Spinning – Ms Lindz – My little corner of the internet

Spinning Update

Posted on April 9, 2012 by mslindz

Back on March 10th, a friend of mine, Karen, told me that there was a Lendrum DT for sale on Ravelry. This was one of the wheels I had pretty high on my list of wheels I wanted. As luck would have it, the seller wanted to sell it to someone local (in my city) and I had the funds for the wheel, so I messaged the seller. She still had the wheel available and we arranged everything so I could pick it up the next day. I was SO EXCITED! I met Barbara, the seller, at her house and picked up my new wheel on March 11th. Barbara was so sweet and a pleasure to talk with. She had learned to spin on a Lendrum DT, purchased one, then found that she much preferred spinning on spindles and decided to find her Lendrum DT a new home. She said that after corresponding and talking with me that she knew it was going to a good home. I couldn’t agree more! 😀

My new wheel!

For a few years now, I’ve had a Babe single treadle wheel. It’s served me very well in the time that I’ve owned it. For a while, I had been having some issues whenever I did some spinning on it. I’d always end up feeling a bit sore in my hips or knees after spinning for long. With my back issues, I wasn’t too worried about it, but it did mean that I’d often choose knitting over spinning even though I enjoyed spinning when I did. For a long time, I wondered if having a double treadle wheel would help with the physical issues I’d been having, so I kept looking at wheels and even tried a few out at fiber festivals. When I found out about this Lendrum that was for sale, I had been looking at getting a new wheel very soon and it was just luck that it all came together.

Since getting the Lendrum, I have had no pain while spinning! I absolutely love this wheel and look forward to spinning now.

The first thing I spun on it was this Shetland/fine wool batt from Sporfarm that I received in a swap some time ago.

Sporfarm Setland/Fine Wool batt

I didn’t really have any plan on how I wanted it to spin up. As I was spinning it, it wanted to spin pretty fine and I found it easy to keep it fairly consistent. I did find it shed quite a bit while spinning. I kept having to pick fiber off me more then usual! I would say it was a bit of a sticky blend of fiber, though still very nice to spin up. After I finished the singles, I decided to two ply it. It really fluffed up after a bath and it is pretty well balanced. It was so nice to be able to ply it on the bulky flyer/bobbin and have one big skein instead of having to break it up. I ended up with 322 yards of fingering weight yarn.

Sporfarm Setland/Fine Wool Spun

I haven’t done a whole lot of spinning since I finished that up. I had to take a little spinning break so I could finish up the baby blanket, but I’ve picked it back up this past weekend. I’ve been spinning Hello Yarn (January 2012 club shipment) BFL in the colorway Burnished. These aren’t colors I would have picked out myself, but it’s been fun to spin something that I wouldn’t normally go for. (You can see a better picture of the fiber here.)

Hello Yarn BFL in Burnished

Still debating on if I will two ply or Navajo ply once it’s finished. It’s taking a while to get through the first 2 oz, so there’s plenty of time to decide, but right now I’m leaning towards two ply. I’m planning to make a Lacy Batkus with it once it’s done.

It’s April, which means it’s time for the next fiber in the Expand Your Spinning Horizons SAL that The Knit Girllls are doing over in their Ravelry group. Friday I posted the hat I knit using the Moorit Shetland in Midsummer Night’s Dream from Unwind Yarn Company. I didn’t get a good picture of it before I knit it up, but you can see the hat here if you missed it. I Navajo plied the finished singles and ended up with 126 yards of Aran weight yarn. For April the fiber is Masham (also known as massam). I ended up getting two for this month and hope I have time to spin them both. I bought 4 oz ombre batt from The Sheep’s Company and a 4 oz braid from BohoKnitterChic. I loved the gradient batts from The Sheep’s Company and couldn’t resist the bright, fun colors from BohoKnitterChic! Even if I don’t get them spun this month, I’m sure they’ll be fun to spin up.

Masham from The Sheep’s Company and BohoKnitterChic

Always so many things I want to spin and never enough time in the day. 😉

Current Projects, Spinning

WIPs and Spinning

Posted on February 17, 2012 by mslindz

I think I’m a little backwards this week. Wednesday I posted finished projects and today (Friday) I’m posting works-in-progress! Not that I really keep up with WIP Wednesday or FO Friday. At any rate… today’s post is all about WIPs! (And spinning, too. 😉 )

I’ve been keeping up with the Vonica KAL at Lambikin’s Hideaway, though I think I may be a bit ahead of everyone else since I’ve worked on it quite a bit in-between the meetings for it. This past Sunday, I did the bind off for the body. Just the sleeves left now! I took this before going to the KAL on Sunday. I didn’t think I’d get quite that far along while at the shop, but happy with the progress I’ve made on it. I’ve been just a little worried about fit. Right now it seems a bit big, but I’m putting trust in my swatch that the sweater will shrink up when I wash it.

Vonica

A few weeks ago when we went out with friends, I realized none of the projects I was working on were that portable for knitting in public and I had no plain vanilla socks on my needles. I pulled out my skein of Bad Amy Stripey Sock in Bonnie & Clyde (December club shipment) and cast on. I love this colorway and how it’s knitting up!

Plain vanilla sock using Bad Amy in Bonnie & Clyde

I’ve been working on the Cadence sock here and there. I got a little stalled on the foot. It felt like it was taking FOREVER to finish! I picked it up earlier this week, determined to finish it. Tuesday I finished the first sock. Don’t have a good picture of the first one, so here’s where I was on Sunday, nearly to where I started the toe.

Cadence Sock

Ever feel like you’re not really making progress on your current projects? I’ve been feeling that way lately and despite my recent FO’s, I wanted something that would work up a little faster. I went to my 12 in 2012 box looking for something that would work up fairly quickly. Sitting right on top was a skein of Malabrigo Rios in Archangel along with the Nouveau Bohemia pattern. This colorway is gorgeous and I’ve wanted to knit this hat/beret (option for both in the pattern) since it came out. Hats always seem to go quickly for me, so it seemed like a good choice for a quick project. I’ve got the ribbing and one repeat of the pattern done. The yarn is great to work with and the pattern is well written. I think this may actually be a beret I’ll wear quite a bit! That’s saying something since I rarely wear hats of any kind. 🙂

Nouveau Bohemia Beret

I did quite a bit of spinning in January after not touching my wheel for most of 2011. I finished up two bumps of fiber and started on my club shipment from Zarzuela’s Fibers (BFL/Silk in the colorway January Haze). Last week I finished spinning the second half of the club shipment and did my first ever Navajo ply. My singles weren’t as even as I hoped they were. For some reason I had a hard time getting in a good rhythm with my wheel for this fiber and ended up with a few thicker spots in the finished yarn. I’m still quite happy with how it turned out, though. It still needs to be washed, then I’ll figure out my yardage and WPI. Planning on knitting a cowl with it – hope I’ll have enough!

Zarzuela’s Fibers January Club Shipment
75% BFL/25% Silk in January Haze

The Knit Girllls are doing a spin-a-long this year called Expand Your Horizons which focuses on a different fiber every other month. You can find all the info for the spin-a-long in The Knit Girllls Ravelry group. I thought this would be a great way to try out fibers I might not otherwise spin, plus I’m learning more about the fiber through the SAL then I likely would have just trying the various fibers on my own. February’s fiber is Shetland, so I purchased 3.9 oz of Moorit Shetland in Midsummer Night’s Dream from Unwind Yarn Company. Here’s the fiber before I started spinning it (some of it has been pre-drafted).

Unwind Yarn Company Moorit Shetland in Midsummer Night’s Dream

Last night I started spinning it up. This is my first time spinning with Shetland and it’s a bit different then other fibers I’ve tried. Seems a bit more coarse, but it drafts very well and I think it’s pretty easy to spin with. Not sure yet how (or if) I’ll ply it or what I’ll do with it once it’s done. I like the subtle colors of the dye on the darker fiber.

That’s everything that I’ve been spinning the last few weeks. Not a whole lot since I’ve been knitting more then spinning recently, but I’m having fun working through the fiber in my stash and the new fiber as well. I think once I’ve finished the Shetland I’ll spin up one of my fiber club shipments from Hello Yarn.

Looking forward to my upcoming mini-vacation. Matt and I have the next four days off work! No real plans to do much, just looking forward to a few days off together. 🙂 Hope everyone has a good weekend!

Completed Projects, Crochet, Current Projects, Spinning

NYAN!! and Other Things

Posted on January 24, 2012 by mslindz

Ever have one of those days where you feel like there’s a lot you want to share, but aren’t sure where to start? I’m feeling like that as I try to write this blog post today! I’ve been busy organizing my stash, figuring out what projects to work on, knitting, crocheting, and spinning. How about I start with an FO?

I hadn’t mentioned it here as a WIP at all because I wanted it to be a surprise. I knew I couldn’t upload photos to Flickr or Ravelry as I knew the recipient would see! It was hard to keep it a secret and I kept wanting to share it. Now I finally can!

I started this scarf back in December, hoping to get it done as a Christmas present, but it didn’t end up getting finished. January hit and I started working on other things, then decided to finish it up just in time to be a birthday gift. I made this for Jen, aka piddleloop on Ravelry and part of the Piddleloop Sewing Team. A while back she saw the Amigurumi Pop Tart Cat Scarf pattern and went crazy for it. I knew I had to make this for her since she said she can’t really crochet. This has to be one of most fun things I’ve made!

Jen and the Nyan Cat Scarf
Photo from Jen

Pattern: Amigurumi Pop Tart Cat Scarf by Mevlinn Gusick (My Ravelry project page.)
Started: December 4, 2011
Completed: January 16, 2012
Yarn: I Love This Yarn, Caron Simply Soft, and Vanna’s Choice Solids (see Ravelry page for details on colors)
Hook: 4.5 mm and 5.0 mm (H)
Notes: Added a few extra stitches to make the scarf a bit longer. Added a mouth, nose, and cheeks. Followed the rest of the pattern as written.

Nyan Cat Scarf

Before I mailed it off to Jen, Matt was nice enough to let me take some photos of him wearing it. I think this one was my favorite of the bunch, though this one was a close second!

Tasty Nyan Cat!

This year I wanted to get back to spinning and hoped to get in at least an hour a week with my spinning wheel. Recently, my friend Karen learned to spin, which really motivated me to finish what I had on the wheel and do some spinning for the current SSK KAL. The top one is from Stitches ‘n Rows. It’s Falkland in the colorway Silver Age Joker. It was great to spin and I LOVE the colors. It ended up being heavy fingering weight, though I haven’t figured out the yardage on it yet. I’m planning to knit a pair of fingerless gloves with it.

Handspun!

The bottom one is from Gale’s Art. I bought this a few years ago when I went to MDSW. It’s merino in the Crayon Box colorway. I tried to get a worsted weight with it, but ended up bulky. I’m currently knitting up a Tony the Toy-Box Monster for the SSK KAL #3, which features Rebecca Danger patterns. Since I don’t have enough for the entire monster because the yarn ended up bulkier then I planned, I’ll be using some stash yarn in a chocolate brown color for the arms and legs.

Last night I realized that there was quite a bit of yarn, mostly acrylics, that I didn’t have in my Ravelry stash. I thought I had at least most, if not all, of it in my stash at the beginning of the year. I realized I needed to go through and double check everything yesterday when I noticed a non-acrylic yarn missing from my Ravelry stash that I knew was there. This added quite a bit of yardage to my total – roughly 8,000 yards! Last night I took the time to photograph it all and today I made stash entries for everything. I’ll have to adjust it just a bit later on because not all of them are full skeins. It sure does feel good to have EVERYTHING on there now, though, and have a solid total on everything.

In an effort to use up some of my stash, especially the acrylics I purchased for various home things (blanket, pillows, etc), I started a Moderne Log Cabin blanket using the colors below.

Moderne Log Cabin

I’ve been wanting a knitted blanket for myself for a long time, but couldn’t bring myself to commit to it. I attempted to make a rippled afghan using the blue and pink from the photo above, but just got tired of it. Crocheting doesn’t allow me to watch TV while doing it because I have to look at my work constantly, so I frogged it. Since I can watch TV or read while knitting, I thought this would make a good TV/movie project since it’s all garter stitch. I’m about a 1/3 through the first big square right now and will mostly work on it while TV or movie watching, so it’s more of a long term project. I will admit it’s a bit addicting to knit garter stitch and I find myself wanting to work on it quit a bit. I think the bright colors I’m using are giving me motivation to finish it because I really want the finished blanket!

Oh! I gave Matt’s brother his hat and I think he liked it. 🙂

What are you working on this week? I feel like I still want to start ALL THE THINGS lately, but refraining until I get other things finished first so that I don’t get overwhelmed with WIPs. Tough when I see so many beautiful projects from everyone! I did finish the Wussypillows beret, but haven’t blocked it, so no photos of that yet. Of course there are other WIPs I’m working on, though I don’t have photos of them right now, so I’ll share them next time.

Happy crafting! 🙂

Completed Projects, Current Projects

Dahlia Cowl, Gush Socks, and Clockwork

Posted on June 23, 2011 by mslindz

Oh, hey, I’ve got an FO to share! I was thinking I had already posted this, but it seems that it’s been over a week since I last posted and I hadn’t yet taken pictures of my finished Dahlia Cowl. Time sure has been getting away from me lately!

I love the colors of this cowl and it’ll be nice to wear come fall and winter. I have some other handspun that I might make into a scarf using this pattern (just adding more length and no buttons). I haven’t done it much, but I really do enjoy knitting with my handspun and need to do it more often!

Dahlia Cowl

Pattern: Dahlia Cowl by Jessamyn Leib (My Ravelry project page.)
Started: June 4, 2011 (started spinning)
Completed: June 11, 2011 (finished knitting)
Fiber: Zarzuela’s Fibers Hand Dyed Polworth in Dahlia
Yarn: 95 yards of 2-ply handspun from above fiber (8 WPI)
Needles: US 10.5 bamboo straights
Notes: Followed pattern as written. Very easy to follow and memorize once I got going. With the bulkier yarn I spun, I used a larger needle and was still able to get 24″ in length out of it with some yarn left over. It’s super squishy and soft!

Dahlia Cowl – Flat

I managed to make it through the second clue on both Gush socks shortly after the third clue came out.

Gush – Clue 2

Gush – Clue 2
You can see the pattern more “open” in this picture

The third clue was a lot shorter then the second and within about a day of knitting, I was through it on both socks.

Gush – Clue 3

The forth and final clue came out yesterday. I’m roughly halfway through it on the first sock and hoping I can get these socks finished this weekend. It’s not the most portable project because of the chart, though I think I’ll definitely get them finished before the month is over.

My Camp Loopy project, Clockwork, has seen a lot of progress. Here it is on the first day of camp (June 15th).

Clockwork on the first day of camp!

Color is more accurate in the above photo, but here’s my current progress (taken with my phone camera).

Clockwork Currently

I’m two repeats into the second section. The rows are pretty long, so they take a while, but I think I’ll be finished with it soon enough. I have to say that I really like knitting with the MadeleineTosh Pashmina. It’s so soft! This will make a great shawl once it’s finished.

This week, Summer of Socks started! I had grand plans to cast on for the first featured sock pattern – Summer Spirals – on Tuesday, June 21st. Turns out the yarn I first wanted to use wasn’t going to work with the pattern and the pattern’s stitch counts. It was too small and going up a size would have made them too big. Frogged. Tried three other yarns and all had the same issue. Too big and if I went down a size, too small (twice) or too small and if I went up a size, too big (twice). I did the only thing I could think of: threw the pattern, yarn and needles in a corner to think about all they’ve done wrong!! Hahaha! Kidding! I set it all aside and decided I’d come back to it after finishing up the Gush socks. 😉

Are you participating in Summer of Socks this year? If so, what patterns are you going to knit? I have a few in mind, but like usual when it comes to socks, I’ll decide on the next pair once I get a pair finished. I’d like to get Maelstrom #2 done, so long as it doesn’t bother my hands again! (Speaking of which, things are back to normal knitting for me. Yay! 🙂 )

Crochet, Current Projects, Spinning

I’ve Been Crocheting, Spinning, and Knitting!

Posted on June 8, 2011 by mslindz

As the days go by, I find that I have less pain in my hands/wrists and can knit a little bit longer each time. I feel like I’m almost back to “normal,” though I am still getting a little pain now and then. I’m still a little slower then is normal for me, but I suppose that will come back in time.

Since I’ve been crocheting, knitting, AND spinning in the last week, I’ve got some progress to share!

The scarf is coming along nicely. I’m enjoying working on it and seeing the colors change. It seems a little slow going because I keep adding or skipping stitches, then realize it a row or two later. Ah well, I’m still enjoying it!

Spring Ripples

For June and July in the Soild Socks group on Ravelry, there is a mystery pattern from Yarnissima. Initially I wasn’t going to join in since I never finish mystery knit-a-longs, but there was this green Wollmeise in my stash that called out to me, so I wound up the skein into two (mostly equal) cakes of yarn and cast on! The pattern can be found on Ravelry here: GUSH – Solid Socks June 2011Mystery Sock. I’ll probably just refer to these as my GUSH socks or mystery socks, since that title is a bit long. 😉

This past weekend, I finished up the toes of both socks. The second clue came out yesterday and I’ve already started working on it.

GUSH Sock

Speaking of socks… I have tried to finish up Maelstrom and my stripey socks. I love the gauge I’m getting on Maelstrom, but it’s a little on the tighter side for Socks That Rock Mediumweight (I’m using US 1.5’s) and it really hurts my hands when I try to work on it. I have been knitting on my stripey socks and they’re moving along, slowly. I think the US 0’s are bothering my hands a little, so I’ve been limiting my time knitting on them. I’m hoping they’ll be done soon, though!

There has been spinning! I finished up the Cheviot I had on the wheel from Zarzuela’s Fibers in the DC Sunrise colorway a while ago, but I haven’t taken pictures of it yet since it still needs to be washed. After I finished that, I started on the Falkland I got from Stitches ‘n Rows in the Silver Age Joker colorway. I put it aside for a bit when my wrists got briefly worse, then the fiber for The Dahlia Cowl SAL/KAL that’s going on in Zarzuela’s Fiber Junkies group on Ravelry arrived.

When I was ready to give spinning a go after my wrists were feeling a bit better, the SAL/KAL had started, so I figured I should get going on it. In two days I had it spun, plied, and washed! That may be the fastest I’ve spun something up in a while. I love how squishy and soft it turned out. If I calculated it right, I ended up with 92 yards, which is a bit short of the 120 yards required for the pattern. I do have a small “leftover” skein that didn’t make it on the first bobbin that I didn’t measure, so I might have around 100 yards total.

Here’s a shot of before and after spinning up the fiber.

Dahlia Polworth Fiber

Dahlia Polworth Fiber – Spun

I’ve been debating about what I want to cast on for next now that I’ve cleared a few sweaters off the needles. I think I’d like to do a shawl of some sort, but I can’t seem to decide on a pattern! There’s too many ones that I like out there. What shawls are on your list to knit or that you’re currently working on? Or is there something else (that isn’t a sweater) that you’ve got on your “must knit” list? I want to cast something on, but nothing in my queue or stash is really calling to me! What a problem to have! Hahaha 🙂

Completed Projects, Current Projects, Spinning

Sunny Riverwalk Scarf Finished and Project Updates

Posted on October 23, 2010 by mslindz

The day prior to leaving for Rhinebeck, I finished the scarf I was hoping to wear while there. It ended up that it wasn’t really cold enough to need it, but I did finish it in time and brought it with me.

Sunny Riverwalk Scarf

Pattern: Riverwalk (My Ravelry project page.)
Started: October 2, 2010
Completed: October 13, 2010
Yarn: Malabrigo Chunky, 4 skeins in Butter
Needles: US 10.5 bamboo straight needles
Notes: I did the wide version of the scarf (two cable/chart repeats) and used up exactly 4 skeins of Malabrigo Chunky with none left over. This scarf is soft, squishy and warm. I have a feeling it will get quite a bit of wear this winter! I’ve decided to call it my Sunny Riverwalk scarf because of the lovely yellow color.

Try as I did to get at least the front and back of the Climbing Vines Pullover done to wear at Rhinebeck, it didn’t happen. I’ve finished the back piece and half of the front piece. It’s moving along pretty quickly and I’ve enjoyed working on it. The dark red of this sweater is pretty hard to photograph properly! I always seem to have difficulties with reds. I’m still undecided on the sleeve length of this, though I’m thinking that I’ll do 3/4 length to get more wear out of it. I think I just tend to get too warm to wear long sleeves, even in the winter.

Climbing Vines Pullover (Yarn: Cascade 220)

I’ve been itching to cast on something new in the last week or so. Sweaters have been calling me! As soon as I saw Anne Hanson’s new pattern, Bel Air, I knew I needed to make it and exactly what yarn I wanted to use. I got the pattern, swatched, washed the swatch, checked my gauge… then came to my senses that I needed to finish the Climbing Vines Pullover and start my handspun Featherweight before starting this. I think as soon as Climbing Vines is done, I’ll be casting on for Bel Air. The way I’m going, I don’t think that will be too long of a wait!

So, instead of casting on Bel Air, I cast on for Featherweight. I had to do a little math because my gauge is different (the gauge I thought suited my yarn best). I’m knitting to the smallest size in the pattern, but it will end up about the size of the 43″ in the pattern had I used the gauge the pattern called for. Working with my own handspun has been lovely! I have an idea of what I’ll use for the collar since I don’t think I’ll have enough yarn for that. Waiting until the body is done to decide, though.

Handspun Featherweight

I’ve been doing some spinning as well! Currently breaking in the spindle I purchased at Rhinebeck. 😀 I never thought I’d say that I enjoy spinning on a spindle, but I love this one! It didn’t take me long to feel comfortable enough to drop it and let it spin while I draft. I think the smaller size of this one compared to other ones I’ve used really helps me feel more comfortable with it. I’m sure I’ve learned plenty from the wheel spinning I’ve done, too. It’s nice to have a portable spinning project now. The fiber I’m spinning is superwash merino from Bonkers Fibers in Deep Sea.

Breaking in the New Spindle

After finishing the Maelstrom socks, I haven’t felt the desire to knit socks, despite it being Socktober. I had a pair of Jaywalkers on the needles that I’d been working on here and there. When I picked them up after finishing the Maelstrom socks, I just wasn’t loving them. The pattern is just a bit too snug on my leg and since I wasn’t totally in love with the pattern or the yarn, I frogged them this week. I think sweater knitting has taken over the sock knitting for the time being. I’m sure the sock knitting will return and I’m considering a few sock patterns currently, but for now it seems to be All Sweaters, All The Time around here!

Current Projects, Knit Ramblings, Life, Spinning

Not Knitting, Upcoming Projects, and a SAL/KAL

Posted on August 7, 2010 by mslindz

Since my last post and my mention of my back hurting a bit, I’ve had some further injuries. My right wrist started hurting suddenly and I was getting a very sharp pain when I moved it. Along with that pain, I started having some pain in my right shoulder as well. After a few days and it not improving, I decided to haul myself to the doctor to get it checked out. Doc told me it was tendinitis, gave me a few prescriptions to help, and told me to rest my wrist and shoulder as much as possible. Since the pain in the wrist started, I put aside the knitting, crocheting, spinning, and limited my computer use. I’m right handed, so at work I started using the mouse with my left hand and using my right hand as little as possible and really just trying to do nothing while at home so I didn’t further injure myself. I’m not entirely sure what caused it other then overuse/repetitive motion. I had been using the mouse more at work since a particular program I use can really only be navigated by mouse or special voice software (which I don’t have), so the repetitive motion of that for 4-5 hours per day for 3+ weeks is likely what put me over the edge into the “wow that hurts and it’s not going away” territory. Before the wrist pain even started, I did have some on and off shoulder problems, but it wasn’t sticking around until after the wrist really hurt.

Anyhow… all of that to say for the last two weeks I haven’t been knitting which leaves me with very little blogging content! I have been reading, but I’m a fairly slow reader. When I put aside the knitting and spinning, I picked up a copy of Mr. Peanut by Adam Ross at the book store and I’m now roughly 70% through it. I’ve really enjoyed it so far. My book queue has grown quite a bit in the last two weeks, that’s for sure!

I do have a little bit of knitting to share. Before I wasn’t knitting, I started the Fresh Mint tank top out of NatruallyCaron.com Spa yarn.

Fresh Mint

I’ve already attached the top edges together where they should be to make it easier to try on as I go. I’ve also modified it a bit by doing the garter stitch border on the edge, doing a different increase in place of the yarn over increase row, and doing more increases after joining the front/back together to account for my 45″ bust (I’m knitting the 44″ size and there is no ease in the pattern). I also plan on adding waist shaping to it. This is really the only thing that saw any progress that I hadn’t yet showed on the blog! Both the socks I’m working on haven’t really seen much progress. The Jaywalker sock is slightly longer and I’ve done 5 rows of ribbing on sock number two of Maelstrom.

This “knitting break” has given me some time to think about the next things I’d like to knit. I’ve even started considering my Rhinebeck sweater for this year. I’m still not 100% decided and I think that the amount of time it takes to get back to my regular knitting will decide what my choice will be.

The two sweaters I’m looking most at knitting next are: Cottage Garden and Jumper Cardigan.

Cottage Garden and Jumper Cardigan

One of these will likely be my Rhinebeck sweater. I already have yarn in mind for both sweaters. For Cottage Garden I have two colors of purple from Brooks Farms Solo Silk.

Brooks Farm Solo Silk

The Jumper Cardigan is a vintage pattern that only comes in one size, but I think I can upsize by adjusting the gauge and using a bit heavier weight yarn. I’ve decided I’d like to do it in this fantastic pink and green combination. I have 4 skeins of Vesper Sock Yarn “Quick Sock” in the Ivy League colorway (this was a club color, which I received, then collected 3 others from Ravelers destashing) and 2 skeins of The Plucky Knitter MCN in the Ellen Arden colorway (also a club colorway from The Plucky Knitter Classics Club, which I got in a destash on Ravelry – from my Spring Fling roomie, Lauren). When I got both of these colors together, I KNEW it needed to be a sweater.

Vesper Quick Sock in Ivy League and The Plucky Knitter MCN in Ellen Arden

I’ve even knit a swatch and it looks like a gauge change will be just what I need to upsize the pattern.

Swatch for Jumper Cardigan

Currently I’m leaning towards the Jumper Cardigan because I’m really in love with the color combination. Still trying to decide, though, so any thoughts are always welcome! 🙂

Along with the wrist/shoulder thing, I also seem to be getting some tingling in both hands and both feet. Not really sure what’s going on, but I did get blood work done yesterday and have some doctors appointments scheduled to try and figure it out. Because of the tingling in my feet (which is pretty continuous, in the left foot more then the right), I’ve limited what spinning related things I do. I did try a little spinning yesterday. It seemed to be okay on the right side (I have a single treadle wheel), but when I switched to the left side, it caused some pain in my lower back. At that point I stopped spinning trying not to over do it. I was just happy to get in some spinning time after almost two weeks of no knitting or spinning!

After that I prepped the fiber I’m going to use for the SAL/KAL that’s going on in Zarzuela’s Fibers Junkies group on Ravelry. The SAL/KAL is to spin a specific weigh of yarn (your choice) then incorporate it into a sweater (also your choice). You can even combine what you’re spinning with a commercial yarn. I thought this would be a great challenge for me since I’ve never spun enough yarn for a sweater before! I recently purchased 8 ounces of two different colors from Zarzuela’s Fibers. It was tough to decide which to use because both are really pretty!

Targhee in Orange Dream and Emeralds

I decided to spin the 8 ounces of Targhee in the Emeralds colorway, aim for a fingering weight yarn, and knit the Featherweight Cardigan. So far the first 4 ounces of fiber are prepped (pre-drafted). Now I just need to decide if I want to finish the current fiber on the wheel (Cheviot in DC Sunrise from Zarzuela’s Fibers) or to put that aside and get started on the Targhee in Emeralds. I’ve never worked with Targhee before, so I’m looking forward to trying something new. It’s really soft! Reminds me a little bit of merino when I was pre-drafting it.

Time to get off the computer for now and enjoy the weekend! Hope everyone has a good weekend 🙂

Current Projects, Gardening, Sewing, Spinning

Tour de Fleece

Posted on July 6, 2010 by mslindz

Tour de Fleece is in full swing here! 🙂

Saturday I started out with what was left of the All Spun Up superwash merino (full braid was 6.2 ounces). I started on this fiber months ago. I managed to get two and a half bobbins done and even plied up the first two bobbins before putting it aside. I think I had about 1.5 to 2 ounces worth of fiber left when I started out the Tour de Fleece.

All Spun Up Superwash Merino

I didn’t spin that much on Saturday. We were busy getting ready for having people over on Sunday and we ended up going to see Knight and Day with some friends in the evening. I did get about halfway through what was left of the ASU fiber, though!

TDF Day 1

Sunday we had a full house, but even while people were over, I got in a fair amount of spinning time between playing hostess to our friends and family. I managed to finish up the rest of the fiber and ply it!

TDF Day 2

I didn’t figure out how much yardage I had right away because I’d never written down what the first two skeins were. I took the time to calculate it on Monday and I figured out that I have about 776 yards. After thinking I’d lost it, I managed to find my wraps per inch (WPI) tool and figured out that I have about 16 WPI (14 WPI in some places) giving me 776 yards of fingering weight yarn. That’s WAY more then I imagined I’d end up with or even thought that I had! Not sure what I’m going to do with it yet. It’s pretty variegated, so something simple. Suggestions welcome!

All Spun Up Superwash Merino Fingering weight, 776 yards total

Yesterday I was finally able to start the fiber that arrived last week.

Corriedale in a special Tour de Fleece colorway from Zarzuela’s Fibers

I split the first 4 ounces into three equal lengths and prepped the first bit by doing a bit of pre-drafting. I wanted longer bits of each color, so after separating it into three equal lengths, I didn’t split the sections further into 2 or 4 (split in half, then in half again for) and just drafting as I go or doing just a little pre-drafting like I have been doing. Instead I pre-drafted the whole length of the first section and just went for it. It was kind of nice because I didn’t have to pick up or add any fiber to it as I went. By the end of the day I was able to get through the first 1/3 of the first braid.

TDF Day 3

This is my first time working with Corridale. So far, I’ve found it to be a sticky fiber (as in it likes to stick together). I’ve been trying to spin it a little thicker and so far the singles by themselves are looking about a fingering weight. I’m going to ply it, but not sure how yet. Considering trying to Navajo ply it since I’ve never tried to do that before. The one thing that I’ve noticed about my spinning vs others that I’ve seen is that my yarns end up rather loose when plied. Not really sure what I’m doing wrong here. There are parts that seem tighter then other parts, but overall it just seems loose. From what I’ve read, it seems like I’m plying correctly and when I’m plying it seems tight enough. Maybe I just need more practice. The third skein of the All Spun Up superwash merino did seem like it was an improvement. The first two had more loose parts and the third had much fewer.

I forgot to mention my goals for the Tour de Fleece in my last post. My overall goal is to spin at least an hour a day. I haven’t been keeping track of all my times like I did last year, but I can estimate how much I’ve done so far, so I might from here on out. My first goal was to finish up the All Spun Up fiber (check!). Second is to spin up the Corriedale in the TDF colorway. Beyond that…. well, I’m not sure! I thought that 8 ounces of fiber would take me a good long while to spin up, but thinking about how many days are in the tour and how much I’ve done so far… yeah I think I’m going to have to find something else to work on after I get done with the Corriedale. I’ve got enough fiber in my stash that I don’t think it’ll be a problem to find something else do spin up after that’s done. Might finally get around to the CJ Kopec fiber I got last year.

Between spinning breaks, I’ve been knitting. I’m working on the heel flap of Malestrom, I frogged the KawKawEsque socks I mentioned in my last post (wasn’t liking the yarn/ribbing combo), and yesterday I started the Serpentine Socks for this month’s Socks From the Toe-Up KAL. I’m still working on Daybreak, too. The rows are getting quite long and seem to take forever, plus it’s been hot and sticky out, so I’ve been favoring the smaller projects. I haven’t worked on my crochet top or the Rippleghan in about a week since other projects have been taking up my interest. I think once I get Daybreak done I’ll focus on the top again.

Can’t wait to get more spinning done later today! I’m sure the Corriedale will be done in no time 🙂

Completed Projects, Current Projects, Spinning

Chicken Clutch, Projects, and Tour de Fleece 2010

Posted on July 2, 2010 by mslindz

It’s been one of those weeks where all week I try to blog, but every time I try, I can’t figure out what to say. Today isn’t much different. I’ve sat and stared wondering how to start out this post or what to say. Since the words don’t seem to be flowing easily, I’ll keep them to a minimum and speak mostly with pictures!

First, I have an FO to share. After my friend Jessy saw this pattern, she said I should make one for her for her birthday, so I did. I’ve decided he’s a free-range chicken, since he’s not all white like the original pattern. 😉

Chicken Clutch

Pattern: Cluck Clutch (My Ravelry project page.)
Started: June 24, 2010
Completed: June 26, 2010
Yarn:Vanna’s Choice, 1.75 skeins in a heathered brown/grey (can’t remember the name of it), bits of red and yellow from stash
Needles: H/5.0mm hook
Notes: It was pretty simple to make and the only thing I didn’t do was add the button.

Chicken Clutch – Open

Yesterday was a Good Mail Day ™. I got 8 oz of Corriedale fiber from Zarzuela’s Fibers in a special Tour de Fleece colorway and she put in a skein of sock yarn for me in a Camo colorway as a thank you for doing the Summer of Socks 2010 group banner and button. Thanks Jessica! 🙂 I also got June’s shipment of the Knitterly Things Sock Club (a four stripe colorway called Summer Hill), which matches the Tour de Fleece fiber quite well.

Good Mail Day!

Speaking of the Tour de Fleece… I plan on participating this year! The Tour de Fleece goes along with the Tour de France. It starts and ends the same day as the Tour de France. You spin every day, either on a wheel or on a spindle, for however long you determine as your goal. For the full details, see the Ravelry group here. I’ll be spinning up that lovely fiber above and hopefully finish the All Spun Up roving I started who knows how long ago. There’s probably 2 or so ounces left to do, so I don’t think it’ll take long. I plan on working that up first, but I’m already anxious to get the TDF colorway started!

I’ve been working on Malestrom and I think I’m up to 6 repeats of the pattern so far.

Malestrom Socks

I was itching to start something new, so I started a pair of KawKawEsque Socks (Ravelry page) Wednesday.

KawKawEsque Socks in MacKnitosh Skye Sock in the Camo Girl colorway.

This weekend is a holiday weekend here in the US and on Sunday we’ll be celebrating the 4th of July (Independence Day), which also means a long weekend for most people I know since they’re getting either Friday or Monday (or both!) off work. We’re having some of our family and friends over to do the traditional grilling out and fireworks thing. Should be fun! I’m looking forward to it. For once there isn’t a ton to do to prepare other then getting food and some light cleaning! Have a good weekend everyone 🙂 Good luck to all the other Tour de Fleece participants out there!

Completed Projects, Current Projects

Camber Cardigan, Spinning, and Matt’s Socks

Posted on March 24, 2010 by mslindz

I feel like I haven’t been working on much lately, though I’m sure that’s not entirely true. I think it’s more that I’ve just been focused a small number of projects. I did finish the first Skew sock and the first plain vanilla sock (in Vesper’s “Summer Breeze” club yarn). No pictures of either, yet. Both were put aside when I started the Glorious Cabled Mitts and now I’m working on another test knit – Camber Cardigan. Well, I was actually working on both for a while, but now that the mitts are done, I’m focusing on the Camber Cardigan.

The Camber Cardigan was designed by Jesh and I was lucky enough to be a test knitter for this sweater thanks to Twitter! 🙂 Here’s a link to a photo (for non-Ravelry folks) and the pattern is already up for pre-order on Ravelry here. I’m up to the waist decreases and now that I’ve split off the sleeves, it seems to be going quite a bit faster! I suppose taking those sleeve stitches out of the row helps with that as it does with every top down sweater. 😉

Pre-sleeve Sparation

Post-sleeve Sparation

I still haven’t decided on buttons, though I’m not really a “decide on buttons before knitting” kind of person. I do have an idea in mind of what I’d like the buttons to be, but that depends on what I can find! I’ve been looking. I just haven’t found the right buttons for it yet. So far I’m totally loving this pattern and cardigan. The light weight will make it perfect for spring and even when the seasons change from summer into fall. I think it’ll also be great for my office when it gets cold once they crank up the AC come summer. I wouldn’t be surprised if I knit up a few more of these to match my entire wardrobe! I’m using Knit Picks Palette in Huckleberry Heather, which makes this a super affordable knit, and I really like how it’s knitting up for a sweater (this is my first time using Palette for a sweater). The recommended yarn is also quite affordable. I love seeing patterns that have recommended yarn doesn’t scare me off of by the price! I know I can always substitute, but I think it’s nice to not always have to.

I finally have some finished spinning to show! I finished spinning the fiber for the SAL/KAL going on in the Zarzuela’s Fiber Junkies group. I ended up with about 627 yards of fingering weight yarn. I decided not to ply because I really liked how the singles turned out and it left me with more yardage to work with for a shawl.

Zarzuela’s Fibers Luxury Sock Batt all spun up!

I decided on the Brandywine Shawl (Ravelry link). I think the yarn will work nicely with the pattern and the construction will allow me to use up as much of this as I possibly can. Great combination, I think!

A while back I mentioned finishing Matt’s socks, but I never got around to posting a picture of them finished. I think my cell phone picture will have to do. At the rate I’m going, I’ll forget about posting the finished details and he’ll have worn holes in them! If I ever do get around to doing a photo shoot with him, I’ll be sure to post pictures, though.

Matt’s Socks

Pattern: My own toe-up ribbed sock (My Ravelry project page.)
Started: January 20, 2010
Completed: February 27, 2010
Yarn: Wollmeise 80/20 Twin in Lowenzahn
Needles: US 1 (2.25mm), Knit Picks Nickel DPNs
Notes: These started out as the Mock Cable socks, but all those little cables were taking me a really long time and I thought the yarn was pooling a little too much for the pattern, so I decided to make these ribbed instead. He has worn them a TON since I finished them, so it’s fair to say they’ve been a success and he’ll likely get another pair sometime.

Off to get some errands done and dinner taken care of before knit night tonight!

	Peggy (maggyruth on… on NYAN!! and Other Things
	stitchingmystressawa… on Stashing Down and Other G…
	Michelle on Stashing Down and Other G…
	laura on End of 2011, Beginning of…
	laura on All the FO’s