My first spinning FO!

The Shetland has been washed and dried and is ready to use. I have 3 skeins and I think this is enough for a project.

Here is an overview of the 3 skeins. I think it is roughly between fingering and sport weight.

Close-up showing the grist. That is a US quarter underneath.

The 3 skeins need to be used in sequence as one of the singles gradually increases in value from light to dark. The light is in the right and the dark is on the left in this picture. I have to label them to make sure I use them correctly.

A productive week

I started knitting this Stripe Study Shawl in natural alpaca last Wed and have made quite a bit of progress. Of course, each row gets longer and longer so it goes quickly in the beginning. I love knitting with the natural alpaca. The gray is Woodstock Knits Bare Alpaca in Silver Gray and the black is leftover from skeins that I bought at Rhinebeck a number of years ago.

I have a tip for you on how to tell whether you should increase or not when you are increasing every other row. I put 4 markers on the needle - 3 orange and 1 yellow. When the yellow is at the beginning of the row, I increase. When it is at the end of the row, I don't. I find this a lot easier than trying to keep track of it by putting a pin on the increase side. The pin tends to drop further and further below as you knit - so you have to move it up as you go. This color marking is easy and always on the needle so it is easy to check.

I also finished plying the Shetland top I've been spinning. I have to skein it and set the twist. Here are the two large bobbins of plied yarn. The color will keep changing and so don't rely on the colors that you see. I was able to ply every last bit by using a book and a pencil to create an Andean plying bracelet.

I am excited about finishing this as it is my first large spinning project. It is fairly even yarn and I think it will be very knittable.

Awash in natural tones

It seems like all the projects now are in natural tones. The RLC has been put away till the next two projects are done. The one above is what I'm knitting. It is the other end of the spectrum from the RLC in terms of needles and gauge. I am constantly marveling at how quickly it grows!

This is what is left of 8 oz of Shetland top. It will be the last of 4 bobbins. 2 bobbins were in value order from the light to the dark. That will be one single.
This is the third bobbin. It is spun in random value order and random lengths. I just reach into the bag above and pull out a color and spin it. These two bobbins will be the second single. I am enjoying this process but I really want some color!

Deadline Fail!

I wanted to finish the Rose Lace Collar by the end of April but I didn't make it. I have one sleeve almost complete. Now I have to stop to finish up a couple of other projects with deadlines before I get back to this.

You can see the sleeve here. I have a few more rounds to do before I bind off.

I added a little color detail from the yoke on the cuff. Otherwise I thought a plain pink sleeve was a little bland - both for knitting and for wearing.

Lastly, here is the finished Navajo-plied skein. I am pretty pleased with it. It looks like a real yarn and although a bit thick and thin, it is far more even than the previous one. I think this could be a nice hat or cowl.

First skeins

I have a couple of first skeins to show off. First the oogly one - the colors are ugly, the yarn is ugly and I just don't like it at all. This was spun up from miscellaneous fiber which included the first and the last of my first bobbins. This picture shows some of the better and the worse parts. The black and red isn't bad - it is composed of the last singles I spun. The grey/taupe and red are the worst parts. The red is among the first stuff I was spinning when I was struggling to draft. The gray is the same Shetland top I am currently spinning but it is just awfully drafted - big blobby bits. The two singles I plied together were spun on the Hansen - the black and the taupe - and the Tina, the red and the gray.

On the whole, I am not disappointed as it shows the progress I have made. But not something that I would show off with pride.

This is the second skein. Also miscellaneous fibers but plied using Navajo plying. The singles are more consistent although all of them weren't spun by me. The teal and purple were on the Hansen bobbin when I got it. The rest of the colors are my singles. This is not bad. It is pretty consistent yarn and I could make something like a cowl with it. I plied it on the Hansen. I am enjoying spinning on the Tina and plying on the Hansen.

Not bad, eh? I could show off this skein.

Lastly, some progress on the RLC. Sleeves are started and making progress, albeit slowly.

Wish me luck on finishing the two sleeves by the end of the month. I have to stop then and work on a couple of things that have deadlines. It would be nice to have completed the knitting and just have the finishing left to go when I have to stop.

Accomplishments!

I have a number of things to talk about this week. I didn't post last week because I was traveling. Also, I had nothing to say. This week is different.

Let's start with a surprise. I got a surprise gift from a friend/colleague in Germany. Two balls of lovely sock yarn. The colors are nice and spring-like and they made my week. What a thoughtful gift.

Next, I finished the body of the RLC last night. I bound off the hem. It is meant to be a short cardigan/jacket. Next it is on to the sleeves which should be more interesting since there is at least some shaping.

Here is a close-up of the picot hem I am doing. It will be on the sleeve cuffs, the neck and the bottom band. I think it is in keeping with the feminine colors.

Lastly, I just finished plying my first handspun yarn. You can see the mess I started with - the gray and the red. The brown is much later spinning and you can see how much nicer it is. The beginning of this skein is a mess. The ends (inside the bobbin) is much nicer. But it is a huge accomplishment and the red yarn really showed how much progress I have made since I started. Much more even both in spin and in grist.

This is my kate set-up. I still have half a bobbin of singles from the Hansen. I think I will practice Navajo-plying with it. The empty bobbin is from the Tina. That was where the red yarn was. The Hansen is a breeze to ply on! However, I found that it is hard to start and stop plying, and my hands did get tired. I will have to work on how to put down the plying half way to take a break.

All in all, a good week for accomplishments but not a great one for energy. I was very tired this week and it is only now that I am recovering my usual energy level. I was a bit nervous trying to ply for the first time when I was tired. But I think now I can do it even in the evening. It is much more mindless than spinning.

A love story

Many, many moons ago, I saw some Shetland top and fell in love. I wanted to spin that top so badly, I decided to learn how to spin. I bought a wheel (Little Gem) and didn't love it. I sold it and bought a lovely Tina II. I loved the wheel but didn't love the spinning. It was too much like work, and not enough like fun. But that top - sitting in my guest bedroom - was still calling to me. So I persevered, and struggled, and finally tried a Hansen mSpinner, and it was so easy. I played. I spun up all the miscellaneous fiber I could find as practice. I filled a bobbin. It was easy.

Then I went back to the Tina. Remember, I loved her. I wanted to have the same fun with her. It was a bit of a struggle. She was petulant, sulky, and moody because I had neglected her for the Hansen. She didn't want to spin, she squeaked, she dithered. But I lavished attention on her. I oiled her, I adjusted her bands, I fussed and fawned over her.

Remember this photo from the beginning of the Tour de Fleece last year?
It is OK, not the greatest yarn. Looks more like a mess, but it is yarn.
Here is the result of yesterday's spinning. The braid is done and the singles are resting , waiting be plied with the miscellaneous singles spun on the Hansen. I don't have high hopes for this yarn. It is my experiment and I'll be happy if it is usable. If not, it was good practice.
This is a dyed BFL I bought at Rhinebeck two years ago. It has a lovely sheen which you can see in the photo with the flash.

So Tina and I are a couple again and I will start spinning the Shetland top on her today. Again, it may not be the best yarn, but it will be fine, and I'll have something to show for it. There is always more of that Shetland when I want more.

In the mean time, here is the RLC. I have made good progress on the body. Of course, it seems endless. But I love knitting it because the yarn is so luscious. Also, it is pretty mindless so I can pick it up and put it down any time. 5 mins here and 30 mins there add up.
Signed,
Hopelessly in love