Custom Fit patterns, I've been thinking I could merge Charlie's Cardigan in Custom fit measurements for me with the Basia pattern.

Some handspun yarns have been washed and now feel wonderful and ready to  knit with!   This one is definitely going to be a cowl!

Sam's wedding shawl is almost ready to start the lower edging.  It mostly looks like a pink blob with beads on the needles right now, but if I spread out a little area, the design has really taken shape and I can't wait to finish it!  The pattern is Sweet Dreams.

I've been following The Splendid Sampler quilt-a-long posts and planning to start making blocks.  If you follow them, you'll be able to get all the patterns while it is in progress, but after the quilt a long is over, the blocks will be published in a book by my publisher, Martingale / That Patchwork Place, so if you miss any, you'll still be able to finish your quilt!  Some of the block designers (not sure how many) are also making other quilt designs with the blocks and I believe  at least some of those designs will be included in the book when it is published.  So far, I have been collecting patterns and fabric, with hopes to start making blocks soon!

Of course, I couldn't decide to make one sampler quilt, I also fell in love with the charm of Lori Holt's Bloom quilt and bought a kit so I could start it right away!   She's doing a sew-a-long on her blog.   All the pieces are cut out, except the outer border, because I'm thinking of changing it a bit and have purchased more of one of the coordinating prints.   Hopefully, later today I'll start preparing the applique pieces and basting them on the blocks (am waiting for fabric to arrive for some of the stems, and am hoping it arrives soon).

Knitting, Spinning, and Quilting too!

Last night I finished knitting a Paris Toujours shawl!  It's a wool / cotton blend that is light, soft and fluffy, and I'm hoping will be comfortable not only in the winter, but also on cool winter evenings.

Before Thanksgiving, I finished spinning this Waterlilies roving from The Yarn Wench on Etsy.  Since I had two braids, I combined them and chain plyed, to keep the color changes as clean as possible.  It still needs to be wet finished (soaked and dried), but love how it came out.

After Thanksgiving, the spinning wheel was out, along with braid of wool called Young and Old from Three Waters Farm.  It looked like this while it was being spun:

and this once it was chain plyed:

In 2010, Bunny Hill Designs was doing the Snowbound Block of the Month on her  design, and although I was able to keep up with it for a while, I did fall behind, put it away, and have just pulled it out again.  (If you remember, my book was released in October, 2010, so it was a busy year!)  If I keep working on it, it should be finished in time to hang before Christmas next year.

That's it for now....

Madrona

Classes usually require preparation before and finishing up afterwards, no matter whether it's a class I'm teaching or taking, and the Madrona classes were no different, although they are much smaller, because most were either very small sample projects or technique samples.  

I learned so much in the Spinning for Arans class with Carol Rhodes!  It was the first time I've used hand cards to card wool and make rolags to spin.  While I still need a lot of practice, I was able to spin some yarn and finish the sampler.  The light colored part is knit with the yarn I spun in class, which was a blend of Coopworth and Cheviot wool.  Its more lumpy and bumpy because my rolags weren't the best (definitely more practice needed).  The upper, darker yarn was spun from roving that I was given, and I really like both the yarn and knit sample better.  It has more stitch definition and I was able to spin a better yarn from the roving.  All samples are 3-ply.

The next day, I took a Jazzknitting class from Ilisha Helfman, and ended up purchasing her book Jazzknitting An Introduction so that I'd be able to bring all the techniques and inspirational pictures of her work home with me. She works with hand dyed yarns, isolating certain colors in areas of the knitting, instead of knitting a pattern and ignoring the color change in the yarn.  If you'd like to see her work, her website is here.

Our first project was a Ginko leaf.  We used short rows to create the shape and texture of a leaf, and everyone's leaves came out beautifully different, due to differences in our yarn and knitting.  My first leaf was knit with Koigu KPPN yarn:

As you can probably guess, some in the class were very fast knitters and knit more than one, but I was happy to have started a second leaf with a different yarn, so I could see the difference with it.  This leaf is being knit with leftover sock yarn from Blue Moon Fiberarts, and I enjoyed both the color repeats in the yarn as well as the feel, so plan to finish this sample soon.

She called the next shape an Echinus shape and I should have asked the spelling, as it is not in her book, but   is supposed to be included in the next one.  All of her designs have infinite possibilities, are very organic and beautiful!  She had some samples that looked like sea urchins, so I thought I'd try to head in that direction, but won't really know how it will work out until I sew the ends together and see how I did.

More Spinning

I've been spinning more yarns for my story coat.   I'm sure once I get knitting, I'll find some yarns won't work and I'll need to spin more, although I'm also hoping to find more coordinates in my yarn stash.  (Photography isn't doing most of them justice, as the colors only seem true when the flash goes off. )  Here are my newest skeins:

Last time you saw this yarn, it was just a single wound on my bobbin, but now it has been Navajo plied (chain plied) and simultaneously wound with bamboo yarn that I strung beads on.   I occasionally pushed a bead up into place and found this to be the most difficult method of adding beads to yarn that I have tried so far, although the final yarn is beautiful, and more green than this picture.  The fiber is Ashford's merino silk in the Woodland colorway.

These next two skeins are spun from similar braids of merino wool that were purchased from the Yarn Wench several years ago in the dappled shade colorway.  Their color is really a deeper teal / green, but my camera seems to be washing out color when the flash doesn't go off, which seems weird to me and I'll have to figure out when I get time. This first one was Navajo plied:

For the second braid, I spun a thick and thin single, then plied it with Jaggerspun Zephyr wool / silk (laceweight) yarn to make yarn with beehives.  This yarn is much more time consuming to spin and ply, but I think it is a beautiful art yarn that will add some variety.

I happen to have four braids of this Poetry colorway of Faulkland wool from the Yarn Wench, and have decided to spin and Navajo ply all of them for a three-ply yarn that can be used throughout the coat.  This skein was finished yesterday, and I'm in progress of spinning the next braid.

I know these don't look like they will play nicely together, but the earlier skeins were dark blue/ teal / purples, and this last skein has purples in it, so I'm hoping I'll find other yarns (or roving that I can spin up) that will help them work together.  Whatever doesn't end up in the coat can always be knit up into something else...

Snow Outside, Creativity Inside

Over the past few days, we've gone from this:

to this:

We've shoveled snow (it doesn't look like it, since more came down) and endured two power failures.  So what does one do when there is no power?  Well, my knitting ran into a little snag, so I decided to spin some yarns for a project I'd like to start soon.

First, I finished plying this teal/ blue / white skein:

Next, I corespun (wool wrapped around a thin, premade yarn) a beautiful aqua and multicolor batt into this yarn:

Wanting to try something new, I spun a thick and thin single while letting multicolored thread autowrap around it.

That was fun, but I've seen beautiful yarns with beads, I had to try making one, so I spun up more fiber.  Left to right:  blue / violet / black batt, Ashford Damson Slyver, Ashford Woodland Slyver.

The first skein was multistranded.  I plyed the two blue-violet strands with three different quilting / embroidery threads, one being pre-strung with beads, which I skattered throughout the skein.  The metallic thread made it a bit scratchy, but added sparkle, along with the beads and it's beautiful!

I decided to try threading the beads directly onto the strand that was made from the batt, but only managed to ply a small sample skein before the yarn broke and beads flew everywhere!

Having more yarn to ply, I decided to blend the two blue-violet strands with a black lace-weight bamboo yarn and threaded the beads on it.  It worked well, with the black bamboo yarn darkening the skein, but only a little.

More experiments to come as I have time...

Summer Spinning

Throughout the summer, I've been spinning roving into yarn, so here is what I'm looking forward to knitting with:

I had intended to spin the huckleberry knits rovings so that I could use them all in the same project, if I wanted to, but after chain plying (3-ply) the darkest one, I decided to do the lighter two as 2-ply yarns.  They are all Blue-Faced Leicester wool.  I'm hoping the center yarn is enough for a cowl pattern (I think it should be),  The roving is from Hood Canal Yarns, Inc. and feels wonderful, because it is a 50 / 50 blend of baby camel and tussah silk, so it is a thin 2-ply, that I'm hoping will work with the pattern that I've already chosen! On the far right is the  skein from the woolgatherings Mixed Blue Face Leicester roving which I am considering using with the dark skein, as stripes in a cardigan pattern from Twist Collective, using the grey wool I spun from that enormous bag of roving as the background color (hey, I figure since I've got to have color, I'll never use the grey alone, it has to be used with other colors), but I need to dig in my roving stash for at least a third color, because otherwise, I might not have enough for the stripes.

While I was spinning those, I also spun a couple bobbins of thick and thin to make beehive art yarn, and am now in progress of plying it. This is a more time consuming project, because I need to work slowly, and can only ply for a short while before needing a break.  Therefore, I am working on it in short bursts between other projects, and will look forward to finished yarn.....eventually!

Here are the thick and thin bobbins:

And the aqua 2-ply wool / silk is the core / plying thread.  I thought I had plenty, but am noticing I'll need to prepare more, because I'm going through it much faster than I thought I would.

I hope this is enough

yarn for a sweater (or vest), that is.  In a few minutes here and there, and then a massive attempt to get it all plied, I've manage to finish 3 huge and 1 medium skein of dk / worsted yarn from that warm gray wool.  I'm in need of a break from this color,  because I'm tired of looking at it and after putting it around my neck like a cowl and looking in the mirror, I believe it will be headed into the dyepot before knitting.  so it's washed and dried and I'll try out my McMorran balance to see what yardage I might have after it has been dyed (it could change during dyeing process).  Here's what I have at this point:

Quilt, Knit, Weave, Spin...

Between yesterday and this morning, I shuffled and cut decks for the Figs and Ginger quilts:

I decided the quickest way to go, would be to cut each deck and place the sections onto card stock to keep everything in order.  These can then be stacked, ready for sewing.

Three stacks have been sewn into blocks, so I'm making progress:

My Aquitaine Cuffs are coming along nicely, and I'm halfway up the second chart!

I'm weaving some grey scarves in between other projects.  The warp is long enough for three scarves, each will be woven with a different pattern, and the first is finished, it's the swirling stars design in medium and light grey.  Now I'm working on the second scarf, which I would describe as interlocking tabs, as I don't know what the pattern would really be called, as it is only a number in the book, I'm using, which is A Weaver's Book of 8-shaft Patterns:

I'm also trying to do at least a few minutes of spinning each day, since I've decided to spin for a sweater.  When I was at the Allyn Knit Shop, I purchased a 3 lb bag of wool, which I seem to have lost the tag for:-(  It's soft, and I think it is a merino blend that is from local sheep.  There is some veg matter, which is seriously slowing me down, but otherwise, it is a dream to spin!  I'm spinning this wool woolen style, as it is a roving, and almost spins itself in that method, but there is so much wool, it is going a long way, so much so, that I feel like I'm spinning an endless bag of wool!  This is what I've spun so far (the numerical tags are to help me decide the order of bobbins to use when plying):

I still have quite a ways to go, and am wondering if I'll have enough bobbins, or if I'll need to start plying to empty some bobbins so that I can finish spinning.

Because this is such a large project, and the roving is quite thin, not needing to be pre-drafted or split, I'm spinning right out of the bag, only breaking the yarn when I get too thin, or have filled a bobbin.

All Spun Up

Remember the wool I bought at Sew EXPO?  This is the core spun yarn that I made from the first batch of that wool, and is how I plan to spin the remaining batt.  I don't have a pattern picked out yet, but will decide when I'm ready to make something from it.

Sock Yarn

My travel wheel is set up in the second studio, and has had yarn in progress for a while, since I'm not there all the time.  The wool is from Yarnwench, and is called cupcakes 2, which is a wonderfully soft merino wool.

During my last visit to the studio, I was able to finish plying the singles into a 2-ply yarn, and bring it home to finish.  After it was washed and dried, it looks to be about sock yarn weight.  The wool weighed over 4 oz., so it should be enough for a pair of socks, hat or scarf.  When I wind it into a ball, I'll run it through the yardage counter and find out exactly how much I have.  Right now, I'm thinking it will be a scarf or shawlette, but haven't decided on a specific pattern yet.

Hitchhiker ST For Sale

UPDATE: HITCHHIKER WHEEL SOLD


Reluctantly, I have decided to sell my right treadle ST Hitchhiker spinning wheel (includes HH tote).


It was purchased earlier this year, as I had intended to use it as my travel wheel, but have only spun one skein on it, as I always use my other wheel at home. I'm asking $225 + shipping, payment through Paypal. I'm on Seattle, WA's Eastside, if anyone is interested who is local.

Here are a few pictures:

Black Bunny Hanspun

Earlier in the week I finished spinning my shipment from the Black Bunny fiber club. The color is called Spellbound, and after much thought, I decided that I would spin reasonably thin singles, and then try Navaho plying to try for a DK or Worsted weight. The fiber arrived looking like this:

and has now turned into this lovely, 3-ply yarn, which I'm guessing to be around the DK / Worsted that I was hoping for. I haven't measured the yardage, or WPI yet, as I'll do that when I wind it into a ball. Right now, I'm thinking a scarf, maybe the drop stitch scarf pattern that I saw in Spin-Off Magazine.

More Fiber

My shipment from the Black Bunny Fiber Club arrived when I was busy, so I'm late posting it. Isn't this wool beautiful! (When I finish my current spinning project, it will be next.)

Most of my spinning gets done while waiting for the family to go out, or kids for school, because I can get up and go much faster than any of my other projects, but spinning in a few minutes here and there makes the project last longer than if I sat and spun (If I would just sit and spin, this would be spun up, plyed, washed and ready to go in only a few days.)

Wouldn't it be nice if we could stop time to do something, and then start it again when we were finished???