KnitMe

This human is a natural product

Much as I wish I could spin perfectly uniform yarn, it seems to not be possible for me. I know that many spinners think it's inappropriate to try to be too perfect. However, at the same time, having been sort of burned by my 3 ply cormo fiasco (yarn is marinating to see if perhaps it, or I, will evolve), I'm constantly aware that if I actually want to make something wearable with it, I have to be able to get an approximately uniform gauge, so I try to be attentive to consistency.

So how did I manage to spin 3 almost perfectly consistent hanks (4 ounces/300 yards each, more or less), and spin the 4th hank so differently (4 ounces/240 yards)?? Sigh. Here are the 3 that match up. The 4th is in timeout and tagged with a white string so I will be able to single it out for special treatment.

I had a little over 2 ounces left and got this much out of it.

How did it turn out? 2 ounces/150 yards. So I CAN do it. I just FAILED to.

Anyone want to swap 240 yards of pretty nice worsted weight 2 ply emerald bluefaced leicester for 4 ounces of unspun emerald bluefaced leicester, so I can try again?? No, I didn't think so. Well, I'm already strategizing where I can use the heavier yarn in my project with least detrimental effect.

My toe-up socks are done. Last week, I had one sock.

This week I have a pair.

So Emmy and I can match for one season before she totally outgrows hers. (The yarn was from the eBay seller 'lotusblossom'. It's not superwash; she now has superwash sock yarn but I haven't tried it yet.) The color is named something like 'Pink Pansies' but I like to think of it as 'Sky Blue Pink.'

I found after completing my sewn bindoff that the legs were just a tad different in length (see entry title, above). It's hard to lay down a sock on needles next to a sock off needles and be sure you're the right length! Oh well, they'll be hidden under pants anyway.

I liked this pattern very much; as you can see from this shot, though, the heel is short. See where the little short gusset starts on the instep? If you are someone who tends to find that you have a long heel, this might not work for you. It fits me fine.

Since I showed the front of Emmy's cat sweater last time, here's the back, just an inch or so shy of the neckline.

This yarn is very soft, and also very elastic, so it puckers like mad no matter how loosely I strand. It's going to need a really good block. Since it's superwash, I'll be able to run it through the washer and either put it on the wooly board or just lay it out flat, and it ought to relax pretty well.

I meant to wind up green yarn and start swatching for Chicknits Cutaway last night but got preoccupied looking at my Nancy Bush books picking out my next socks. I have so much wonderful sock yarn and I want to get to wear it all, so I have to knit. I ended up winding a skein of Lisa's 'Sock!' in Mardi Gras and casting on for 'New England' from Knitting on the Road. It starts with a double-start caston with the long tail being a doubled strand, and it makes a really beautiful top edge. That was as far as I got, so it's not very photogenic yet.

I finished a second hank of the handcombed Shetland last week when I had my plying frenzy.

The second one (on the right) came out much nicer, I think partly because I did a better plying job.

Meanwhile, I lost my head last week and bought this for $30:

Eight ounces of 60% merino/40% cashmere fiber. It is quite yummy, and it's the color of maple walnut ice cream, a sort of pale taupe. It's very open and airy, it was packed in a little priority mail bag and it's been expanding and expanding ever since I took it out. I think I'm going to have to start spinning this soon. The eBay seller of this was 'wind4934', also known as Winderwood Farm in New York. I thought it was reasonably priced for so much cashmere. I hope to spin it fine and get good yardage for a shawl. I was disconcerted to find that it had just the teeniest whiff of cigarette smoke to it, but given that it will be getting a hot soapy bath as soon as it's spun, I'm not concerned.

Happy Halloween, and more treats than tricks, to everyone. Next week: a blue clock with a 4 year old inside.

Posted by Prudence at October 31, 2005 08:55 AM