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I have a camera card and card reader again, so I can get back to taking pictures of my FOs. My mother came to visit this past weekend and brought a few things, including a new card for my camera since she had a spare. On Sunday morning, I drove to Walmart and bought a new card reader. Now, when I moved and during the ensuing week of unpacking, I searched EVERYWHERE for my card and reader. Looking for that motivated me to empty out more than a few bags and boxes and put stuff away, I’ll tell you that. I looked, Joe looked. It was looked for. So it’s not like I gave it up for lost lightly. Keep that in mind when I say that literally THE MINUTE I brought the new card reader in to my apartment, I reached in to my purse and pulled out THE ONE I’D LOST. I swear it was not there before. I took everything out of my purse and it was not in there. The moment I replaced it, there it is. Ugh.
So the new card reader is going back to Walmart, and I finally got some pictures of this yarn I finished on January 28th.
The fiber is BFL from Dancing Leaf Farms, which I purchased at Maryland Sheep and Wool last year. It used to look like this:
The yarn is spun entirely on Alexandra, and I’m pretty chuffed with it. It’s pretty soft too. Spinning on the wheel is interesting because I can spin the flyer/wheel/whatever at a constant rate–it won’t slow down unless I stop treadling. When I spin on a spindle, I have to do all the actually spinning of the spindle at the beginning and then hurry up and draft as much out as I can (or want to depending on the method) before the spinning slows down. This usually results in way over spun yarn, since I spin the spindle as hard and fast as I can in the beginning so I don’t have to stop halfway through an armslength of drafting to spin it again. It’s a lot easier to spin softer yarn on a wheel because you’re not constantly racing against the “clock” of the spin slow down.
This yarn is about a sport weight, around 244 yards. I was hoping for a bit more (quite a bit more, actually, around 350) as I was spinning the singles quite fine, but it’s navajo plied, and that ate a lot of yardage. Plus near the end of the singles, it felt like they were taking FOREVER and I wanted to get to plying already, so they came out a little thicker than at the beginning of the bobbin.
Plying went pretty quickly once I figured out what I was doing. I’ve chain plied on a spindle and I’ve chain plied from a sweater piece to both a ball and a skein winder, both of which call for fairly similar motions since you’re not adding twist at the same time you’re chaining. On a wheel, the twist is going in at the same time as you’re making your chains, so you have to hold your hands completely differently. Once I figured this out (thanks to Leslie of The Knit Girllls’s YouTube video showing how to chain ply), it was a breeze. I think I’ll be chain plying more things on the wheel since I absolutely love how it looks.
Now for some life news: Katsucon is this weekend in National Harbor, and I will be attending. Hopefully. Well, almost certainly, since tickets were like $65, and that’s too much money to just eat. Anyway, the reason for the hopefully is that my neck of the woods is supposed to get hit with a shit ton of snow this weekend. Like a foot. Yeah. This cannot happen. I have Plans and Things To Do (Things for which I will be doing some madcap sewing this evening), and I do not want to drive to National Harbor in the snow. In good weather and traffic, that’s half an hour, but in bad weather? Nope. Worst case scenario (barring my injury or death) is I drive there in the morning, it snows in the afternoon/evening, and I’m stuck there overnight without a hotel room and have to sleep on a couch in the Gaylord lobby with no extra clothes or a shower.
So do me a favor and pray to whatever deity you believe in (or, if your deity of choice is science like mine, to the inherent inaccuracy in meteorology) that there’s no snow. Or at least only a little bit that doesn’t make 495 impassable.
Today, I’ve got one small FO to show you and a couple of wip’s. First, the FO:
Pattern: None, just a square of linen stitch
Yarn: Handspun Miss Babs BFL
Needles: US 5/3.75 mm
My lining is sort of shoddy and it’s not wide enough, but it fits my phone and ID card fairly easily, and that’s what I use it for. Plus I get to look at my pretty pretty handspun even when it’s not cold enough for Saroyan. : )
Currently, I’m working on a hat that will probably be finished today or tomorrow. Currently, it looks like this:
(it’s rather difficult to photograph a half-finished hat, by the way)
Almost done. I’m using the same orange vintage Grants Wool I’ve had for ages and am slowly making my way through. The color is a lot less obnoxious than the bright orange it originally was, but I still don’t love it. This hat is for a swap. The swap is called “Yarnies Vs. Sewers” and is partnered based on craft, a yarnie (spinner/knitter/crocheter) with a sewer. Sign ups aren’t technically over until next week, but another person and I decided that we needed to be partnered based on the (probably rude) thing I wanted to make for someone. So we insisted, and the mod complied, and we’ve already gotten started (even though the send out isn’t until Mary). I’m making a total of five things, none particularly complicated, and will probably be finished quite early.
I am also sort of working on spinning this:
Or half of it anyway. I got 8 oz. of Crown Mountain Farms superwash merino in a Ravelry destash, and I’m spinning 4 oz. into what will hopefully be a 2 ply worsted that I’ll knit into the yoke of a sweater.
Also, I am waiting on some mail–an OWS swap which I am incredibly excited to receive, and some roving I ordered which is RIDICULOUSLY AWESOME and gorgeous, and I’ll definitely be showing it off here. I expect to get both things on Monday or Tuesday, so stay tuned for that.
In case you were wondering, it is extremely difficult to block a full-length scarf in a dorm room. Just a PSA for your consideration. Still it worked out alright:
Pattern: Saroyan, by Liz Abinante (free Ravelry download)
Yarn: My own handspun BFL!
Needles: US 7/4.5 mm
Mods: Did seven increase repeats, six decrease repeats (yeah, I’m not sure how that worked out either) and 12 straight repeats.
When I started the scarf, I was worried the yarn was too fuzzy and the pattern wouldn’t show up clearly. This was true in the beginning, sort of, because my spinning hadn’t been very even. As the yarn got better, the pattern showed up better, so yay. I’m glad I persevered. It’s super pretty and the pattern is great.
The yarn is also great. Cause I spun it! It’s a little rough/ropey in places where I over plied and over spun, but a nice bath evened most of that out and the BFL is soft enough in most places anyway.
Here are some pretty detail shots:
In other knitting news, I’m fixing to have a couple more small things to show off soon. I claimed for another round of OWS for amigurumi and wrist warmers, so that’s happening. Plus the things I was claimed for.
Also, here’s what’s happening on the Ravelympics sweater:
(Yes, I’m watching the Ravelympics Radar. On my pretty pretty Mac.)
Yeah, I’m so getting gold.
So I finished spinning the green BFL I got from lapoli in a recent OWS.
(Sorry for the crappy webcam shots… the camera pics DID NOT come out well at all.)
It was lots of fun to spin, though plying seemed to take forever, I only had a very tiny amount of singles left too. Going from hank to ball kind of sucked cause it was sticky and a little fuzzy, but the resulting yarn is great, though I’m not entirely sure what to knit with it yet. I thought cowl, but that wouldn’t use it all, and I kind of what something largish to show off the pretty colors. And the fact that my spinning has gotten much more even.
(Yes, I’m very silly.)
It’s a 2-ply sport weight (though in some spots it goes down to fingering or up to dk). I managed to get about 430 yards, so it’s enough for a substantial project. I’m beginning to think maybe lace tam or smallish shawl. If I use large needles, I can stretch the yardage even more.
I love how this yarn came out. : ) I can’t wait to start knitting it.
In non-crafty news, I am back at school, and I’m totally thrilled about it. Classes start today and while I’ve gotten a specific “NO KNITTING” from one of them (it was written ON THE SYLLABUS), but it’s fine in the other four classes I have(one I went to today and three with professors I had last semester who didn’t mind). So knitting will be happening. Currently, I’m working on some stuff for a friend. Her cousin is having a baby shower next weekend, and she asked me to knit some things for it. So I am. I am more than halfway done (I finished a hat and one sock and have another sock and a bib to knit still), so that should be happening soon. And then there’s that sweater, which needs sleeves, a good stern blocking and a button band/collar. Yay!
Whoo, I received from lapoli! She claimed me for roving, and here’s what she sent:
Pretty BFL in lovely greens. She sent this 4 oz braid plus another smaller (I think 2 oz) one, but the smaller one’s not in the picture cause… Imayhavealreadystartedspinningit… : )
Anyway, so… I’m currently knitting swap things. Very soon, you will also get to see that super secret project I’ve been talking about FOREVER (or at least since July). And also, I finally finished the dino mitts, which means the pattern will be available… soonish. Once I knit some steg plates. Oh, and I bought some stuff from Ravelry destashes, so I’ll be showing you that too. : ) Stay tuned!
Stitch, Brinn, Stitch! 