Two in a row

Two post in row! I can't believe it. I've been spindling non-stop on my turkish, which I've named Bijou. I'm having so much fun with her.

Bijou 

WIP Wednesday

Guess what came in the mail today?



Of course I wasted no time learning how to work this spindle and it just so happened that my Targhee fiber came in the mail today too.

Trying to master the God's Eye pattern

 

 

The Targhee fiber is awesome. I love the purples, blues and greens. It actually reminds me of The Joker from Batman. The fiber itself is very spring and just wants to be spun. This is my first time using it and I think it will turn into a great pair of socks.

Just a Quickie

I wanted to make a quick post at work before having to leave. The last time I posted was a while ago. Sorry for that. I've been so busy with work and school and crafting.

I'm still trying to read my way through S&S by Ms. Austen. Also, last week, one of my cats had their way with my newish Tibetan spindle. That was really crappy, but the boyfriend bought me a replacement. That replacement came in the mail today. Hooray for that.

I started making my first pair of mittens last night. I'm working up the basic pattern from Magnificent Mittens and Socks. I like the pattern and it's pretty easy going. However, I don't like the color work on the mittens, so I wanted to make my own. I copied the blank charts and scanned them into the computer. Not sure what I want to put on them yet...I'm thinking maybe an octopus? Or, maybe a unicorn? The options are pretty endless. If I was really good at this, I would try to make Patrick Swayze mittens. Yes, that's right, mittens with the face of Patrick Swayze. Anyone know of any good software for making your own color work designs?

Anywho, that's about all that's been going on here in my neck of the woods. Hope you all are having a good week and Happy Veterans Day!

Coffee Induced Late Night Update

Last weekend I picked up Abby Franquemont's Respect the Spindle. This book is so awesome. Reading this book has given me a lot of insight and there are some great techniques that I am definitely putting to use. I can't even put into words how much this book helps. Maybe a picture would help!

Amur Maple BFL and Silk

I bought some Christmas goodies on Knitpicks today. I most certainly qualified for free shipping. I couldn't resist the sock yarn. I don't know what it is about sock yarn, but I really love it. I guess I just really like making socks.

Stroll Tonal Canopy

Stroll Tonal Foliage

These socks are gonna be wicked awesome! I also got half the stuff from my Christmas list, just so I didn't break the bank completely.

By the way, I think I'm gonna ask Santa for a camera for Christmas. I really need to be able to take better pictures for this blog and my future Etsy store.

Night Night All! Have a lovely Friday! I'm having a date night with my boyfriend, which gives me a perfect excuse to wear my new little black dress :D

Help!

So, I was plying my singles tonight and guess what? My spindle got full and I still have more of my singles left to ply. What do I do? Any help or suggestions would be very appreciated.


Update:

  I finished plying. I just kind of went for it, because I'm young and wild. My spindle was super duper full by the end and was doing a wonky little dance.

Now it is time to wrap it around a chair (my make-shift niddy noddy) and turn it into a skein. Will be soaking it in some some wool wash tonight to set the twist and hopefully it will dry by tomorrow afternoon, so I can wind it into a ball and use it! *pats self on back*

Lucie the Laceweight

Saturday, I taught my friend Rose how to knit. It was really fun to have some girl time and to share my knitting knowledge. I did get a little frustrated, and I occasionally thought, "Just let me do this for you.". But, I know that is not the way you teach people to do things. We also had fun listening to the boys in the other room and their chitter chatter. Who knew twenty-something boys talked about world peace?

Sunday, I spent the entire day spinning BFL. I really mean the entire day. I watched some really bad horror flicks and I spun and spun. My singles are getting thinner and more cohesive. You can hardly even see my joins! I also came up with a name for my spindle. She shall now be referred to as Lucie the lace weight spindle.

Hankies

Knitting in the News:


There is now an Ipad app for all you techno knitters and crocheters. Supposedly, you can learn to knit and crochet and it covers lots of info like increases and decreases, knitting in the round, and knitting with color. Pretty neat!

Last time I was here I told you all about my dreams of spinning my own yarn. Well my Louet top whorl drop spindle came in the mail yesterday. The kit I got came with three balls of wool roving: gray, red and navy blue. I also purchased a bright fuchsia roving to practice on as well. There are some great tutorials on youtube from Megan LaCore. I went step by step with her videos and it really made the process a lot easier.

I spun two small single hankies out of the gray yarn. Approximately 100 yds. each. I will say that is a very fun and addictive. I can already tell I'm going to be doing this for quite some time.

I have a few questions though. I want to make sock yarn, which I know is very thin and plied a few times depending on what you want (ex: Superfine or fingering). How exactly can I go about doing this? Do I need a lighter spindle? Does it have to be a bottom whorl instead of my topwhorl?

Also can anyone recommend any good reads on this subject? Thanks guys and I'll be back in a few days with more yarn pictures for you!