No New Knitting

I've been trying so hard to work on my current projects and not start anything new. The Harry Potter Knit and Crochet House Cup (HPKCHC) term starts on the first of September and I signed up to be sorted again. Since I took a couple of terms off, I'm not sure if I will end up as a regular student which is fine. I understand that they are often full and cannot accommodate everyone.
The problem with not starting anything new is that I'm utterly bored with what I'm currently knitting. It isn't terrible knitting, it's lovely.
Handspun socks.
 
These are from the Stripes Kit from Gritty knits Merino of the month and I am loving how they are knitting up but knitting plain socks is plain and I'm not in the place where I love that right now. Plus, I knit a plain old short row heel and I don't love how it turned out. I need to rip back and do a different heel.
The only other thing that's a current project is my Magrathea shawl from Martina Behm's Hitchhiker series. I love it so far. I'm knitting it out of Gritty Knits nom in the colorway Cranberry.

What's better than a Merino/Cashmere/Nylon shawlette? Nothing, it's soft and squishy and wonderful.
I really like it but it's not a pattern I seem to be able to memorize so I have to look at the chart all the time and that means it doesn't work for some kinds of knitting. Even watching TV sometimes it doesn't work because I can't put all my focus on the show I'm watching.
 
It is so lovely (although it does need a good blocking, the edging doesn't look that great yet) and it will be worth it in the end but I just need to sit down and get some work done on it. That's the plan for this weekend. Along with the normal cooking and spending time with the husband of course.

Socks for Surfing, or Something Similar

Spinning has been thin on the ground since the end of the Tour. Mostly I just spin for a few minutes here or there, I think I burned myself out a bit; so I'm taking a break from any set goals with my spinning and instead spending a little more time with my knitting.
I made a deal with a knitting group friend to knit her a pair of socks for some yarn she traded me. I made the agreement at Christmas time and since it's already August, it was high time I got them done.
I chose some nice yarn from the Deborah Norville collection at JoAnn Fabrics and started knitting. I chose to do them toe-up with the Wendy Johnson Slip Stitch Heel, messaging the friend when I needed to know her foot length. The yarn is in the colorway "Surf" and I really think they came out lovely. The Superwash Merino/Bamboo/Nylon blend is just lovely and while it's not my favorite to knit with, it is a nice, sturdy yarn.

The socks have already gone to live in their new home along with my old wheel! This lovely friend is a new spinner and she decided to buy my Ashford Scholar. I had decided to sell it to someone who would love it like I did since I just don't use it any more. My lovely Schacht Matchless does everything I need to do in spinning so the Scholar was sadly neglected. It was a little bittersweet seeing my first wheel leave but I'm so glad it will get loved now!

The End of Another Tour de Fleece

This summer has been a little bit crazy. I seem to keep setting goals and way overdoing my commitment to them. I set high goals for the Tour de Fleece, expecting lots of spinning time and I did have lots of spinning time. But when you're spinning lace yarns, it takes a bit longer to spin them. So I didn't finish everything. 

I finished the brown yarn.

I'm really happy this is all spun and hopefully by the time the weather turns colder, I'll be ready to knit it into something sturdy for the cold.
Then I worked on some of my other TdF goals. I got pretty far on some things.

I finished the Gritty Knits Rambouillet in La Grande Boucle and I finished the Cloudlover Organic Polwarth/Silk in Artemis. I also finished the Cloudlover Merino in Peacock.
Overall I'm decently happy with my finished products and I just need to get them washed and thwacked so I can knit lovely things with them.
Meanwhile, I've started a couple of new projects and I'm knitting away on them (mostly ignoring my spinning for now) but hopefully that means I can get back to more regular blogging.