Category: yarn

I used a random number generator to pick a couple numbers between 1 and 183 (the number of emails I got!), and it came up 33 and 122.

Three balls of luscious Kertzer Truffles (80% merino, 20% cashmere) go to….Sharon S. on Vancouver Island!

And a skein of super-bright red and pink Fleece Artist merino sock goes to… Alison H. in Toronto!

Congrats! I’ve emailed you both.

Onto the knitting – I’ve been working away on Dreamcatcher and am about to start the neck shaping. I’m thinking the rest of the body will go pretty quickly after that, as the armhole shaping starts soon after that. It’s a bit big and fiddly to carry around though, so I guess it’s stay at home knitting.

I also started a new pair of socks – Whitby from Knitting on the Road. I’m actually using the called-for yarn, Louet Gems Opal.

The socks is worked on very few stitches – 51! It does fit, although it is a bit snug. I’m going ahead, since it’ll probably stretch when I wear them anyway. I’m making these with pretty short cuffs.

New yarn – I’ve finished the wool/soy silk yarn I’ve been working on forever. That’s what happens when you have to blend with handcards! It’s very soft, and is a really nice colour from the soy silk. There are some places in the yarn where I didn’t blend enough, so it’s just soy silk or just merino for a stretch. I think it’s pretty interesting.

Now, what colour to dye it…

Thanks for all your suggestions re: the cable/rib situation. I think what I’ve decided to do for now is to reknit the sleeve cap, block that sleeve and see how it turns out. If it’s fine, I’ll do the second sleeve; if it’s not, I’ll rip and reknit both sleeves.

In the meanwhile, I’ve been working away on dreamcatcher, which is coming along quite nicely:

The bindoff in the middle there is the beginning of the hole for the medallion! After quite a bit of knitting today, I’m about halfway up the medallion. I made a sheet with row-by-row instructions of what I need to do (increase waist, decrease medallion, etc) and it’s really helped. And I sitll love the yarn (Elann Highland Silk).

Being somewhat in the middle of things, I decided to swatch for some new projects that I’ve got in the ol’ noggin. I bought this Silky Wool and Silky Tweed last year at the KW Knitter’s Fair, and I still haven’t done anything with it – I started a raglan with a red body and grey sleeves, but that didn’t really get anywhere.

I was really hoping they would work together as a marled-type piece, so I swatched with one strand of each and 5 mm needles.

Hmmmm. Not really loving it. Maybe I’ll just do stripes instead. I’ve got 4 skeins of the red and I *think* 5 skeins of the grey (Silky Tweed) so if you have any suggestions, let me know!

Finally for today, I got something awesome in the mail.

My custom rubber stamp for my yarn/stuff labels! Cool!

Oooh, a flower basket!

Flower Basket Shawl
Pattern: by Evelyn A. Clark, Interweave Knits Fall 2004
Yarn: my handspun 2ply wool/silk; roving dyed by fleece artist
Needles: Denise US 6
Finished: March 25, 2006

Aw, it’s so pretty! I really do love this shawl. I ended up doing 9 repeats of the main basket pattern before the edging, and as it turned out, that was the perfect amount. And knitting with my handspun? Awesome. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, wool and silk is my favourite fibrey combo!

Onto a bit about the weaving – I’d actualyl really love a 4×4 loom, but since there was an article in MSL (you-know-who Living), Buxton Brook has had a run on them! Now I’m hoping there won’t be any cronies coming after me for these photos…

I really love the scarf and the pillows, and the whole thing’s rather inspirational – although come to think of it, I forgot to take a photo of 2 of the pages. Ooops. Well, whatever. I’m about reading to move on from those Fleece Artist sock leftovers, having made four squares the same! I’m going to try some thicker yarns, and maybe some organic cotton and hemp.

There’s REALLY super site on handlooms here: http://www.eloomanation.com/ – check out the ‘projects’ section, it’s filled with vintage pattern booklets for download! Can you believe people were supposed to made bathing suits out of woven squares?!