Eye Candy Friday – Post-bar fiber therapy

I finished the bar exam yesterday. Suddenly, this is all I have on my plate.

Ahhh….

Blueberry Fizz

Pattern: Orangina by Stefanie Japel
Yarn: Brown Sheep Cotton Fine, Mariner Blue (just over 5 skeins)
Verdict: LOVE

I was really not sure about this one – until I tried it on. When it’s just flat it’s about the same size and shape as a pillow case, which is a bad sign. The ribbing pulls it in nicely though, and I think it’s surprisingly flattering. I’m not sure I’ll want to do seven inches of ribbing on #2 needles ever again, but the results are worth it.

I also really like the way the Cotton Fine shows off the lace. I’ll have to find another reason to use this yarn some time soon.

Wordless WIP Wednesday – 22 Colors

Cairns

Fiber: 80% Polwarth/20% Bamboo, in colorway “Cairns” by Southern Cross Fibre
Weight: Varies between lace and fingering, 625 yards/572 meters in 105 grams.

I’m definitely becoming a better spinner. This is the finest I’ve ever spun, and I think there is the least variation in thickness.

The coloring worked out as I had planned, with the colors lining up in some places and barberpoleing in other places. I like how the white bamboo results in a heathering that hides some of the imperfections. It also has a subtle sheen in brighter light.

Yay!

PS: Yay for kitties!

A bunny for the kitty

For some reason (to avoid bar study?) I decided to make a catnip mouse for my cat, Fiona. As it turns out, I preferred the catnip bunny pattern from Coffee and Cream. It was super easy, and only took about an hour (during my nightly Daily Show-Colbert Report wind-down).

I followed the pattern, except that the tail is a bobble rather than felt.

How does she like it?

Whoa!

She loves it! I have a feeling that I’ll make many more.

Tour de Fleece

I wasn’t sure I’d do Tour de Fleece – with the bar exam a couple of weeks away I have a lot on my plate right now. But I HAVE indeed been spinning, and I DID start a new project on July 3, so I may as well show you.

This is 80% Polwarth, 20% Bamboo, dyed by Southern Cross Fibre in the colorway Cairns.

For my fellow Americans, Cairns is a city in tropical northern Queensland, Australia. This blend of turquoise, green, and blue-gray does feel very tropical to me. The white streaks of bamboo look like rough surf.

I chose this particular fiber out of my stash for three reasons:
1) Look at the pretty!
2) If Tour de Fleece represents challenges, then it is appropriate that I reference Australia. When I was a junior in college I spent four months in Australia on an environmental science study abroad trip. It was the farthest I’d ever been from home, and the longest I’d ever been away from my family. It was also the period in which I’ve experienced the most physical discomfort, as we were camping in subtropical conditions for up to 6 days at a time. That’s 6 days with no showers, in heat that reached 41 degrees Celsius/106 degrees Fahrenheit, dirty, sweaty, and COVERED in bugs. But six years later I can say without reservation that it was an amazing experience and a time of very important personal growth. It was (aside from marrying my husband) the best decision I ever made.
3) I’m going back to Australia in August! After the bar exam I’m taking my husband back to Australia to show him the sights. We’re also going to several places I didn’t get to see the first time, including Cairns.

So really, it was the obvious choice.

It will be a two-ply, and it’s looking like light fingering at this point. I split the roving in half, and split one half into many smaller strips, so one ply will have much longer color segments than the other. I already think it will be lovely for Coquille.