The Sweetness of Socks

As much as I love a good sweater knit and I'm enjoying my sweater knitting a great deal, I don't always have the mental capacity for a long row like that. Sometimes I just need something smaller, more portable, more wonderful.
Enter: The knitted sock. Anyone who has read this blog at all or knows me in person knows how much joy I find in knitting socks. I am rarely without a sock project and the few times I find myself without one, I don't know what to do with my hands. I almost exclusively knit them when out and about and do not hesitate to whip out a sock and knit a few rounds anywhere. In line at the grocery store, waiting for a train, almost anything.
Lately I've been pretty obsessed with Vesper self-striping sock yarn. I love how soft it is to knit but it gets even softer after it's washed. So far all my pairs have worn really well (although I only knit my first pair last October so that's not very long-term yet.)
This year I've been participating in the Vesper Socks KAL in the Vesper group. I am loving choosing a skein of Vesper to knit each month and earlier this year, it encouraged me to buy a few skeins so I was sure to have enough to make it through the year. I'm yarn/fiber dieting now until my local knitting group's retreat weekend in Duluth and it kills me a little bit each time she posts that new colors are going up. (I have barely contained myself when it comes to Sweater Vest and honestly, I'd love to collect all the pretty colors.)
I have consoled myself by knitting Vesper that I already own. This is Dragon's Blood. I honestly wasn't too sure why I decided to buy it but I'm so glad I did. I really love how these look.

Despite my misgivings about how close in color they are to last month's socks, I'm not finding myself dragging my feet on them at all. I've finished the first sock and I'm working away on the second now. Right on schedule and if I focus on them for the weekend, I could probably finish the second sock.
I'm doing another toe-up sock pattern. This time the toe-up sock with Slip Stitch Heel (scroll down to help and download the Sock Templates.) I can't say why I've been drawn to toe-up socks lately. It's not as though I'm trying to use up as much yarn as I can but I don't mind them toe-up with these patterns and I'm actually enjoying them so onward I knit! Maybe it has actually converted me to a toe-up sock knitter. Only time will tell.
In the meantime, I'll just be over here with my stripey socks.

Actual Knitting on a New Sweater

This may sound silly but I've been spending my knitting time actually knitting lately. I decided to cast on a sweater and I'm working away on it in the hopes that I can actually get it done in a reasonable amount of time.
Since I finally finished Spoke, I felt like it was okay to cast on a new sweater  I recently cleaned up the stash also (which is really still in-progress, it's not completely organized) but I discovered I have quite a few sweaters worth of yarn. That makes me want to get to it!
I thought about the swatch I knit awhile ago. A nice, big swatch and I dug it out. I knew it was too loose so, as crazy as it sounds, I knit another swatch. I also washed it and laid it out to dry before making a decision about my sweater. My gauge wasn't perfect, it didn't match the intended gauge exactly but it was much closer so I did a little math (I know, this whole story sounds like some other knitter doesn't it?) and figured out that by casting on a smaller size in the pattern, I would get the intended size of finished object. So I did.

I'm knitting the Monday Morning Cardigan by Laura Chau and I'm loving it! The body is cast on at the bottom, you knit upward, with waist shaping, and then knit the sleeves and join it all together. I've really focused on it the last week or so and I'm making good progress.

I love the slipped stitch pattern too. For one thing, I think it can be slimming and it's fun to knit. The wrong side row has more knits than purls so it goes fast and the right side row, while it's mostly purling is broken up enough that it doesn't drag. The yarn I'm using, Arucania Nature Wool, isn't super soft to knit with but when I washed the swatches, it softened up quite a bit so I'm really looking forward to having this finished sweater.

I Think it's an Illness

Lately I've even surprised myself with my ability to focus on a project enough to get it done, it's almost eerie.
That is to say; I've been very good at finishing things lately. I finished my Age of Brass and Steam Kerchief. I knit this out of handspun and used a smaller needle than the original pattern called for because I was using a thinner yarn.

I'm so happy with the result though! I got 4 total eyelet rows and a full set of increase rows before the edging. I also knit an extra two rows in the edging to make the most of the yarn. I have just a small ball of this lovely handspun left.

I love the size and shape of this shawl as well as the colors. I'm such a purple person and it goes so well with my personality that I see it being a huge staple in my winter wardrobe. As a matter of fact, I intend to carry it around with me at all times. It's perfect to wrap around your neck if you're just a little cold or need something to accent your outfit. This yarn was handspun out of Cloudlover 80/20 Merino/Silk in the Ligeia colorway. I chain-plied it and came up with over 500 yards. From the beginning, I knew this lovely purple would be great as an Age of Brass and Steam and I'm so happy it's done and I love it as much as I had hoped. (The colors in the photos today aren't the best. I blame the grey and rainy weather, check out my edited Flickr photos if you're interested in what these really look like.)
I've also been focusing very well on my sock projects. Don't worry, I'm not done with those Vespers I posted about the other day, although they will now be my main focus, instead I focused on a pair I had hoped to turn in for the Harry Potter House Cup.

May I introduce the Ostrich Fantasy socks. I dug out all my nom from Gritty Knits last weekend and chose a skein to knit into a pair of socks. I originally thought to enter them into the Solid Socks group as well because their sponsor for September is Gritty Knits but a reread of their rules told me I needed to match the color they chose for the month as well as make them solid to semi-solid although I can't double-dip by turning them in the Harry Potter group and the Solid Socks group, I'm still thrilled to have them done. I chose the most recent nom of the month; River a very nice semi-solid greenish-blue and while I thought the pattern was quick, it was not easy. There was some finagling to get it to work out, it did not work with the directions as written in the pattern. There was also no chart; even after creating a chart for myself I still found I had to change a couple of things to get the stitch count to work out. While I enjoyed it, I won't be knitting these again soon. I think a good blocking of these socks will help the pattern to even out and hopefully make them a little easier to get over my heel. There's a little struggle with that at this point although they fit very well once they are on. For full notes about the modifications I made to this pattern, you can check out my project page on Ravelry.
See what I mean? All the finished things are a bit odd. Don't expect it to last. I've started a new shawl on the needles used by the Age of Brass and Steam and I've swatched for a sweater. I also have plans for a hat. I should really go wind that yarn and decide on a pattern as a matter of fact.

A Short Week but Lots of Progress

These short weeks definitely throw me for a loop but I have been making some progress on things.
I had made a sweater pact with a friend to finish our sweaters before Labor Day. I realized it was sneaking up fast so I dug out the sweater I was working on and got going. The design is Spoke and for the most part, I enjoyed knitting it. I spun this yarn from two 8-ounce braids of Frabjous Fibers BFL in the Chocolate Cherry Colorway. I actually ran out at the last and used about 10 yards from a different skein of handspun for the bind-off and button loops. To be honest, I should have read the directions more carefully before I started this sweater. It has a lot of ribbing which was not the most fun to knit and I wasn't all that pleased with the way the front, which on the pattern page comes all the way across, does not come all the way across. I love it anyway though and rather than sew it shut as the pattern calls for, I crocheted button loops and sewed on 11 buttons! So they would go all the way around the circle part.

Overall, I'm very happy with how it came out.

I finished it up on Sunday meaning, I did finish in time! My friend sadly did not have enough time to finish her sweater. Maybe now that the weather is turning colder, she will be motivated. I definitely feel; now that this sweater is done, it's time to cast on another. I'm thinking of that lovely purple swatch from a few months back. 
I also worked on my Vesper KAL socks. I knit these for the month of August and finished them partway into September. I believe on the first, although I did weave in the ends the following morning.

As I've said before, I knit these toe-up with Wendy Johnson's Toe-up Gusset heel. I will be very interested to see how this heel wears. The colorway is Monet's Garden and I like it but I'm not in love with it, I love my Vesper socks though and I know these will get lots of wear as the weather turns colder.
Of course I had to figure out what colorway to cast on for September and settled on Dragon's Blood.

It seems a little similar to the Monet's Garden (with the chartruese replaced with orange) but the purple is more plum than purple and the pink seems a little lighter so hopefully I won't get bored with them. I started these toe-up again and I haven't decided what heel I will work just yet. Since I just finished the toe increases, I have some time to decide.
I love a plain sock knit so much. Especially while I'm reading and as I've started rereading the Harry Potter books, inspired by the Harry Potter Knit/Crochet House Cup, I should have lots of time for that!

August Endings

The crazy month of August is almost over and I'm so thankful. It's been fun and a wild ride but I'm going to be very happy for things to slow down for awhile now!
We spent last weekend camping with my in-laws, it was fun but coincided with a major heat wave so the heat was miserable. Not miserable enough that I didn't want to knit though. I finished the first of my Vesper Monet's Garden socks and started the second.

I decided to knit these toe-up and used the Sock Template (which is a PDF download from her Free Patterns tab) from WendyKnits blog to do a Toe Up Sock with Gusset. I like how it turned out but without the slip stitches on the heel, I am curious to see how it wears.
I've also been working away on my Age of Brass and Steam Kerchief. So far I have 4 eyelet rows and I don't think I will get another. I've taken to weighing the yarn in between rows to gauge when to start the rows of garter edging. It's going to be soon. I'm still in love with the colors of the yarn and excited for this lovely thing to be finished.

The yarn is still so difficult to photograph though and at least here you can see the subtle shading of purples although it's darker in real life.
The sorting for the Harry Potter Knit/Crochet House Cup has taken place now too. I was placed in the Not Quite First Years (NQFY) group, which is totally fine as I haven't played along before (hence my low priority on sorting) so I will be over there plotting how to fit the projects I'd like to knit into the classes once they're posted.  (You can still join us as a NQFY, check out the group, it's gonna be a blast!)
I'm pretty sure I will be knitting a Solid Sock for the Solid Socks group as the September sponsor is Gritty Knits. If you've been reading for awhile, you know I'm a big supporter of Gritty Knits so I have tons of her lovely yarns on hand to knit into solid socks. I may even do their Mystery Sock for which all the clues are already posted and spoiled (I'm totally okay with that).
It's also about time to start thinking about Holiday Crafting. I have one knit done and several others in mind so I'll be starting those soon.

A Little Askew

I've been trying to be organized and get some things finished. I have some brown natural wool on the wheel that I want to get done so I can start Jenna's prize spinning and I can't seem to motivate myself to work on it. I did spend all day Sunday at the Forest City Stockade working on it though, in between explaining spinning to passers-by. I even got the husband to dress up with me.

(All the pictures today are sideways, I cannot for the life of me get them to straighten out and I'm sick of trying. I may be a little too sleep-deprived to care right now.) Yes, that's a bonnet, what can I say, I couldn't wear my sunglasses and it definitely helped. What it didn't help with was the super heat. It's been very hot the last couple of days.
What does that say to me? Apparently knit a hat.

I couldn't stop thinking about the lovely, drapey 50% Merino/50% silk yarn and I decided it did need to be knit into a slouchy hat, whether it would look good or not. I cast on last night and finished it today. I love it a little bit, even though it's not very flattering on me.

It turned out so pretty though. I fiddled around with the stitch count to make sure it didn't pool. It still pooled a little bit during the increases and decreases but I love how it striped with the little blips of blue in the other places on the hat.
Now I'm absolutely not allowed to cast on anything new until I finish something else though. I've been working on my Age of Brass and Steam Kerchief again and it's slowly growing. I've also been working on my Georgia on my Mind socks and I'm at the heel flap on the second sock. The end is in sight on these two projects so it shouldn't be too hard to finish something.
For the most part I'm getting ready to go camping though! This weekend we're going camping with my in-laws near Richmond, MN. I hope it doesn't rain as much as the weather report is predicting because we are tenting it! I've aired out the tent and started to assemble camping supplies. It's gonna be a great time and I'm hoping I will get lots of knitting done.
Not only for my own sanity do I want to finish something, I signed up for the Harry Potter Knit/Crochet House Cup sorting. I haven't played along in the past so it's very possible I could get placed in the Not Quite First Years group and not get sorted into a house but it's going to be fun anyway and they require you don't cast on for you projects for classes until the start-of-term. That's September 1. (Although previously unfinished items can get turned in for Detention if finished for some points.) Come join us and play along, it's going to be so much fun!

Contest Winner (and some other stuff)

This has been a somewhat odd week. I can't seem to remember what day of the week it is at any given time. That's partly because I was up all night on, I think, Wednesday night for no apparent reason. I just couldn't sleep. I did get lots of spinning and knitting time because I wasn't asleep though.
I've been focusing on cleaning off bobbins this week because I will be demonstrating spinning at Forest City Stockade this weekend! I will be there Sunday, in costume, spinning so I wanted to make sure I had plenty of cleared-off bobbins. As part of that, I thought I could get something finished so I really focused on my Targhee, it was taking up multiple bobbins.
Now, however.

I divided this fiber by weight to spin a traditional 3-ply. I have no idea if my scale malfunctioned or if it was just me not doing it right but the second bobbin ran out long before the first and third, since the singles were pretty consistent, I don't know how that happened. I wasn't sure about doing a center-pull ball with one and plying from inside/outside and using the other bobbin so instead I just chain-plied the remaining singles. It was a lot more singles than I would have thought it would be! I ended up with about 180 yards of chain-plied yarn and about 290 yards of the traditional 3-ply for a total of 470 yards. I wound it all into one skein so I'm not sure how I will knit it when I decide to work with it. I'm really happy how it came out though! It's very even and consistent, not over-plied or really over-spun.

Even immediately after removing it from the niddy noddy it didn't twist very much at all. I love how squooshy and bouncy it seems too. I think this will get knit into something beautiful in the near future.
I'm really trying to focus on finishing off some projects because I feel like I don't get things done if I have too many things to divide my time between but a new pattern was released today. It's called Cursed Cable Mitts and a dear online friend really wanted someone to KAL it with her so she gifted me the pattern, leading me to decide the lovely Malabrigo sock that wasn't working in the Lohengrin socks should become these lovely mitts.

Isn't it lovely? I think the subtle color changes, that were too much for the very complex Lohengrin pattern will be just right for this slowly shifting cable. If you decide to knit this pattern too, let me know so we can KAL together!
I'm also starting to daydream about another shawlette. I found this lovely skein of yarn the other day (unlabeled, for shame!)

It's sort of a brown and green with hints of purple handspun 2-ply and I have a little over 500 yards. I am thinking of knitting Multnomah again. It's such a fun knit and turns out so pretty. I think that little bit of extra yarn might make it that little bit larger that I'd like. I'm not sure what yarn this is, I need to find my spinning journal that's full and look it up, but I'm pretty sure that it has silk in it because it has a lovely shine. I plan to finish my Age of Brass and Steam Kerchief before casting this on so it's not too much of a rush yet.
One last order of business, the thing you really came for right? The blog contest from my 400th post is now finished! I selected the winner via Random.org and the winner is: *insert drumroll sound here* Jenna! Jenna is a real-life friend so I am very excited to spin this lovely Falkland just for her!

Congratulations Jenna and thank you everyone for entering! I love doing contests so I will probably do another one soon.

I Think it's an Improvement

It was a busy weekend. I traveled down to Litchfield for a wedding on Friday, it was an adorable outdoor wedding. Very much like the people who got married. I managed to wake up from sleeping on a strange bed with more pain from my pinched nerve though. That part of the weekend was not fun at all. I did manage, with a great deal of alternating heat and cold and ibuprofen to make it through the weekend and finish a sock.

Last week, in order to keep myself from casting on something new, I dug out this project. I was about halfway through the first sock and decided it was too loose and ripped it, went down a needle size and cast on again. I managed to finish the first sock and start the second. I really like this pattern. It's called Georgia on my Mind by Leslie Thompson and it's like a plain stockinette sock with a seed stitch panel to break it up and keep it interesting. I really enjoyed knitting (and reknitting) the first one. The yarn is some Three Irish Girls I purchased from a destash. It's Adorn sock in Lucerne and I love how it's basically a plain grey with pops of color. I had to do a little fiddling to keep the sock from pooling the same colors together and I love how it came out.
Last night I was frustrated though. I was sick of being in pain and not getting enough sleep because of said pain and I had argued a bit with the Handsome Husband so I needed something new. Something pretty and shiny and wonderful so I cast on a new slouchy hat.

What's that? It doesn't look like a slouchy hat? That's because it isn't. I ripped it out. I just don't think it will look good on me and I love this yarn so much, I want it to be something so awesomely amazing! Maybe I will decide on something soon.
The thing is, I'm having a hard time knitting today. My neck/shoulder area is somewhat better but unless I sit just right, with arm propped up just right and neck supported, I can't do anything. It hurts too much, sadly this is an improvement over yesterday when I couldn't do anything at all, including breathing, without pain. My wheel and I are disagreeing too so spinning is out and I just need to find something to do to keep myself from going crazy and watching too much Netflix

Quicksand

I finished my test-knit well in time for the deadline. I really love how it turned out but I think I should have knit it on larger needles to make it bigger. It's about 13" deep and I like it but I wanted it to be big and cozy and it's not quite there. I love it anyway.

It's knit from some handspun Merino from Gritty Knits Merino-of-the-month. I had one braid and purchased a braid from a friend when she didn't love the colors. They really aren't my colors either but it was just so compelling, I couldn't resist! I spun both four-ounce braids into a lovely squishy two-ply fingering weight. I had about 530 yards and this pattern didn't take the whole 8 ounces so I may pull out the edging and knit it larger. I haven't decided yet.
I definitely recommend looking for this pattern soon though, it's wonderful and a quick, easy and customizable knit! It will be up on the Simple Knits design page soon!
Unfortunately, I haven't had a whole lot of knitting though, have a pinched nerve in my neck/shoulder area. Mostly I've been medicating and sitting propped up with pillows so I don't move and it doesn't hurt. Not very realistic for life though. Hopefully with a trip to the Chiropractor, I will be back and moving (and knittng) soon!
P.S. Remember to enter the giveaway in post 400! The contest ends 8-15-13. 

Decay is Done

It was a busy weekend with a trip to South Dakota, church and Knit night. I did manage to get a few things done though. I finished my Vesper KAL socks for July. I decided to knit the Arch-shaped socks from this lovely skein of Moondance.

I'm not too sure about the fit of these but they look lovely. I love the colors.
I also finished spinning some Cloudlover Shetland in the colorway Decay last week so I finished plying it today.

I absolutely love how it turned out. I decided to chain-ply the singles and it became a lovely worsted-weight skein of yarn, about 234 yards.

I was hoping to knit some heavy-weight socks for winter from this skein but I'm not sure this would be enough so it might become an awesome hat instead.
I love the colors in the braid of Decay and this skein shows them off so well, I'm absolutely in love with it. I think as soon as it gets its soak, twack and dry it will be knit.

Just a Quickie

I thought I'd do a quick post, even though I'm leaving in about 15 minutes for a trip. The other day I signed up for a new test knit. The pattern will be called Quicksand and it's designed by Vicki Mikulak. I've knit for her before, her patterns are called Simpleknits designs. I really love her patterns and I don't have deadlines right now so I decided to go for it.
I got her permission to use some great handspun.

Wound it up so I was ready to go and cast on.

I've got a fair start and I love how it's working up. I think it's a very fun knit and I'm taking it as a great travel project. I'm knitting version 1 and there are 3 so definitely look for this pattern soon, I think it will be worth your time.
Don't forget to enter the blog contest on my previous post, it's open until the 15th of August.

Four Hundred and a Giveaway!

This is my 400th blog post! I feel like it should be epic. It really isn't though, just everyday knitting stuff.
My Vesper KAL socks for July are on a timeout because I managed to completely snap one of my needles. Really I can just swap out another set but I was kinda annoyed so they're taking a short break.
I've started a few new things recently. I started a baby sweater for a friend who is having a little one in January. She adores the color green (especially this bright, lovely green) so I cast on a green baby sweater.

So far it doesn't look like much of anything but it will knit up quickly if I actually work on it. The yarn is nom from Gritty Knits in the colorway Brazil and the pattern is Maile Sweater by Nikki Van De Car. They don't know the gender yet (although we have suspicions) so I'm hoping the color and pattern won't look too girly in case it isn't a girl.
I also finally started my Age of Brass and Steam Kerchief. It's knit from my Cloudlover handspun Merino/Silk in the colorway Ligeia. It's beautiful and over 500 yards of chain-plied yarn so although I'm knitting it on size US 3 needles, it should be a decent kerchief.

I cast this on then promptly went to a family reunion bringing ONLY this project. If you know me in real life, you know that's odd. I knit on it a lot in the car since my husband drove and while visiting with family. Then we went and hung out with our gaming friends and I knit on it some more. I got a good distance on it since it was all I had to knit! 
I also decided that my lovely little French Press Slippers, which I adore, were too worn out to repair so I had to knit another pair. This is my third pair! I just love them because I can wear them everywhere.
They're not too heat-inducing for the summer and they're great for spring/fall/winter too.

Hard to believe these will fit my feet soon isn't it? They're in felting right now though. I started these last night and finished them this morning. I only took so long to knit them because I spent a little time reading last night and also I really took my time sewing up the outside edges, reinforcing it because that's where the other two pairs have worn out. I don't bother with the strap part of the slippers, it's purely decorative and they stay on fine without so I just keep them as they are. I am hoping to dye these some other color but we'll see. The white might be cute.
The Garter Monster Shawl Take 2, Mini monster is finished too!

It's one of the three projects I finished knitting while visiting with family. I really like how this one turned out too and I'm going to be writing up the pattern (then looking for test-knitters) so I can release it as a pattern! You may remember the original Garter Monster knit from DK/worsted yarn. I wanted to knit it again to make more detailed notes about the pattern so I used a fingering-weight handspun. I think it turned out beautiful.

I'm going out of town again this weekend so I will probably take one or both of the Garter Monsters to wrap up in if the Air conditioning is too chilly.

The month of August is coming up fast and it's set to be very busy so there will be lots of running here and there. Hopefully it won't affect the blogging schedule too much because the travel will be mostly on the weekends.
In the meantime I really need a travel sock so it's time to dig out some other needles for that Vesper sock. It can't hide in it's project bag forever.
Also, since it is a special 400th Blog post, let's do a giveaway! 

This is a 4 ounce braid of Zarzuela Fibers Falkland. The colorway is Cinnamon Stick and it was part of her fiber club for September 2012.

I'm going to give this away as a custom-spin! You tell me how you'd like it spun and I'll do my best to comply! Two-ply lace? Chain-plied worsted? Let me know what you want! All you have to do to enter is leave a comment on this blog post. I'll leave it open until August 15th to be sure everyone has a chance to enter. At that time I will close the comments and draw a winner! We will communicate and I will spin it up for you. (Please note, I hate that I have to say this but nasty and negative comments will be deleted and not considered for the drawing.)

Crises

I'm so sorry for the blog silence. I was working along on the Tour de Fleece and really enjoying it when things took a big change. Last week on Tuesday my great aunt was in a car accident. She was killed instantly. We weren't very close in the last few years but we exchanged Christmas cards every year and I had been out to her house for coffee a few times with my mom and grandma. She had health issues, including her heart but we never expected anything like this. It came as a huge shock.
Things immediately changed as I had to travel to be with family, help plan and attend a funeral. It's times like these when you truly appreciate the Elizabeth Zimmermann quote:

"Knit on, with confidence and hope, through all crises." 

That's what I did. I packed several knitting projects and some spinning because it was the Tour de Fleece and I travelled to be with my family. And I knit. I packed about 4 knitting projects. Over the week I was with my family, I finished 3 of them. They'll each have their moment in the sun but for now, let's focus on one.
I had taken my Multnomah out and was knitting away again. It didn't look like much finished.

But blocking is magical and it's waiting to dry now. It looks wonderful!

I really like this pattern and I would totally consider knitting it again, I love the idea of doing one that's larger too. I love the way it breaks up the colors in a hand-dyed yarn too. Although this Alpaca Sox is a commercial yarn, I had lots of trouble with pooling when I tried to knit other patterns.
The days were busy, full of family and lots to do but the nights, trying to sleep with your mind racing was difficult. Although we weren't close in the last few years, my grandmother and her sister were very close, they spoke daily. They lived close to each other and spent many days together, this will be difficult for her. I have so many memories of visiting her farm and playing as a child and yes, learning to knit. This amazing aunt is the one who taught me to knit. Coming to terms with the end of that has been difficult, more difficult than I thought it would be but I'm happy to say; I'm coming through the other side, thanks in no small part to my knitting and my family. This shawl's for you Gloria.
My husband did his best to understand why I was gone so long (although he was down for the funeral, he travelled home after) and to try to tidy up the house for me so it wouldn't be such a shock to come home. The lovely things awaiting my arrival from the mailbox helped too!

For now I'm going to settle back into life at home and take some time to knit.

Itching for Knitting

I've been really focused on spinning lately since it's the Tour de Fleece and I'm working on some lovely things!

Targhee from Zarzuela in Emeralds (that's the green), Cloudlover Shetland in Decay and on the Russian supported spindle, Cloudlover Rambouillet in Iris. It's just gorgeous stuff and I'm making great progress but I'm definitely missing my knitting time.
I managed to finish my Vesper KAL socks for June while down with family for the 4th.

Short socks are so great for the summer and this colorway, called Clover Kiss, reminds me so much of clover! I love them. The green is much brighter green than it's showing up here, much more like a clover green.
I did cast on my July Vesper socks but I haven't really worked on them in days and I'm daydreaming about knitting a sweater. Yes, during the 90 degree heat, I'm daydreaming about sweater-knitting. I did dig out my Multnomah and started working on it again, in the hopes that a bit of knitting after I'm tired of spinning for the day would be nice but it's not scratching the itch. I haven't cast on my Age of Brass and Steam yet either, the balled yarn is glaring at me right now. I may have to cast on my Monday Morning Cardigan like I swatched for awhile back, you know, just to take the edge off.

Decisions, Decisions

I'm slowly but surely making some slow progress on my TdF goals for this year. My drop spindle has been slowly filling up and I really feel like my Supported spindling is getting better.

I've been spinning some Cloudlover Rambouillet in Iris on the drop spindle and some Gritty Knits Merino on the supported spindle. I love the colors in the Merino but since it's so similar to the color of the spindle, I found it a little boring and the drop spindling is tough on my back since I most often do it sitting down and spend most of the time with my arms raised high trying to get a decent length before winding, so I've decided to put away the drop spindle for now and concentrate on the support spindle, with the rambouillet. I did spin almost an ounce onto the drop spindle though so I'm very happy to have made such progress. It really is amazing fiber.
Since I got home from family events for the Fourth of July (Independence Day here in the United States) I have been wheel spinning too. I'm mostly working on my Cloudlover Shetland Decay. I really love this color and it's so unusual for me to love these colors together.

Browns, orange and some bright blue. It just looks great. I originally split the braid down the middle to spin into a two-ply. It's spinning very well and I'm not making any effort to make it super fine so I think it will be a sport weight if I two-ply it. Did you catch that? It was kinda subtle.
The truth is, I'm not sure I'm going to two-ply it. I just don't know how useful a two-ply sportweight will be in Shetland. I wouldn't knit a shawlette out of it since it's not the softest fiber and I have several hats and mitten sets, do I really need another? (I know, I live in Minnesota, I can always use another but let's gloss over that for the moment.) I'm considering changing my mind, making a three-ply and knitting bulky socks for the winter. The question then becomes should I chain-ply or traditional 3-ply. I have a little bit until a third of the fiber is actually on this bobbin so I will consider. Because I love the colors together and not necessarily individually, I'm leaning toward a traditional 3-ply but that will look completely different as yarn and then knit into socks so maybe a chain-ply will be fine. The color repeats appear to be long enough and then I wouldn't have to find extra bobbins somewhere in the office. Maybe now I'm leaning more toward chain-ply. You can see the trouble I'm having.
I'm also trying to go easy on the wheel-spinning because I managed to overdo it last week and my ankle is hurting. It's an old sprain that was never really given proper time to heal (long story involving a very bad doctor I couldn't change because it was a workman's comp issue. He retired soon after.) So I'm just trying to spin with my right foot which is fine as my Matchless is a single-treadle but I'm accustomed to switching to the other foot if one gets tired and I can't do that right now.
Maybe instead I'll just go knit this ball of handspun into an Age of Brass and Steam Kerchief.

It is calling to me. That's why it's wound up and ready to go instead of in a skein like it was before.

Slow Progress

I'm working hard on my Tour de Fleece goals. Saturday we had a great St. Cloud Knitters party and I got lots of spinning done. I'm really trying to keep up my momentum but it does take time.
I did manage to finish spinning my pretour fiber last night and today I plied it into yarn.

It's pictured here with my other spinning. The Zarzuela Targhee is started and I've been working on the Cormo/Cashmere batt I got at Shepherd's Harvest on my Russian Supported Spindle.
The yarn that's finished is that lovely purple though. It's chain-plied and I'm very happy to say it came out to be over 500 yards! I want to knit the Age of Brass and Steam Kerchief in the Smitten Yarns KAL so I'm very glad to have this finished and drying so I can cast on soon.

It sure does look pretty in the skein though doesn't it? It is definitely a little over-plied but after a wash and twack it's drying very nice and straight so I'm not worried about curling.

It's handspun so of course there's some variation in the yarn but overall averages a light fingering weight and I adore it. The colors are much deeper and richer than in the photos but I just can't seem to get a photo of it that has the right colors.

Preparation and Training

Saturday is the start of the Tour de Fleece or TdF. For those nonspinners out there, we will get you, it's only a matter of time... I mean, it's a super fun time where we spin along during the Tour de France. One of the best parts about it, as far as I'm concerned is the fact that you set your own goals. You can do whatever you'd like but you are encouraged to challenge yourself. For me, I love to use it as a time to strengthen my spinning skills and try to spin a little bit each day. I did go digging in the stash to find some things to set my sights on though.

Here are the main goals for the tour. Starting at the top: Cloudlover Merino in Peacock. This was a club colorway that a friend got and didn't love so I purchased it from her. It's been calling to me but I have no idea what it would like to be. To the right, Cloudlover Shetland in Decay. I love the Decay colorway and I got this last year at Shepherd's Harvest. I'm not sure about the Shetland base in this color so I also bought it on Polwarth this year. I feel like then it's okay to spin the Shetland and "use it up." I'm a little odd like that. The third braid is Zarzuela's Fibers Targhee in Emeralds. I really want this to be a traditional 3-ply because I think it would look amazing with those colors, subtly blending.
I also have one secret spinning project. I've already started it and it looks like this.

Exiting huh? No spoilers on this until it's done because it's a gift for a friend. It's going to (hopefully) be a lovely laceweight 2-ply when it's done though.
I have no delusions on finishing all these things, only that I'd like to work on them all if possible. I'd also love to spin something from my Into the Whirled stash finally so if I do miraculously finish all these things, then I can work on something from there.
I've been doing other things to get ready for the tour too. I glued the whorl back together that's been broken for over a year.

I can't believe how nice it looks, you can't even tell where unless you look very closely.

Don't worry, I was still using it, I just thought it was about time I actually fixed it.
I even sewed a spindle bag for my supported spindle I'm planning to use during the tour.

It's a 12-inch Russian Spindle made of Honduran Rosewood and I'm still getting used to it, it's my first Supported spindle ever so part of my goals are to get better with it during the tour. I cut the same size fabrics for the other box bags I've sewn, I just used a different zipper and sewed it the other way.
Here's a "regular" knitting project box bag.

Isn't that funny?
I've also got on my agenda to clean and oil the wheel very well so she is all ready to go and I'm "training" by trying to finish up a spin that's been in progress for a long time.


It's (surprise, surprise) Cloudlover 80 Merino/20 Silk. I think the colorway is named Ligeia but I can't tell for sure. It's all different shades of lovely purple and I want to knit it into an Age of Brass and Steam Kerchief when it's done.
The Tour de Fleece is really fun, you can join as many teams as you'd like, I'm on the Cloudlover team, the Supported Spindlers team and our local St. Cloud Knitters team. The very best part of the Tour de Fleece though? My amazing local spinners. We're taking the opportunity to have an all-day spinathon and potluck on the first day of the tour. Now I just need to figure out what I'm bringing as a dish to share and I think I'm ready for Touring.