I’m knitting away on the Dandy Neckerchief. I’m into the second skein of three.
I am also knitting the Frill-edged bolero from Sirdar Juicy Book 354 in Louisa Harding Grace Silk and Wool. It’s going to be a shop sample at A Likely Yarn.
I have made a little bit of progress on the Nightingale socks and I’m getting much better with knitting with two colors using both hands. It takes a few minutes to get my rhythm but then it seems almost natural.
Sunday I started spinning CJ Kopec’s Jester (2/3 merino and 1/3 colonial). It is incredibly soft and practically spins itself.
Monday I went stash diving and came up with a bunch of destash yarn and some other yarns that I want to knit but have been hanging around for awhile.
I cast on the Dandy Neckerchief in Summer Linen which is a cotton & linen blend. It’s been great to knit with since the summer has certainly arrived. It’s been far too hot to knit wool.
I also cast on a blanket in Cherry Tree Hill cotton/rayon bouclé in the colorway Winterberry. I have four 440 yard – 8 oz skeins. It’s not something I would make a garment out of so he only thing I could imagine making was a blanket. I love the colors! It’s basically a giant Grandma’s Favorite Dishcloth.
Not much on the needles this week. A pair of plain vanilla socks made out of Intentions yarn in Courage. The Nightingale socks haven’t been touched since last week.
A few weeks ago I was asked to be a demonstrator at the local 4-H center. I was an avid 4-H’er so I checked my schedule and said a quick yes! Last night I gave four 15 minute demonstrations on drop spindling and a speech on where yarn comes from. I was pleasantly surpised that the kids were interested and asked really good questions. My biggest surprise was the interest the little boys took in spinning. I got a few really good kid comments that made me giggle. I had the kids name off animals they thought would be good for making yarn from their from and one little boy insisted that elephant hair would be great. At least one kid in each group asked if you could spin and make a sweater out of cotton candy because that is what the wool looks like. I had a wonderful time and I think the kids did too.
Ok, I had a big weekend and I didn’t want to type it all out so I recorded a video. Sorry about the bad edits and barking dog.
Edit: BTW, I said that the Scarlet Fleece did not have a colorway listed, I found it and it is called Poodle Skirt 100% Australian Wool Top 4 oz.
Edit #2: Also, I didn’t post yesterday’s Friday FO’s so I’m adding it at the bottom of this post since I’m wearing the FO in the video.
I finally finished the Tappan Zee!
After reading comments on other Rav project pages that the sweater comes out a bit on the small side, I opted to make it two sizes up. I like the way it fits and I’m in love with the buttons. I made it in Brown Sheep Nature Spun Sport in the colorway Roasted Coffee. It took five skeins and I have about a quarter of the last skein left.
There’s not much to show for this week… Just the Nightingale socks that I started. I’m just a tiny bit into the first toe. I suspect these are going to take me a very long time to finish.
This week looks much like last week, but I’ve made progress on both things.
I’m 3/5ths of the way through the Tappan Zee cardigan:
I’m 1/2 of the way through my Murder Mystery spin along fiber. Now I’m ready for the second bobbin.
I cast on for the Tappan Zee cardigan last week. I’m making it from Brown Sheep Nature Spun Sport in the color Roasted Coffee.
I’m also spinning through my Murder Mystery Spin Along fiber too.
Ok, ok, I know it’s Thursday but the sun was shining and it was warm… so sue me. LOL
A Likely Yarn just got in some of the new Springs yarns (that are super awesome & you need to stop by and see them). I’m knitting a shop sample for the new Sublime Bamboo & Pearls. I’m making the Little Mimi Shrug from the new Sublime pattern book #633. So far I really love the feel of the yarn and the fabric that it makes. I’m not so happy about the splittyness of the yarn but it is bamboo, what do you expect?
I’m also working on a hat for charity. I’ve knit through one ball of Knit Picks Wool of the Andes in Violet and I’m a good way into the second ball. It is a basic 2×2 rib.
Everything else is pretty much at the same point as last week except for the gray office socks which, surprisingly; I’m nearly finished with. I have about 2-3 inches left on the cuff then they’ll be ready for walking in.
Since beginning my yarn diet, I’ve discovered that I’m much more of a monogamous knitter and I’m trying to finish up some projects that have been lingering in the bin for a bit too long. I’ve mainly been working on the Bulky Asymmetric Cardigan. I’ve knit through the body portion and I’m ready to begin the sleeves.
I’ve also picked up my afghan again. I was surprised at how little work was left to do. In two evenings, I attached what was left of the hexagons and now all that is left to do is weave in the ends and crochet the border. I’ve been working on it while taking a break from the sweater.
I have a pair of socks that I keep in my desk drawer at the office that I’m also working on. They are going so slowly because I’m knitting them on Size 0 needles but it’s nice mindless knitting when I get burned out crunching numbers. They’re made from lane cervinia in gray tones. Sorry, there’s no photo; I didn’t have my camera at the office today. I’ve also been hauling around the yarn to finish my cthuluh but I just haven’t worked on it lately (no photo of that either).
I’m also spinning some wonderfully happy colored roving that my Monty Python swap partner (Studioloo) sent me. I’m about half way through the bump. I’m hoping to learn how to Navajo ply with it so I can keep the color progressions the way they are.
I spent last weekend organizing my fiber stash. I was surprised that I didn’t have as much spinning fiber as I thought I did. I sorted the yarn into three categories: sock yarn, yarn that I have a project in mind for, and yarn that is for charity knitting. My plan is to knit through the project specific yarn before buying any more yarn and knit at least one item per month to send to a charity. I’ve been looking around Ravelry and a few other websites to find charities that I can send my items to. This has proven to be a bit more difficult that I had anticipated. Most of my yarn is wool or wool blends but most of the I’ve found charities want acrylic or washable fibers. Luckily, after much searching, I found a charity that only wants wool items. I do have a few skeins of acrylic hanging around so I can send a few items to other charities too. If you know of any really awesome charities that accept finished items please let me know.
I must be crazy. I just ordered the yarn to make the Sylvi coat from Twist Collective and I decided to cast on TWO sweaters this week.
The first is the Whisper Cardigan from Interweave Knits Spring 2009. I’m making it in Malabrigo Lace in Black Forest.
The second is the Corona sweater. I’m making it in Cascade 220 which was given to me by a very kind friend.
My travel project is a simple pair of toe up socks in Great Adirondack Silky Socks.
I also have the first Hat-Heel (knitty.com fall 09) finished and need to cast on for the second. I’ll do that as soon as I free up the needles the silky socks are on. I like the pattern it is a very interesting construction and isn’t at all difficult. I’m making them in Malabrigo Sock in Archangel.
My last project is something I wouldn’t have ever imagined I would make. It’s a crochet CAMO afghan. Yes, I said CAMO. When a sweet little boy with big blue eyes tells you how much he loves Army stuff you just can’t resist. You know you have to make him an Army blankie for his birthday.
