Monday, April 27, 2009

Broken In

I haven't been posting a whole lot lately. I know, I'm sorry. Life has been getting busier and busier. I REALLY broke in a pair of socks this weekend though.
Here they are:

What's that? They look a little muddy? That's right, they are. Here's how they got that way.

This is what we did this weekend. That's my cousin's husband on a 4-wheeler. It was a blast but it's so exhausting, I've barely been doing anything today and I feel like I could nap.

Oh well, back to get some stuff done. Maybe one of these days I can actually finish something to show you.

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Back to Sock Knitting

Ahh, it feels good to get back to my old standby, knitting socks. I don't know why but I have spent some time away from them, it was a kind of hiatus but they really are the perfect travel project, light and simple enough to not always need a pattern but difficult enough to keep my interest.

These are a joint project between myself and my mom. She bought the yarn and I'm knitting the socks they are for a very close family friend who has always admired my sock-knitting, I'm very excited for them to get finished and be gifted to her.

Here is the first one. It's a yarn I haven't tried before, it's Plymouth Yarn Sockin' Sox. It was fairly inexpensive, about $11.00 for a ball and it's 60% superwash wool, 25% bamboo and 15% nylon. It's pretty soft and smooth and I think the colors are beautiful.

I immediately cast on the second sock so as to avoid the Second Sock Syndrome but promptly set it down so that I could spin. I may be addicted. More about that later.

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Weekly updates

Oh my goodness! I just realized that it has been a week since I have posted anything. That's just sad. I have been knitting but it's been little bits here and there, nothing has been finished so I find myself with nothing to show off and therefore, I think, nothing to say.

It's been a busy week, what with Easter over the weekend and all. We visited family on both sides and had entirely too much to eat altogether, a fact that I am paying for this week on the scale and so the weight-loss battle continues apace.

Hopefully, I will find something blog-worthy soon before you, my very few readers drift away, bored of my antics.

In the meantime, I leave you with this thought... um, now I forgot. Oh well.

Wednesday, April 08, 2009

Finishing up

You probably thought you would come here and see beautiful pictures of my Aeolian. Hah! It isn't finished, not even close. I have barely touched it in the last week. I definitely want to, it's just that the few minutes I have had to knit have mostly been in the car so I've needed something a little more portable, i.e. no beads. I've just been working on socks that are already started so nothing new and exciting to report, sadly.

I have been very, very excited to keep spinning though as was obvious by my previous two posts. I decided last Friday because my cold was kicking my butt to just relax and do some spinning. I decided to split the leftover roving from my first spinning project, spin it all up and make a two-ply. I did it all that Friday. Whoo!

Then, I washed it like you're supposed to and I wound it up into a little ball.
Isn't it cute?

It's sitting there looking like REAL YARN isn't it!

Sorry, didn't mean to yell, I might be a teeny, tiny bit excited. I think it's about sportweight and I figured out I have about 36 yards. I think that might be enough to actually knit something with it. Just like real yarn! I have no idea what I would knit with 36 yards because that isn't that much, but something. My goal with this particular project was to work on making it more even throughout, not so many fat spots and skinny spots, for the most part, I succeeded, although there were a few spots that weren't quite right, it's improving and I'm loving it.

Okay, back to work and maybe I'll take a few minutes to work on Aeolian tonight. I sure would like to.

Monday, April 06, 2009

Still Spinning

it all up on that second day and
Something about spinning just clicked for me last week. A lot like how knitting clicked for me I think.
After I spun up that first little skein, which turned out pretty well I think, for a first try. I had a little roving leftover from my thrummed mittens (which aren't technically done I guess) but this was leftover from the first mitten. I absolutely love the colors in it so I wanted to try spinning that.

It was coming out pretty well on the spindle so I was super excited. I spun up that piece all that day and plied it. Navajo ply again, to try to keep the colors together.

Here's the little skein I ended up with. It still has some places where the yarn is a little thinner or thicker than other places but I think that's one of the great things about handspun. I also noticed while editing this picture that it's a little blurry (excited much?).

Well, I loved that little skein so much with the pretty colors and all that I had to knit it up. So, I made a little swatch.

I love it so much, I would like to shove it down my shirt and just carry it with me everywhere. I just used the One Row Handspun scarf pattern from the Yarn Harlot and just knit all the yarn up.

Then, I decided to spin up all the rest of the roving from that first skein. I'll talk about that tomorrow.

I'm trying to still work a few rows of Aeolian in every day but honestly, everything else has been pushed aside so I can spin. Wow is it fun.

Thursday, April 02, 2009

Spinning?

I'm starting to think that spinning is the natural "spin-off" of knitting. You use yarn, why not just make it too.

Well, I've been interested in spinning since I first heard about it which was long before I even had a blog or read other people's blogs but I didn't know any spinners. Then, I got into the blog community and Ravelry came along and pretty soon I was making friends in my new city. Friends who knit and even some who spun.

Long had I heard of the experienced spinners who gifted new spinners with fibers to try and maybe even supplies. Yesterday, I experienced it for myself. I went over to Kasha's and she gave me a drop spindle, one she didn't use anymore and some fiber along with a wonderful book about spinning and a lesson.

I may be addicted. Last night, I got home and spun some more while watching TV. I didn't even finish the roving I had in this color but I wanted to try plying so I made a little skein of yarn.

I told you it was little. It's not without it's issues. Some because I think I overspun it in some places and some because getting the hang of Navajo-plying isn't easy but I'm pretty sure that I'm completely and totally addicted.

Is it wrong to wish for a spinning wheel after only one day?

Can't talk more, spinning.