Lavender Singles

And now for something completely different:

Fiber: Corgi Hill Farm 50% Merino/50% Tussah Silk in “Lavender Lace”
Weight: 4 1/8 oz
Yardage: Approx. 185
Details: Spun on my Kromski Minstrel at 6.5:1 and VERY slow treadling, I experimented a lot with how to draft.

Since this is more Corgi Hill Farm fiber, and I decided to do something completely different from last time – light worsted singles.

It was a good learning experience. As you can see, it’s overtwisted and there are some pretty significant kinks. Maybe there is a Kink in my future!

Slither

Fiber: Corgi Hill Farm 75% BFL/25% Silk in “Slither”
Weight: 4 1/8 oz (121 g)
Yardage: Approx. 850
Details: Spun on my Kromski Minstrel at 16:1, I guess I use a forward short draw

Verdict: LOVE

It’s obviously not perfect, but I’m unabashedly proud of it. There is some variation in thickness, but less than in previous skeins.

Most importantly, I’ve avoided a problem that has plagued me in the past. In previous attempts, some of my singles have been over twisted such that they kink into corkscrews rather than plying evenly. There is a much more even twist on this skein.

It’s even pretty well balanced!

I’ll submit it to the Rhinebeck novice class competition unless I come up with something better in the next 10 days. Jacie, send me some good juju!

Monkey Socks

I finally finished my Monkey Socks. They’re in the Canon, I had to knit them.

I knit them a few rows at a time, over the course of over four months. I’m not a big sock knitter, and this project made me think about why. There are a couple reasons – I walk a lot, and if you’re walking serious distances, handknit socks aren’t comfortable (you’d want a finer gauge and more stretch). Also, I have size 10 feet and substantial calves, so handknit socks tend to be too small for me.

Indeed, these are a bit too small. But in general I think they turned out well, and I see more socks in my future. I’ll just be more careful about sizing, and challenge myself to make the necessary modifications.

I’m particularly pleased with how the yarn (Cherry Tree Hill Supersock, in River Run) worked with the pattern. There was some striping, but the pattern was still perfectly visible.

Kitty says my feet smell funny.

Inspiration Book – Tin Ceilings

When we were in Sydney, we stayed at the Mercantile Hotel. It’s a pub on the ground floor with modest rooms above, built in 1915 or so. I loved the tin ceilings at the Mercantile, and there seemed to be a different pattern in every room.

The textural, repeating patterns seem like they would be (very roughly) adaptable to knitting. Maybe as a cushion or an afghan. I’ll be mulling it over.

Travel Knitting

We had a wonderful time in Australia! If you’d like, you can check out the travel photos here.

My travel companion through most of the trip was Coquille, seen here on a train in the Blue Mountains.

I finished it on my second-to-last evening in Australia, and I love how it turned out. I think it really shows off my Cairns handspun.

So the main beach in Byron Bay isn’t exactly the place for a wool shawl. It made a pretty backdrop.

And how long does it take to get home from Australia? Long enough to knit 63 rounds of Shedir.

This was the perfect pattern for a 32-hour door-to-door journey. It was just complicated enough to keep my mind busy, but easy enough to memorize that I could carry on despite major sleep deprivation and jetlag. Again, I’m pleased with the way it turned out.

I gave Juniper a tour of Australia, but I still haven’t decided what I’ll make with it. Think I can finish 4 oz challenge in the next two weeks?