i realize it’s been forever since i’ve posted anything knittish. (i would say “knitty” but, you know, it’s taken.) so i thought it was time for an update!
i saw Palette the other day and i kinda want to make it. i just don’t have any pretty handpainted rovings to spin, and furthermore, i’m not sure i could spin laceweight. really, at this point, i can reliably spin something relatively evenly that winds up as about a worsted weight when navajo-plied. i’m kind of afraid that trying to spin something lighter weight than that would wind up being more frustrating than relaxing. maybe i should buy something variegated and knit Argosy instead — like the big wimp that i am.
but, that said. i am improving at spinning. here’s a pic of some of the stuff i’ve completed recently:
the grey stuff is some shetland wool i picked up at my favorite LYS, 2-ply and pretty loosely spun (i hate plying normally, i don’t seem to be very good at it…). the pink stuff is some really lovely 80% merino/20% silk, from the same LYS (Loopy Yarns if you must know!) that was my first real completed batch of navajo plied stuff and it turned out quite nice if i do say so myself. the black/white stuff is some Brown Sheep Lamb’s Pride roving i got from The Sheep Shed Studio. actually, i was really happy with that — it’s not like you know what you’re going to get when you order, but i really wanted some white/straight black (not grey) stuff. and that’s what i got! so i spun a bobbin and navajo plied it up, and i think it turned out pretty well.
the little cards on the skeins identify when i spun them, what the fiber content is, and the length in meters and yards. i started doing that after i read a remark on The Yarn Harlot‘s web site when she mentioned a lovely skein of handspun she’d received as a gift and lamented that lovely skeins of handspun from friends didn’t tend to come with yardage listed so she didn’t know what to do with it. i thought that was silly, so ever since i started spinning i measure and label each skein. i mean, why not? the hard part is winding it on the niddy-noddy, not counting the wraps. sheesh. so i just cut holes in inkjet business cards and thread some yarn through, and poof!, instant labels. i think more lovely skeins of handspun should have the yardage listed, don’t you?
then there’s The Boring Scarf:
(never mind the stereo there. i am going to take it to get repaired, before it turns into a structural stereo, HONEST I AM. the fact that i have piled knitting baskets on top of it signifies nothing.)
this is the first thing i have ever knitted in garter stitch — at least, since i was like 8 years old. it got to be garter stitch because i tried making fancier things — i really wanted a slightly lacy, open stitch for this beautiful yarn — and i ripped it back so many times i got disgusted and said “screw it, it’s going to be garter stitch.” and actually, i think it’s looking pretty good despite that. the yarn is so fuzzy, soft and lightweight, not to mention glossy, that it sort of looks more like seed stitch if you don’t look at it too hard. the yarn is absolutely fantastic and i’d love to have a sweater made out of it. (sadly, it’s $13 a ball so that won’t happen any time soon, but a girl can dream.) predictably, however, it is sort of a pain to work with — remember those earlier froggings? — and i’m pretty sure i have dropped stitches somewhere in there. i cast on 30. there’s been 31 stitches on the needles for at least the past 12-16 inches or so. i tried ripping back and fixing my mistakes a couple times — c’mon, it’s garter stitch!!! — but the yarn is just so freaking fuzzy i couldn’t find anything. so i figure, i’ll block it and if i ever find the part where there’s a dropped stitch, and it drops (hey, think positive: the fuzz might hold it in place), i’ll crochet-hook walk it back up and then tie it off or something. i am not going to fret any more. it is a garter stitch scarf. i’m not supposed to fret about it. i bet you can guess how it earned the name The Boring Scarf… though it does make good subway knitting (thus the circs, since that way you won’t drop a needle on the el).
i was going to take a picture of that sock i mentioned a while ago, that was making me mad so i put it in a box to sit and contemplate its sins for a while. but now … um. there just really isn’t much of anywhere for it to have gone, and yet i cannot find it. folks, i pretty much have one knitting basket. but the sock isn’t in it. *sigh* so the evil sock actually stole off in the middle of the night, just to taunt me… and it took my #1 sock circs with it!!! stupid Evil Sock.
and finally, my home improvement project of a few weeks ago. (click through to the flickr page to see little commenty notes on what everything is.)
so i had these little grid-shelf thingies that i got from target (naturally…) and i had a couple skeins of yarn on them, when it occured to me that i could pile more yarn on the shelf if i kept it from falling off the front. and i thought, well, how can i keep the yarn from falling off the front of the shelf? if only i had some way to block it off, like… like… SHOELACES. like TWINE. like… hey, i have lots of string!! so yes, my shelves are all crisscrossed with Cascade 220 now. but i am tickled to bits at my awesome yarn and roving bins. seriously, check out my yarn and roving bins!! how cool is that. i get to look at all my prettiest yarns whenever i want, and my roving is all tucked away neatly where i can grab some and start spinning, whenever i want. it’s awesome. and it even looks nice, and the cats stay out of it.
anyways, that’s what i’ve been up to lately. nothing too impressive. i guess i’m just a socks and scarves kind of girl. :)
