Anonymous scarf

I loved how elegant that scarf looked, so I decided to knit one. 

My enthusiasm on the project faded quickly. It was a slow and boring knit. The temptation to frog and run away was enormous. I did not quit; it was too cold for running away. Over the next several months, I wore a “product knitter” hat, poured some beers and finished a very long scarf. 

My lack of interest was not the pattern’s fault. As a matter of fact, I do not even remember what pattern I worked. No idea! What I do know is that I poorly picked my materials. I do not have the patience for knitting on small needles holding together two thin yarns.

I do love the drape of the finished scarf. This will be a nice winter accessory!

Have you continued a project that you now think should had been frogged? Have you gone blank on a pattern name and spent two hours looking for it on Ravelry? Tell me about it in the comment section… 

Project Details

Pattern:	I wish I remember. Anonymous at the time of publishing this post.
Yarns:	Swans Island Natural Colors Merino Silk in WillowMalabrigo Nube Merino Handspun in Mostaza
Yardage:	530 yards
Needle:	US 3 (3.25 mm)
Measurements:	8.5” wide x 70.0” tall (21.6 cm x 177.8 cm)
Ravelry:	Project page

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Polish Merino Wool

This Kromski Polish Merino wool is part of my 2021 Southeastern Animal Fiber Fair (SAFF) stash. The eight ounce combed top was very reasonably priced. At twenty-seven micron count the wool is not the softest Merino on the market. Yet, the fiber was well prepared and spun nicely into approximately 800 yards of two ply DK weight yarn. The color is “Mossy Green”.

I would definitely buy this fiber again. There is additional fiber information and photos of available colors in Kromski’s website.

What is my newest handspun?

Here is my new skein of handspun yarn. Despite my good intentions to spin all four ounces on my electric wheel, I switched to my trusty Louet Julia half way into the project. I lost way too much fiber due to breakages and tension issues spinning on the e-wheel. Still, I have a decent amount of yarn for perhaps a hat.

• Fiber: Merino from Paradise Fibers in color Rust
• Yardage: 242 yards
• Plies /Weight: two plies, fingering (about 14 wraps per inch)
• Ravelry: project page

Stash Spinning: Merino

Back in 2019, my husband gifted me with four ounces of Paradise Fibers Merino in colorway Rust. I am spinning my “go to” handspun: two ply, fingering weight. I decided to practice spinning on my e-spinner. Somedays we have misunderstandings (it’s her attitude, really) and some days we spin along like besties (usually during happy hours).

I have half of the top yet to spin. If the stars align and yardage is appropriate, I would like to knit a Mara shawl . Wish me luck; it is very rarely that I have immediate plans for handspun.

PS: the free shawl pattern can be downloaded directly from the Madelinetosh website.

Feeling content…

I have been going with the flow lately; starting as many projects as I want. Being inspired by materials and feeling content with all my WIPs.

This week I started the Reyna shawl in my own handspun. I don’t know the exact yardage on hand but my gut tells me it will be enough for a decent size shawl. This free pattern is perfect for variegated yarns. Mine is creating some stripes which I am enjoying while they last. If it starts pooling in a way I dislike, I plan to alternate balls of yarn.

Note: the following are Ravelry links – do not click on them if the website causes any discomfort or sickness.

• Pattern: Reyna by Noora Backlund (free on Ravelry)
• Yarn: Handspun Merino | Light fingering | Spun in 2014
• Project page: here

There are almost 14,000 Reyna shawls posted on Ravelry and over 4,500 Instagram entries with the hashtag #reynashawl. The pattern deserves its popularity and more. It is easy and enjoyable to knit.

Happy Fourth of July!

Happy Fourth of July! Hope that everyone is having a spectacular and safe day.

My husband and I have been working on remodeling our master closet. Lot’s of stuff is being donated. The walls are waiting for a fresh coat of paint. The lighting is being upgraded as well as the organization system. All of that translates to hard work, money out of the door and not much knitting or grilling.

I was able to spin a gorgeous Ashland Bay Multi-Colored Merino Top that I bought from The Woolery. Colorway is Rose Quarz.

Two ounces of Fiber, woolen spun, two ply yarn at around fourteen wraps per inch which could pass for sports weight. Yardage still to be determined.

Spin, spin, spun

I finished plying the Merino, Alpaca and Nylon blend and ended up with 568 yards in a fingering to sport weight, two ply yarn. Is woolen and extra squishy.

From soft colors, I moved to dark jewelry tones. This is a Merino and Silk blend from Wandering Wool.

It was dyed as a gradient. I separated the three colors so I have more flexibility to play with the final yarn.

Hope you are having a lovely day. Until next time!

My dear handspun yarn

This a super neon handspun yarn out of Spun Right Round fiber.

The bundle of joy is a three ply, sports weight Merino in color way “Glow Sticks”, 374 yards. Handspun project page: here.

Sometimes it takes longer than expected

These socks should have debuted here a couple of weeks ago. I took my time finishing them.

I love my socks, wrinkles included. Yarns & pattern can be found at my project page: here

I also finished plying the last four ounces of a deep stash Merino fiber. The three ply yarn is super soft and spongy. I suffered a “laziness attack” that prevented me to count the yardage. My not at all expert assessment says that I have enough for a shawl

Blending fibers

Last year, I got this blending board at the Southeastern Animal Fiber Fair (SAFF). I’ve been making a few rolags here and there but this is the first real “blend” that I created so far.

The white fiber came in un-labeled with my used Louet wheel. The dark gray is Knit Picks Full Circle Roving, a blend of Merino and Highland wools. It was a nightmare to spin by itselfdue to its short staple length. Had I not blended with the white fluff, it would have become a wool dryer ball.

There is not much yardage in the mini skein. And that is fine with me. This was an experiment and I loved the results.

New Yarn Brings Joy to my World

We had a busy and outdoorsy Saturday with soccer game, tennis practice and some shopping. The little one did great on her first soccer game. I didn’t cry (surprisingly). Her confidence and ability to play in a team made us very proud.

On the wool front end, I am beyond excited to show some new yarn. It is hard to be the wife of a busy traveler…but my husband sure knows how to win me back in a split of a second. Like when he shows up with gorgeous yarn that he bought for me while on a business trip.

This skein holds 329 yards (100g) of super soft Peruvian Alpaca.

The second skein is fingering weight Merino wool from Oink Pigments.

Oh Nuts!

This is a Spun Right Round  braid that I divided in half.  The first bobbin was spun as is. For the second bobbin, I separated and spun the colors in a specific sequence.

This is the first time that I try the long draw draft.  Long draw produces airy, fluffy yarn.

The yarn shows a lovely barber pooling.

• Fiber: Merino
• Colorway: Oh Nuts!
• Weight: Sport
• Yardage: 375 yds.

Have you been naughty or nice?

I decided to take it really easy this holiday season. So easy that there are no handmade gifts to give and no home baked cookies to eat. Naughty!

Remember that handspun that I’ve been working on? Let’s officially call it a 246 yards skein of yarn. It is a 2-ply Merino in sports weight.  More pictures & details here.

Hope that this post finds you surrounded with what warms your heart the most. Take time to celebrate ~ your family, memories, stash, successes, lessons learnt and even those gifts that were cast off at the eleventh hour. I’ll catch up with you after the Holidays. Be Merry!

Shiny new handspun!

On the basket, from left to right: Unwind Yarn Company BFL in Sanibel, Knitty & Color Merino (no color name) and Julie Spins Wensleydale in Starry Nights.

I really, really enjoyed spinning the long staples of Wensleydale. And, the color work from Julie Spins is beyond amazing. It bled quite a lot but the many washes are all worthy. That skein is one of my all time handspun favorites.

And there is some handspun to show

Two weeks ago we said farewell to the daycare that had been my daughter’s second home for the past three years. I cried a bit (ok, a LOT) as it was too hard to move on from such a wonderful place and people. My daughter is managing changes better than me. She said her goodbyes and quickly moved on to enjoying her first summer camp. She is also looking forward to attending a new school! I would love to cruise the world with her same innocence, curiosity and strength.

I have two new additions to the stash–both are in the very light fingering weight. The first skein is close to 450 yards. I don’t know what the content of the fiber or the vendor is. This was a gift from by best friend who doesn’t know understand a thing about spinning but knows it makes me happy.

The second is a skein is from Malabrigo Merino (Nube) top in the Mostaza colorway. I got 522 yards of 4 oz (113g) fiber. I see a shawl in our future.

FO: Cassis Shawlette

This is my Cassis shawl that I bound off months ago.

Working with The Fibre Company Canopy Fingering Alpaca, Merino and Bamboo blend is a dream!

Cassis is a great free pattern by Collete Audrey. My only modification was to knit many more rows to use most of the yarn. Project page: here

FO: Spinning

Learning to spin is still top in my bucket list. There is a lot to learn in my hand spinning future (as with knitting).

Natural 100% Blue Faced Leicester from Fiber Charmer, a local dyer.

Merino 21.5 microns from a dyer that is no longer in business. Thin a tick but for the most part 372 yards of worsted weight super bright yarn.