Project Portfolio: Fluff-to-Socks Sal/Kal

Remember when I blogged about the Fluff-to-socks Spin-along, Knit-along that I was participating in? We had the month of May to spin the yarn and the month of June to knit the socks. Initially I was confused and thought that we could use any pattern we wished. Then a friend kindly let me know that the sal/kal was supposed to be done using the Effervesce sock pattern. As you can see there is a great deal of cabling in these socks but with the cabling-without-a-needle method they fairly flew of the needles. I was also pleased with how closely the striping lined up. 

As I stated previously, there isn't an outfit in my wardrobe thay such wild socks will work with, but they will be warm and they were such a fun project from start to finish. 

Project Portfolio: Quaker Yarn Stretcher

This was my first time making the beautiful Quaker Yarn Stretcher. When it comes to practical use, it isn't my first choice of shawl. The wierd slanting shape doesn't lay right nor wrap in a proper manner around your shoulders. But it is intended to be a kerchief I believe, and as such it would probably work fine. I had a good deal of handspun yarn in the stash so I clubbed it all together and just knit until I ran out! In the end it made a delightful, if somewhat odd, shawl. I meant to do a mini photo shoot and model all my newest knits down in the orchard this autumn. But the time flew, the leaves fell, and now everything is sodden and grey down under the apple trees. Maybe I will still get a photo or two in before the snows come. But don't hold your breath; winter looks to be just as busy as summer and fall were. If I can just blog every once in awhile I shall feel quite accomplished indeed! Meanwhile, be on the lookout for new puni sets in the shop. I've managed to squeeze some carding sessions in between work hours and on my days off. An update will be happening soon! 

I am back! Plus, Fluff-to-Socks news.

After a long hiatus from blogland I have finally returned. Spring was ever so busy and all of the sudden here we are in Summer already! 

The pace of life quickens during the warmer months; we scurry and flurry our way through a myriad of things, be it get-togethers, gardening, or holidays. The calendar is dotted with parties, weddings, family functions, birthdays, church functions, showers... Last year was an exceptionally busy year and I wasn't able to take the time for some things that I needed to. My shop, for one, didn't get the attention it should have. And I felt frazzled and worn out by the time autumn rolled around. This year, however, I have been working on managing my time & obligations better and, while busy, so far I am not running myself ragged and into the ground. Which has been a huge blessing and relief. I love summer and it is nice to be able to just enjoy it and take time to reflect on the goodness of God.

But onward to the brightly colored socks and yarn in this post! Remember the Fluff-to-Socks spin-along and knit-along I told you about in a previous post?  Well, the above socks are my "entry" for said sal/kal. Those of us who participated in the sal/kal were given 3 months to spin the yarn, and 1 month to knit the socks. June being the designated month for knitting, I am picking these up whenever I can and squeezing in a row or two. They are quite vibrant, and will add a splash of cheer to grey and cold winter days. They probably won't go with a single garment I possess but no matter. They will be warm, and that's what matters.

Socks to Fluff (and other spinning news).

In the beginning of March I received two delightful fiber packages in the mail. First up is the Panda roving from Atomic Blue Fibers. Rest easy, unlike the name would seems to imply, it is not from a panda. Instead it is a merino/bamboo/nylon blend that is scrumptious to work with. Sayra's fiber is was high quality and worth every penny. Initially when I first started spinning this I had my wheel on the wrong ratio setting but after I corrected that the fiber just flew smoothly through my hands and turned into a gorgeous sock yarn. I still have about two ounces left to spin up. 

Near the end of March I heard about a sal/kal called 'fluff to socks'. The concept is simple: spin fiber, knit socks. There were, however, time frames and deadlines. To be eligible you must start and finish spinning your sock yarn anywhere between April 1st to May 31st. I was already concentrating on spinning two different sock yarns so to hear about the Socks to Fluff sal/kal and also realize that I started both projects on or after March 1st, well, I was thrilled to jump on board. It is always nice to participate in a spin-a-long. I 

am looking forward to seeing all the pretty handspun socks the other participants make.

But on to my second mail parcel. I purchased a set of art rolags from the sweet, Lise of TrezLise. Chock full of all different fibers, they were such a fun spin! Currently the yarn is not designated for any particular purpose but I amsure the perfect project with come along soon. 

Project Portfolio :: My fourth Age of Brass & Steam Kerchief.

After I finished my previously shown shawl, but while the Age of Brass and Steam Sal/Kal was still going on, I decided to start another shawl with the same pattern. My sister was wanting a shawl and the Age of Brass seemed the perfect fit. This is the fourth one I have knit and it fairly flew off of the needles. The yarn I used was all various handspun skeins that I spun over the last year or so. I believe the majority of it was spindle-spun; I can't remember about the last section though...that may have been done on my wheel. I obviously need to keep a more detailed spinning journal!

 Instead of doing the standard bind-off I opted for a few more rows of garter stitch and then did a picot bind-off. It made for a tidy edge and the picot gave it a nice feminine flair. I've always been a fan of picots, other then the fact that they eat up a lot of yardage. But it's worth the yard and time in the end. 

The shawl blocked out beautifully.  I just wet it, squeezed out the water, and laid it flat to dry on a towel. When cold weather hits blocking knit items does become rather tedious. It sometimes takes days for things to dry and this little shawl was no exception. It always amazes me how blocking works miracles on a project. This particular pattern is very forgiving when it comes to blocking. A lot or a little, it always turns out splendid. 

Project Portfolio :: The Age of Brass and Steam Kerchief

On Instagram recently there was an 'Age of Brass & Steam' Spin-along, Knit-along that I participated in. It actually landed at a timely point in my summer/autumn transition. I wasn't quite in the mood to do Autumn or Christmas knitting but this sal/kal gave me the push to get going. Now I'm excited to begin Christmas projects and I am  working on my third shawl since mid-September. But back to the Age of Brass.
Since it was a spin-along the first question to decide was what fiber to spin for it. I rummaged through my stash and pulled out an assortment of Autumn colors to card into punis. The fiber content of this shawl ended up being various blends of Merino/Corriedale/Dorset/Fine wool/BFL. I had about 7.2 ounces total after carding all the different blends. They were each spun individually,  some on my wheel and some on the spindle. Then I Navajo plied them at the end. The resulting yarns were heavy-worsted to bulky weight in thickness.
The Age of Brass is a super quick knit. It is free on Ravelry, and would make a great first-time shawl project for a beginning knitter. I am very pleased with how this one turned out. It was my third time making this particular pattern so I knew what to expect from it and tweaked the pattern accordingly for my yarn needs.
The Saturday after I finished it I blocked it aggressively in hopes of wearing it that  Sunday. It didn't dry in time, and I have yet to wear it out and about. But maybe it will get it's first airing tomorrow while I'm running errands. We'll see.
Until next time, my friends! Take care.

A Summer in Snapshots :: Part One

1. Haybales in a nearby field. Nothing smacks of summer like the sight and smell a freshly baled hay field

2. Late evening mist over the fields.

3. Brunch on the front lawn. Tea. Oatmeal. Knitting. It was pretty much a perfect morning. 

4. My flower patch was a profusion of colors this year. This is year two for the perennials and they really took off. Purple Cone Flower, Black-eyed Susan, Painted Daisy, Miniature Sunflowers,  Sweet William, Coreopsis, and I know not what else. It was quite lovely and I picked many a bouquet from here this summer. 

5. Knitting. I didn't do as much this summer. But I did design a pattern or two. And I gathered lots of inspiration for the winter months when I do more knitting & designing.

6. Painted my toes aqua. Collected rocks on Holiday. It's impossible to go away to our secret cabin and not bring a few home. Well....we bring a few more then a few. *ehem*

7. Spinning. Lots and lots of outdoor wheel spinning. Out in the cement patio is my favorite place to spin. It's breezy, sunny, I'm surrounded by flowers and the ground is level for my wheel to sit on.

8. Hiking. This summer we went on several hikes. Found some new trails and explored a new area. I'd like to go back someday. There is just something about the smell and silence of a pine woods in summer....

9. Gardening. This summer we had an excellent crop of zucchini,  butternut squash, corn, and peppers.  The tomatoes perished, after yielding a bumper crop of greenness and a few god red ones. They sort of just wilted and rotted away. It was disaapointing. But I was happy for all the zucchini. Eggs with zucchini,  peppers, mushroom, onions, and tomatoes was my lunch most of the summer. So delicious. I wish I could grow a zuke plant indoors all winter. 

10. Celebrating! Watching fireworks from out on the dunes. 

11. Berrying. An abandoned blueberry patch. Picking was free and oh, was it pretty there.

12. Hollyhocks by an orchard. Single-blossom hollyhocks rank in my top 10 favorite flowers. They're so pretty, & elegantly old-fashioned.

Catching Up On Projects Past: The Sweetgum Wrap

When I was getting ready for my trip across the country to help my friend, I decided that it would be nice to make a cozy wrap to wear while on the airplane as I am always chilly on airplanes. So I picked out a couple of my colorways, with 'Cozy Plaid' being the main one, and started spun it uo on my various drop spindles. It ended up being a bulky-weight yarn and the pattern I picked to knit with it was the 'Sweetgum Wrap' on Ravelry.
This pattern was a fun knit, very quick and easy to remember. If you have 300 yards of bulky yarn in your stash that you can't seem to find the right project for, this may be it. the pattern was designed with handspun but any bulky yarn would work I'm sure. If you've knit the Sweetgum before I'd love to hear what you thought about the pattern.

Heading off on Holiday.

One of the most delightful things ever to see is a pile of handknits. And its even better if they are handspun as well. Of my stack the top four are handspun, the middle two of those four were dyed by me. What is this pile you say?
Well, it is some of the knits I collected together for my trip.
Weather is such a fickle thing. And being in the Wild, surrounded by woods and water, one day you may need a light & airy shawl, the next you could be bundled up from toes to nose & braving a blizzard.
So into my trusty Thirty-one cinch sack these all went.
And while I can not say that I used all of them, I did use most.
When it comes to knits & weather I hold by, "Its always better to be safe then sorry".
What about you? Lots of knits or very few? Over-packer or under-packer? I'd love to hear from you!

Holiday Knitting.

Tiny knits are in progress! This is for my sweet little niece who will be making her appearance very soon.
It was a quick knit, though I did have some trouble at the beginning and had to restart it. But I began again yesterday and  just finished it this evening. We are on Holiday so between hiking and spending time together there has been plenty of time to knit. I still have to gift this, that is if I make it back from Holiday in time to attend the shower! After that I can show the reveal of the whole project, from start to finish.

Tata for now, my friends!

Knitting :: Cowl For A Friend

Last November I spun and knit this cowl in a matter of days. The fact that it was on drop spindle is what amazes me for bulky weights on a spindle are not my forte. I should say Single bulky weight. But it turned out very nicely and I do believe my friend was quite pleased with her cowl. It was a birthday present and since I spun and knit it quickly I did not keep proper notes and write down the pattern like I should have.*Ehem. Cough.

One of these days I will spin up more bulky yarn and write out the pattern for all of you. I'll keep you posted if/when that happens.