Posts Tagged ‘handspun’

Finished Spinning

Tuesday, August 11th, 2009

Hi there!

I have decided to enter my blog into a contest for the most boring blog ever. I am pretty confident it will win too. While I did decide to cut down on the time I spend on the blog and the computer in general this summer, I really didn’t mean to spend this little time. My excuse this time around is the game Mafia Wars on Facebook. If you have never tried it, don’t! I’m not kidding. I am not even a game person, so I have no idea why I like this game so much. I do enjoy a game of Solitaire or maybe Mahjong when I want to relax, but I have never liked fighting type games. And never have I played a game for hours on end like I did this one. I do seem to have a better handle on how much time I am playing it now that a few weeks have passed. So anyway, that is what I have been doing with my time the last few weeks in case you were wondering.

I am still in a knitting funk, but I have been spinning and have some finished yarn to show you.

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I picked up this fiber at the CT S&W this year and loved the blend of the red wool and the brown Alpaca. I did not love spinning this though. It had a ton of vm in it, and when I was spinning it I had to stop a LOT to try to pick it out. There is still a lot of vm left in it because I just couldn’t get it all out. The finished yarn didn’t turn out well at all either. I think the first yarn I ever spun came out better than this one and I don’t like it at all. I did decide when finishing this yarn up that I will never continue spinning fiber that I don’t enjoy again. Life is just too short and there is too much nice fiber out there to torture yourself spinning something you don’t like.

red-brown-alpaca-blend2

Fiber: Alpaca 50/Wool 50
Source: CT S&W
Colorway: Red/Brown
Yardage: 430 yards
Weight: 7.95 oz.
Ply: 2
WPI: 11

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This is what I spun right after the previous fiber. Oh, what a difference!

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The fiber came from Julie and is a Cormo and Romney blend. The fiber spun like a dream and the resulting yarn is the softest, nicest yarn I have ever made. I’m not sure what I am going to make with it yet, but I do know I will be keeping whatever it is for myself. I am selfish like that.

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Fiber: Cormo/Romney blend
Source: Julie
Colorway: Natural
Yardage: 252 yards
Weight: 5.5 oz.
Ply: 2
WPI: 11

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And last but not least is some South African Fine from Spunky Eclectic in the “Monkey Farts” colorway that I picked up at this past MA S&W. I admit to being influenced by the colorway name when I bought this.

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Fiber: South African Fine
Source: Spunky Eclectic
Colorway: Monkey Farts
Yardage: 330 yards
Weight: 3.7 oz.
Ply: 2
WPI: 15

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I really like how this yarn came out too but as of right now have no plans for it.

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Well that mostly catches me up with spinning news. There is one other little thing but I think it deserves a post all its own, so I’ll save that for the next entry.

I hope everyone is well and enjoying their summer. I can’t believe we’re almost into mid August already. The summer has just flown by!

Finished Handspun

Monday, June 8th, 2009

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Fiber: Crosspatch Creations
Source: Rhinebeck 2008
Colorway: Blue/Multi
Yardage: 268 yards
Weight: 4.2 oz.
Ply: 2
WPI: 13

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I finished this yarn up a few weeks ago but I am behind in my spinning posts so I’m just getting around to blogging about it.

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This is the second time I have spun Crosspatch Creations and I just love spinning this stuff! It’s nice to just spin and not strive for consistency like I usually do. Instead,  I realize I’m not going to spin “perfect” yarn and enjoy the spinning, the feel of the bumps and nubs slipping through my fingers. It’s wonderful. And it makes wonderful yarn too.

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This is what I am working on now. It is the Alpaca and wool blend I picked up at this years CTS&W. I loved the mix of red and brown together and couldn’t wait to start on this. It does have a lot of vm in it though that I didn’t see when I bought it and that has taken a lot of the fun out of spinning it. It’s not much fun to have to stop spinning every minute or so to pick stuff out. I will finish it, but it won’t be soon enough for me.

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I joined the Nutmeg Spinners Guild and went to my first meeting on Saturday. The meeting was on creating balanced plied yarns and this is the result of my time at the meeting.

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It is a 3 ply and I only ended up with about 50 or 60 yards but I like how it came out and will find a use for it sooner or later. I drove up with Marcia and had a fun day, although she kept making me eat the delicious cookies she made and I think I gained about 5 pounds.

Hope you had a great weekend!

WIP Wednesday 05/13/09

Wednesday, May 13th, 2009

janes-blue-fiber

A few years back I won some fiber from a contest Jane was having. This was such a joy to spin!

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Fiber: Blue Faced Leicester
Source: A gift from Jane
Colorway: Blue/Pink
Yardage: 494 yards
Weight: 3.9 ounces
Ply: 2
WPI: 15

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I am really pleased with how this yarn came out.

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As usual, I have no plans for it. A scarf would be nice because it’s so soft.

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I started The Two Summer Sundress for Alexis. The pattern suggests making the next size up but when I had Amanda measure Alexis’s chest I decided to make the size that was closest to her measurements. Now that the bodice is done, I think I should have followed the directions and went one size up. It looks really small. Ah well. I’m not too worried about it though because eventually Addison will grow into it and it was pretty easy to make. I plan on getting this sewn and in the mail this week.

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The plain vanilla  socks have grown a little bit. I’d like to get to the gussets this week. That should be doable if I am not glued to my wheel like I have been. We shall see…

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Happy Wednesday!

Finished Handspun

Wednesday, May 6th, 2009

I am not going to make this a WIP post because I don’t have much going on the needles right now. I started a pair of plain vanilla socks with some Trekking from the stash last week, but most of my free time has been spent spinning or plying. It’s all about the spinning right now for me! Apparently I missed it.

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I finally finished up the Merino that I started way back when.

plum-merino

Fiber: Merino
Source: Solid - Woodland Woolworks, Hand Painted - The Yarn Wench
Colorway: Solid - Plum, Hand Painted - Winesap 1
Yardage: 530 yds.
Weight: 7.84 oz.
Ply: 2
WPI: 10 - 11

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I spun the hand painted on my double treadle Lendrum with one foot while the other one was in a cast back in November/December. As such, it’s not my best spinning.

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I spun the solid top last month after a 3 - 4  month spinning break. I was pretty rusty and as such, it’s not my best spinning either.

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Plied together, I have some pretty, sqooshy, soft handspun that hasn’t decided what it wants to be yet.

Finished Snowboarders Hat

Thursday, November 20th, 2008

I finally got around to snapping some pictures of Michael’s finished hat.

Pattern: Snowboarder Hat That Rocks
Yarn: Handspun Corriedale from Crown Mountain Farms - Cedar Grove colorway - held doubled
Needles: US 11
Started: 11/3/08
Finished: 11/15/08

Michael is not a snowboarder and most likely will wear this hat when snow-blowing instead. The rest of him may get chilly when out there battling the snow this winter, but I am willing to bet his head won’t.

My row gauge was off when making this and I was able to do one less cable repeat and get the perfect size for him. I could only work on this for short periods of time because bulky yarn on big needles hurts my hands as much as skinny yarn on tiny needles.

I enjoyed the pattern and it makes a great looking hat. Michael loved it the first time I showed it to him last winter and has been bugging asking me for it since.

He thinks that the braids should be longer though and wants me to redo them. I agreed at first, but now that I’ve seen it on him I think they look fine. What do you think?

I looked around a while for a bulky yarn to make this and then thought this handspun would be perfect for it. I don’t think the cables show up well in the pictures but in real life I think they look good. I am really pleased with the amount of handspun I have knit up this year and I hope to keep making a dent in that stash too.