Fiber – Ms Lindz – My little corner of the internet

Leyburn FO, Loot from MDS&W, Swedish Fish and Kai-Mei

Posted on May 7, 2009 by mslindz

First I’ll show you Leyburn, my recent finished project!

Pattern: Leyburn (My Ravelry project page.)
Started: April 24, 2009
Completed: May 6, 2009
Yarn: Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks That Rock Mediumweight in the “Dixie Girl” colorway
Needles: US 2 Brittany birch DPN’s
Notes: I changed where the increases for the leg were because I wasn’t paying attention and didn’t realize I was supposed to increase the top of the foot before I turned the heel, so I did all the leg increases after the heel. By the time I got to the second sock, I admit I was tired of the pattern. I like how they look, but the leg is a bit on the big side and a little loose.

Now for what you’re really here for (you can’t fool me! haha) – what I brought home with me from MDS&W!

Starting on the top row, left to right: 1. Socks That Rock Heavyweight in Fire on the Mountain, 2. STR Silky mill end, 3. STR mill end (reddish orange), 4. STR mill end (light blue), 5. STR mill end (shades of yellow), 6. Zauberball, 7 & 8. Creatively Dyed merino/seacell fiber (two pictures), 9. Gnomegarden Fiber merino/bfl/angelina, 10. Gale’s Art in Crayon Box merino, 11. Bonkers in Deep Sea superwash merino, 12. Cherry Tree Hill mill end, 13. Cherry Tree Hill Lime, 14. Tilli Tomas Plie in Midnight Borealis, 15. Brooks Farms Mas Acero

Mostly sock yarn! I wasn’t really looking for anything specific for yarn. I did want to get enough yarn to make a sweater and I think that the Brooks Farms yarn will end up being the February Lady Sweater. I knit a lot of socks, so sock yarn makes sense to buy, especially with the two sock KAL’s I’m in on Ravelry AND the Summer of Socks coming up! As for the fiber I bought, I just tried to get some things I haven’t used yet. I think I managed to do that. Merino/seacell, merino/bfl/angelina batt (first batt!), superwash merino and merino (I’ve used merino before, but those colors!! I had to have it).

I did end up changing the color of the fish on the Swedish Fish Socks I was working on. I went with the Fuchsia and I really like how it looks now!

“O hai, we are pretty Fuchsia colored fish!”

I also started the Kai-Mei socks for the Cookie A. KAL on Ravelry. It’s a little further along then this photo shows, but it’s k3, p3 ribbing for the first 5 inches, so just imagine it a little taller.

K3, P3, repeat FOREVER! hehehe

Since I knit a lot of socks, you won’t be too surprised that I cast on another pair, but I won’t be showing a photo of them until they’re gifted (sorry!). If you’re on Ravelry, though, you can see them on my project page.

Going back to work next week, so I’m sure my knitting time will go down a bit, but it will be nice to get back to work after being out for so long. Should be interesting, to say the least!

Next time I’ll show you some recent mail I received :o)

FO’s: Toe-Up Socks & Rainy Day Fingerless Gloves (plus other stuff)

Posted on April 28, 2009 by mslindz

First up I have two FO’s to show you!

Pattern: Generic toe-up pattern, 64 stitches around (My Ravelry project page.)
Started: April 11, 2009
Completed: April 21, 2009
Yarn: Knitterly Things Vesper Sock Yarn in the “Sweet Water” colorway
Needles: US 1 Knit Picks metal DPN’s
Notes: None

Mmm… stripey goodness

Pattern: (Not-so) Rainy Day Fingerless Gloves (My Ravelry project page.)
Started: March 10, 2009
Completed: April 23, 2009
Yarn: Knit Picks Palette in various colors
Needles: US 4 Addi DPN’s
Notes: The only change I made to these was to not do the rain. Turns out that I didn’t get a color that was dark enough to be rain. When I started to do the rain, you couldn’t really tell the difference between the sky and the rain, so I decided to just not do it at all.

No hiding anything here! Check out the inside. I’m happy with my floats 🙂

This past Saturday I went to the Upper Vally Fiber Festival in Troy, OH with two friends from my knitting group. It wasn’t very big, but I managed to find a few things that I decide I couldn’t live without!

The fiber is BFL from Twisted Stitches (I think – the card they put in the bag had 2 shops on it) and the two skeins of sock yarn are from Earthly Hues and are dyed using all natural dyes. The purple is 70% merino/20% bamboo/10%nylon sock yarn in “Gutsy” and the yellow/pink is 70% merino/30% seacell sock yarn in “Sunrise.” Haven’t decided on patterns for either yet, but they’re really pretty and soft!

While we were there we saw these adorable baby goats. They were all tuckered out (probably from the heat, it was about 90 degrees F!) on our way out and I took this shot of all of them napping in the shade.

Last week, I got this fantastic package from Laura containing two skeins of Socks That Rock, a skein of Lime & Violet Mermaid Sock, an awesome Cookie A sock pattern and a cute card.

Prezzies in the mail!!

Thank you Laura!!! 😀
As for projects I’m currently working on… I’m making quite a bit of progress. I’ve been doing a lot of knitting on Decimal and have started the first sleeve after finishing the body.

This was taken a few rows short of being done with the body.

First sleeve.

Since I finished the stripey socks, I cast on another pair using one of the skeins of Socks That Rock Laura sent. The pattern is Leyburn and it’s working up pretty quickly.

I’m working on a garter stitch scarf and Juno Regina, but there hasn’t been a whole lot of progress to show since I’ve been doing a lot more work on Decimal and socks then either of those. I also cast on for the Swedish Fish Socks, but I only have the sock cuff so far, so no interesting photo to share yet.

Alright, back to knitting with me!

Spinning

Babe Wheel, Freckle Face Fibers, & Zarzuela’s Fibers

Posted on February 19, 2009 by mslindz

Guess what arrived yesterday!! My wheel!! *squee*

It’s a Babe Fiber Starter, single treadle. On Craigslist last week, I saw this wheel for sale for a great price. I promptly emailed the seller, she let me know it was still available and offered to ship it to me (since I’m about 3 hours away, one way). I decided shipping would probably be best and would be about the same as I would have spent in gas to get there (not to mention time involved). She shipped it via UPS on Saturday. They tried to deliver it Tuesday, but no one was home. I made sure I was home to sign for it yesterday, though!

Soon as I heard the UPS guy in our apartment complex, I went to the door to wait for him. Yes, I was that excited!! I think he could tell! He’s really nice, though, and just laughed at me when I told him how excited I was about the package. I got it in the door and immediately unpacked it. Since it showed up pretty late last night, I wasn’t able to play with it much or try it out (plus, I wanted to read the booklet with it first). The seller was very kind and included some fiber for me to play with! I can’t wait to get home and try it out tonight.

In preparing for the wheel to arrive, I ordered some fiber. One must be prepared for something like this! I had a happy mail day on Tuesday when two packages with fiber arrived.

Someone turned me on to Freckle Face Fibers, so I finally decided to buy some fiber this shop. I wanted to get a few different kinds of fiber to try out and she had a merino/tussah silk blend that I really liked, so I bought it on Wednesday and it arrived on Tuesday (via First Class mail and Monday was a holiday). Very Pretty and soft!

Coral Reef, 80% merino/20% tussah silk, from Freckle Face Fibers

I’m quite happy with my purchase and with the beautiful colorways and fiber blends, I’m sure I’ll buy from this shop again. She even offers yarn if you don’t spin!

In January I ordered from Zarzuela’s Fibers after much debating about joining the spin along (using my spindle) in the accompanying Ravelry group. I had my eye on some fiber in her shop and after I’d decided to join the spin along, I saw it was still there for sale, so I immediately scooped it up. When I got it, I was impressed. The colors were just like pictured and I got it really quickly. Here’s what I purchased back in January (since I’m pretty sure I didn’t talk about it after I’d received it):

Thinking of Fall, 100% Bluefaced Leicester top, from Zarzuela’s Fibers

I knew that when I wanted more fiber, I would definitely be coming back to Jessica’s shop! There were just so many colorways I liked! So, when I decided to “stock up” on some fiber and get some different kinds to play with, I turned to this shop. This time I purchased two braids of fiber. I ordered them Friday evening, shipped on Saturday, and received Tuesday (via First Class mail and Monday was a holiday). Here’s what I purchased this time:

Emerald City (merino) & DC Sunrise (cheviot) from Zarzuela’s Fibers

I’ve chatted with Jessica over email/blog comments, Plurk and Twitter. When she saw my order on Friday, she let me know she’d be sure to ship it out Saturday before going out of town for a week. I’m a pretty patient person and I would have waited, but I thought it was really great that she let me know and went the extra mile to make sure it got out before she left. In both orders, I’ve had hand written thank you notes and I really love that touch. I already know I’m supporting an independent business rather than a big box store, but it really is the little touches like that that make things special. I’m now a repeat customer and I have no doubts that I’ll continue to order from her as long as she keeps her shop running!

Currently she has sock yarn in her shop as well. I haven’t tried it yet, but I’ve heard good things. I may place a custom order for some soon enough. If you’re looking for something that she doesn’t have or previously sold, just ask and I know she’d be more than happy to dye something for you! I doubt you’ll be disappointed! What are you waiting for? Get over to her shop! ;o)

That’s all I have for today. Next time I’ll show you some toe-up socks I started this week and maybe some spinning progress!

Current Projects, Spinning

Lakeside Socks, Louet Spindle, and… a Babe wheel?

Posted on February 10, 2009 by mslindz

I’ve been working right along on the Lakeside socks and yesterday I started the calf shaping. Here’s what they currently look like:

I’m actually not knitting on anything else right now, so I don’t have anything else interesting to share right now. I’ve been working on just one project at a time lately and feel like I don’t have a whole lot to say!

In non-knitting, but fiber related news, I’ve been playing with the top whorl spindle that came in the mail a week ago. I just realized that I hadn’t even mentioned it here! I bought a spindle from Louet. I really wanted a Golding, but decided a lower cost version was needed first. As much as I think I like spinning (and I’ve done okay with the bottom whorl one I had), I’m a little afraid I’ll try it and not like it suddenly. Of course this hasn’t happened yet at all, in fact the more I do and try with fiber, the more I love it and want a wheel! But, thinking about cost and not being sure if I’d like the top whorl better than the bottom whorl one, I bought a simple Louet spindle.

It sat on my desk for almost a week (hey, I was distracted by those socks up there!), but yesterday I sat down and watched this YouTube video on how to get started (there’s also a helpful one on drafting). Both of the videos were quite helpful! I drafted out my fiber and then had a go at it. Oh boy was it fun!! Took me a while, but I was able to get a thinner, more consistent “yarn” by the time I put it down yesterday. I don’t have a picture to share right now, but I hope to take one tomorrow!

The only part I’m having a bit of trouble with is drafting. I’m afraid of pulling the fibers too far apart that they will separate, but the thinner I draft it out, the thinner yarn I can make. I keep seeing folks with really finely spun yarn on their spindles and I admit I’m a bit jealous. I know that my skill is just not there yet and I have to keep practicing!

On another fiber related note, I may have a wheel soon! Every once in a while, I browse Craigslist to see if anyone is selling a wheel on the cheap. I happened to look outside my normal list and actually found a wheel that was posted on Friday for a price I could afford! It’s a Babe Fiber Starter, single treadle, complete with the goodies that come pictured there (minus the fiber). Listing said it had only been used once and she was asking $75/obo! I emailed her right away and she said it was still available. I immediately said I’d take it. I think it will be a nice intro to spinning for me. It’s a less expensive way to have a wheel at my house, see how much I use it, see how much I like spinning, and so on. Basically a good starter wheel for me to decide if I want to save up the money to get a different wheel (I’ve been eying a Joy or Ladybug). She’s about a 2.5 to 3 hour drive (one way) from me and said she would be willing to ship it, so she’s going to give me a price quote on how much it would be to ship and then I’ll decide if I want to just go pick it up or have it shipped. This isn’t a deal I could or wanted to pass up! I’m excited! :o)

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