Possessed to Knit

Chin Up 2-Ply Yarn

This yarn spun up very quickly.  I spun two singles on my Majacraft Gem at the 1:6 ratio.  I then plied them together with the Woolee Winder on my Gem set at the 1:8.5 ratio and the bobbin was quite full when I finished.  This yarn is about 120 yards and 10 to 16 wpi, which is quite a variation in thickness.  I'm learning more about spinning with Nikol's Art Club batts as she challenges me with Angeline, Sparkle and Sari Silk threads.  This yarn has some concentrated bits of Sparkle and Sari Silk thread.  Spreading them out as I spin would be helpful and I will keep that in mind for my next Art Club batt.  I think it would knit up into a pretty hat, like the Droplet hat in Knitting Nature.

Chin Up Cuckoo Batt

I started spinning Nikol's August Cuckoo Batt that she calls "Chin Up!"  She combined Superwash Wool, soy silk, sari silk, nylon sparkle, and angelina for a wonderfully light batt that is delightful to spin.  I completed my third bobbin of my Never on a Sunday Sheep 2 Shoe roving (with one bobbin left to go) and thought this batt would be a fun break.  I've never been one for the nylon sparkle or the angelina fibers, but they aren't so difficult to spin and they add a pretty sheen to the yarn.  I will spin one batt per bobbin and then ply them together into a 2-ply yarn.  Not sure what it will become, something small like a hat or a cowl.

Sunday Dyeing

I decided to overdye this formerly aqua skein of my handspun yarn with Country Classics Lilac dye.  I soaked the 3.5 ounce skein for about half an hour in hot soapy water.  I dissovled about a tablespoon of dye in boiling water and then added the dye to a gallon of water in my dye pot.  I started heating the water and rinsed the yarn with hot water.  I then simmered the yarn for about 45 minutes with lots of stirring as there was some blue that never did get taken up by the yarn.  The lighter parts turned out a bit purply.  The rest of the skein looks blue.  The yarn is about 12 to 16 wpi.  I'm going to use this yarn for the Bobbi glove knit-a-long on Ravelry. 

Weekend Spinning

I've finished spinning and plying my Raspberry Truffle roving from my June Art Club Batt subscription.  The roving was a combination of superwash Merino and Alpaca fiber.  I have over 4 ounces and approximately 400 yards of this 22 to 28 wpi 2-ply yarn.  I spun the singles on my Wyatt Norwegian wheel and plied them on my Gem with the Woolee Winder.  I discovered a lot of pink dye in the wash water.  The yarn still has a nice pinkish cast to it so hopefully I have successfully removed all the excess dye.  This yarn took a long time to spin so thinly, I thought I would have ended up with more yardage.  Victorian Lace Today has lots of pretty scarf patterns, and I will likely choose one of those patterns for this yarn.

Flared Lace Smoke Ring

I've started a Flared Lace Smoke Ring with my handspun alpaca/merino/silk that I spun from Loribird's hand-dyed roving in the Orchids colorway.  I'm using size 5 (3.75 mm) Addi Lace 24" needles and lots of Opal's pretty stitch markers to help me keep the pattern straight.  I ended up going down a needle size (when I usually go up a needle size) as the size 5 swatch looked better in stockinette.  The pattern decreases 8 sts every 8 rounds four times and then it reaches its final number of sts.  I was worried that it might get too small for these 24" needles, however, the fabric is stretchy enough that it should be able to fit on these needles.  I have 16" Addi Turbo needles in size 5, but they don't have the lace tips.  This is a project is a delightful combination of pattern & handspun yarn.  

Mystery Yarn

I received the carded batt to make this yarn in a trade.  I know it is wool and it is soft, however, I do not know what kind of wool.  I spun it on my Majacraft Gem with the wooden bobbins and I had trouble getting the singles as smooth as I wanted them.  It got a bit tedious to spin so I just let the texture into the singles.  I plied it on my Lendrum with the plying head.  This 2-ply yarn is 10 to 14 wpi, almost 7 ounces, and around 350 yards.  I plan to knit Wendy's Victorian Neck Cozy with this yarn.  I will wear it under my work jacket for when I have to go outside during the workday in the winter.  A scarf can be too unwieldy and get in the way of my work.  With this neck cozy, I can keep my neck warm and not have to manage a scarf.  In this same trade, I received some pretty pinkish purple roving and some 80s merino roving.  I think spinning them up will go much more smoothly.

Night Sky Silk Yarn

I've finished spinning and plying my Artsy Gal Night Sky silk yarn.  It is a vibrant blue mixed with a little purple.  I spun the singles on my Wyatt Norwegian and plied the 2 singles on my Gem with the Woolee Winder.  This 4 oz skein of yarn is around 400 yards and 14 to 22 wpi.  I had to ply it twice as I thought the plying turned out too loose the first time.  I just put the skein on my Nifty Swift and attached the yarn to my wheel and added more S-twist.  There are some thick and thin bits, but that is all in the fun of a handspun yarn.  Machine spun yarn is perfect and yarn shops have a lot of it.  Artsy Gal hand-dyed the silk roving, inspired by the colors of her night sky.  I thoroughly enjoyed spinning the singles on my Wyatt Norwegian over a few weeks time.  I like my Woolee Winder for plying.  It really packs the yarn on so I could fit all 4 oz onto one bobbin.  I think this yarn will make a beautiful lace scarf.

Night Sky Silk Roving

This is 100% Tussah Silk roving from Artsy Gal dyed in the Night Sky colorway.  I love the combination of blue and purple.  Spinning silk has it challenges, but there is nothing else like it.  I break off about a foot of roving and then predraft it as it can be sticky and hard to draft after dyeing.  I have a total of 4 oz of roving and plan to spin 2 oz on each bobbin.  I just needed a little break from the thin spinning I was doing on the Raspberry Truffle batt.  I am using the 1:8 ratio on my Wyatt Norwegian, and I recently broke and changed the drive band, so I may go up to the 1:12 ratio for the next bobbin.  The singles are about 28 to 36 wpi and the 2-ply yarn is about 16 to 22 wpi.  I think this will knit up into a nice lace scarf or smoke ring.

Lawrence's Zach Scarf Completed

I have completed the Zach Scarf (one of Jade Sapphire's 7 Manly Scarf patterns) for Lawrence's upcoming birthday.  It is about 6.5 inches wide and 70 inches long.  It turned out a little narrower than I wanted, but it was only 30 sts across and knit up nicely.  Making the scarf a little wider would have resulted in a shorter scarf, and I think Lawrence will be pleased with the final result.  He will also have a small non-wool gift in addition to receiving a wool scarf in July.  I enjoyed the opportunity to use my Namaste size 8 glass needles.  Namaste no longer makes these needles and I bought the smallest size they made.  These needles are a lovely change of pace for me, especially with some soft hand-dyed hand-spun yarn.

Raspberry Truffle Art Club Batt

I received my June Art Club Batt last week.  Nikol combined superwash Merino with Alpaca to create a fluffy batt that is wonderful to spin.  Somehow, I decided that I would spin thin singles with this batt.  Not all batts can be spun into thin singles.  Some of them have lots of textury bits and spinning thin singles is not a practical option.  I do have to pay attention as I spin and pull out the odd little lumps every so often.  It is going well, but slowly.  I am inspired by Patrick's blog, where he describes spinning a hand-dyed alpaca/merino/tussah silk blend.  He spends between 75 and 90 minutes to spin half an ounce of this blend. Learning about how much time he invests in his thin spinning has inspired me to spin half an hour or so on this blend every day.  The singles are 28 to 36 wpi and the resulting 2-ply is 22 to 24 wpi.  This batt will hopefully turn out to be a great lace weight yarn.