Big as a Log

One of the advantages of knitting things with those really tiny needles is that when you get to do a project with US size 6 needles, they feel like logs and the knitting goes really, really fast.  Like this:

The variegated yarn is the Frabjous Fibers silk/merino/cashmere that I spun to (almost) worsted weight and the white is the KnitPicks Gloss (merino/silk) fiber spun to worsted weight.  Both were spun on my Kromski Symphony as 3-ply (Navajo plied) yarn with a high degree of grist.  I spun them fairly tight with the singles so that the final yarn would have that nice tight twist look.  I was disappointed because I lost of some of the softness of the fiber spinning it like this.  However, once it was knit up, dang if that softness didn't perk right back up.

I wanted to do a fair isle pattern for the hat but when I did, the colored yarn had enough really light sections that you realy lost the pattern.  I discovered that after I'd completely knit the sides of the hat - which was the second knitting of the hat because the first time was using US size 5 needles which proved to be way too small for the project.  So I basically knit 3 hats and a pair of mittens in the time it took to watch To Have and Have Not (first pairing of Bogey and Bacall - love that movie) and a couple of episodes of Psych (including the Duel Spires episode which I think is may favorite episode of the whole series - that's for another day, however).  Fast.

If you want to make the hat, I used size 6 needles, cast on 90 stitches.  I knit 3 rounds and then turned the hat inside out (to get the little brim).  I then knit 3 rounds white, 1 round color, 1 round of 2 stitches color, 2 stitches white, 1 round color. 

Then I did 3 rounds white, 2 rounds color, 2 rounds of 2 stitches color/2 stitches white, 2 rounds of color.

Next is 3 rounds of white, 1  round color, 1 round of 2 stitches color, 2 stitches white, 1 round color.  5 rounds white, 2 rounds color.

Now do 3 rounds purl (or just turn inside out and knit 3 rounds before turning it back like it was.

To decrease for the top, knit 8, k2 together then repeat all the way around.  Because of the way my yarn was variegated, I knit 1 round of color and 1 round of white.  You can use whatever color pattern you want.  Then the next decrease round is knit 7, k2 together and repeat.  I used 2 plain rounds between each decrease round and then continued to decrease as above, i.e. knit 6, k2 together; knit 5, k2 together, etc. for each decrease round.  You'll have to see how you go.  I continued until I had 8 stitches before I cut the edge and used a darning needle to draw the end of the yarn through all the stitches on the needles and work the end in.

I did a similar pattern for the mittens but cast on 40 stitches, knit 2 rounds white (k2/p2 ribbing) and about an inch of color yarn.  I used a basic mitten recipe for the thumb and hand shaping.  I did the same patterning as the hat until I got to the hands.  I decided to do the color for the top of the hands to echo the color for the top of the hat.

I wasn't sure how it would go but I'm definitely pleased with the final product.

I did run into one intsy littel tinsy problem, however, on the second mitten.  I'd spun the white from what I had left over from a batch of the Gloss fiber.  I'd been using it for demonstrations and had done some other little things with it.  And I almost made it, I really did.  I almost had enough for the whole set.  But I ended up being short 5 rounds on the second mitten and had to use a commercial wool yarn to finish it off.  How it got finished off is a story all in itself but suffice to say, white is not white is not white.  I spun some white BFL I had since it would have a similar light reflectiveness.  It was white but just not white enough.  I thought I wouldn't care, I just wanted the project done.  But it was just too different and I couldn't live with it.  Fortunately I had some commercially spun wool that was close enough to the color that really the only way you can tell the differenc eis to have a bright light to reflect off it.  The silk in the fiber has that silky shimmer to it and the commercial yarn didn't have that.  We'll have to see if anyone can pick out which is which!

Next day:  I went in to card some blended color rolags and you'll never guess what I found.  Yep, another section of the KnitPicks Gloss fiber. Don't it always happen that way.  Well, as Andy Griffin said to Otis when Otis kicked the goat who'd ate himself full of dynamite out of the jail cell and made him mad: Otis, 'bout one loaded goat at a time is all we can handle. (Doesn't really apply to anything, it just makes me laugh.)

Lessons

I learned something interesting yesterday when I scored at a local antiques mall.  I found a vintage Weave-it (perfect condition with original instructions, needle, everything) and quite a few knitting books.  I had a lot of the books on the booth but I found something interesting.

It took me a minute to realize that, although this is the same baby and the same photo shoot, it's not the same photo.  You know how you look at something and know there's something odd but you just can't put your finger on it?  This book initially came out published by Bear Brand yarn.  Some really cute patterns.  But not too far on, Bear Brand must have been bought out by Bucilla because they published a revised version.  The original version was 50c and the revised was $1.25 - talk about inflation!  But it kept the same volume number and the publication date is the same on both - MCML (1950 if I remember my roman numerals).  It must have been a good seller for them to decide to re-publish it. 

I know I don't have the most extensive collection of vintage books but I have kept my eyes open through the years.  This is the first time I've seen this reworking of a publication although with all the merging, buying out and whatnot that went on with yarn companies in the 30s, 40s and 50s, it's not a complete shock.  Kind of fun to see.

I haven't looked closely enough at the patterns to see if they actually updated any of them but at first glance, it appears they only adapted the list of yarns and needles you can use for each pattern.

I did finally get my new doily ironed out, having decided I didn't really need to pin block it at this point:

Can't wait to start the next one.

I thought it'd never end

Knitting an edging on something round has got to be the most soulless, mind-numbing, feel like it's never, ever, ever going to end task in all the world.  Worse than sitting in a traffic jam going home on Friday night until people start walking from car to car visiting with each other (I've been there.  I know.).  Worse than trying to watch a program that's been shown 42 times a year since 1973 on PBS during a pledge drive weekend because the tv won't turn off and you're tied to a chair with your eyes taped open (OK.  I've never had that happen but there's no saying it couldn't.).

The point is that when you're knitting something in the round which ends up with 576 stitches that have to be knitted off individually, two rows to a stitch, even if those 2 rows are less than 12 stitches each, you're sure that you will never finish.  It will never end and all the other knitting you did simply counts for nothing because you'll be 82 and still knitting off those stitches.  And unless you're 81 when you start the edging and you're birthday is just around the bend, it feels like the ultimate unattainable.

But if you ever reach that pipe dream of having a finished project, I'm here to tell you that you don't wait to work in all the ends.  You don't wait until you've washed it and you certainly don't wait until you block it.  The first thing you do is this:

You lay it out on something it will stick to so it will hold its shape until you've taken the photo.  Pinning out 160 tips of edging can wait.  For now, now is the time for savoring.

What I love about being a spinner

I got a package today.  I really needed this package today.  I'm so glad the postal worker stuffed this package into my mail slot today instead of giving me one of those little green slips that would have meant standing in line tomorrow morning on my way to work to pick up the package and then not be able to play with it because I was at work.  I like our postal worker.  She's really good about things like that.

Want to know what was in my package?  This was in my package:


And this was in my package:

If you thought that looks just like the fiber I spun for my Margaret Stove shawl, good eye.  It is.  Just in case I don't have enough to finish the shawl (you can never quite tell with lace weight yarn).

But my story is about this:

Frabjous Fibers Moulin Rouge-colored Blue-faced Leicester.  Can you see the shy little pink peeking out of the bottom and the flirty orange and the strong red holding it all together?  I think I'm going to like this fiber.  I've got here in front of me and this is what I love about being a spinner.

This fiber can be 4 ounces of whatever I want it to be.  It could be 4 ounces of fingering weight yarn - enough for a fab pair of socks.  Can you just imagine what wild things you could do with this sock yarn?  My feet get excited just thinking about it.

Or it could be 4 ounces of lace weight yarn for a really sassy stole or shawl.  (By the way, if you're writing the word "sassy" in a public place, be sure all the letters stay together.  It's not sassy for nothing.)

Or it could be 4 ounces of a focus yarn that could be used to spice up another yarn.  The spice of life, like.

The point here is, this fiber is like the world having it's oyster (and eating it, too).  Anything is possible.  I think I'm going to have to live with it a few days and listen closely to what it wants to be.  I have a feeling that if I don't pay attention to it, it could kick my sassy.  And nobody wants that.

Things have been quiet here on the blog but that's about the only place there's been any quiet around here.  I won't bore you with the non-fiber portion of life except to say it's trying to take over.  I'm trying to put up a good fight but I'm not entirely sure I'll win.

I have been able to make a little progress on some projects and have even finished a few.  Well, one.

This is the silk, merino, cashmere lace weight I spun on my Ashford drop spindle.  I didn't have too much of it so I ended up making this little neckwarmer which I loved so much that I hated to give it away.  It was like air.  Love it.

I did manage to make a little progress on my Tour de Fleece project (although I'm pretty sure the Tour de France is probably over by now - I haven't even had a chance to check).  I'm processing a Polypay fleece.  I finally got about half of it washed and this morning was able to start carding it up:

All those beautiful little rolags!  I've started the spinning but haven't gotten very far.  I'm spinning it long draw and have a feeling it's going to be lovely and light and wonderful.

Drink of Choice

I’ll say first off I’m an American. Well, I’m a Texan and they say that makes me an American. So I’m an American but I don’t like coffee, which makes some doubt my nationality. I don’t like beer and I’m not too crazy about wine. But I do like me a cup of tea. I like hot tea. Black tea. Oolong tea. White tea. I’ll even drink green tea (if pushed).

The reason I’m telling you this is to to show you this:

I can’t remember where I got this mug but I got the teapot in my visit earlier this year to Shakertown, near Lexington, KY. I love that these go together so beautifully. I love the colors and the flow of the glazing. The tans on the lip of the cup are exactly the same as the tans on the top of the teapot.  It’s proof to me every day at work (when everything else testifies against it) that something beautiful feeds the soul and brings me a calmness that I can’t always manage on my own.

What I did (and didn't do) this weekend

I haven't had that many free weekends this year so I've had all kinds of plans for my weekends this month.  For instance, the Tour de France started last weekend.  In the spinning world, there is a contest known as the Tour de Fleece.  I've never joined a team or anything but this year I thought I would and to that end, I obtained a Polypay fleece in Kentucky earlier this year.  Here's what it looked like when I pulled it out of its bag the other day.

As you can see, it's really pretty dirty and needs to be tended to before spinning.  The plan for the weekend was to get it washed so I could start spinning.  So here's what it looks like now.

Yeah, there's nothing different about it.  I never got round to it.

What I did, however, was work on a variety of lace patterns from vintage patterns to see if they would work for my lace knitting class coming up in August.  Here's the apple leaf lace pattern:

That funny little jog in it is where I decided to start the pattern over again.  It's not blocked but you can see the pattern pretty well.  This was one of those difficult patterns because the written version is so wordy.  Every time it came to the stitch described, "Slip one stitch, knit one stitch, pass the slipped stitch over the knitted stitch," that's what it said.  Once you got that stitch in a row 4 or 5 times, it made it fairly hard to follow.  I tried to chart it out but that didn't work so well either since you change the number of stitches in a row several times over the pattern.  Anyway, it's pretty.  I think it would be a gorgeous pattern for a bedspread.

The other pattern from the same book that I tried was called the rose leaf pattern. (ahem...edited to say "rose" instead of "rise" because I don't think there's any such a thing as a rise leaf)

It's a little harder to see the pattern here when it's not blocked but I think you can see most of it.  This is 2 repeats of the pattern, which I think would make a lovely, lacy top.

And finally, in the "I liked it in the roving but didn't like it in the yarn but I like it again when it's knitted" category, this is the frabjous fibers silk/merino/cashmere yarn that I spun on the drop spindle being knitted into a lacy scarf.

I would have never in hundred million thousand years have thought this yarn would have knitted up like this.  How gorgeous are those colors and the flow of the colors?  I didn't like the yarn and thought I'd just knit this up for someone but wowser.  I'm still planning on giving it away but I've got more of it that I'm spinning and I'm suddenly looking much more forward to finishing that yarn now.