KnitMe

High Carb Entry

Warning: This entry is high in starch and sugar....

The 'Macaroni and Cheese' fisherman rib scarf is complete and has an edging.

The edging came (sort of) from one of those great little Dover needlework books, Traditional Edgings to Crochet. Or something like that. It's made with some spindled yarn made from a sample of superfine merino top in a shade called 'Bird of Paradise', sent to me by Lisa Souza. It's hard to see in the picture but it was a simple edging to make and looks quite neat.

It is long enough to wind around my neck, but here is how I've preferred to wear it.

Looks kind of like the wimple on Mother Superior from the Sound of Music, doesn't it? Peggy What-was-her-name. She, too, had bags under her eyes you could pack for an extended vacation... But it is cozy and sheds drizzle.

This came in the mail the other day. I was lucky enough to have won it, believe it or not, in Ryan's little contest last week.

Isn't it rich? It's Lorna's Laces Shepherd Worsted in 'Rainbow.' I've made socks in this colorway and it's very striking. I've promised to make Emily a scarf from it, as it's soft enough to go around her neck. I have cast on a teeny piece and started knitting in a simple basketweave pattern, and it looks so great that I'm hoping I can eke two teeny scarves out of 225 yards. Using the design that has a big buttonhole at about the 2/3rds mark, I should be able to, as it reduces the length needed to get a nice warm neck, and it cuts down on unnecessary bulk to stuff inside your jacket. I last used that design here to get some use out of about 100 yards of handspun.

Meanwhile, Emily got new mittens this weekend.

I felted them a tad, just in the kitchen sink with hot and cold water, to tighten them up a little, and they fit pretty well. I felted my Selbu mittens at the same time, and they fit better now too. Two hot washes with cold rinses, and a little bit of rubbing together, did just enough.

I love knitting for SMALL people. I started Emmy's mittens Wednesday night and she wore them today.

Have combs, wool travel

Sorry - couldn't resist the bad joke!

I have a new toy - Alvin Ramer "super mini" woolcombs. These are made by a gentleman in Ontario, Canada. I believe the sole U.S. distributor is The Wheel Thing. Those of you in Canada or elsewhere in the world can find him at Box 194, Colborne, Ontario, Canada K0K 1S0 (phone(905) 355-2546; email to aerbar@phc.igs.net). He has no website, as far as I can tell.

I am new to this woolcombing business, but the article in Spin-Off magazine Summer 2004 got me started. I bought some Forsyth minicombs last spring off the recommendation of Judith MacKenzie McCuin. They are really beautifully made and work great, but I became frustrated at the small amount I could comb at a time.

So again taking others' advice (mostly from various Yahoo groups) I bought the Ramer super-minis for a step up in size, while still being able to be handheld if desired. They come in a carrier that also contains a jig to hold one comb stationary, and this seems to be easy to setup and also hold the comb very well.

On to some pictures:

Here is the stationary comb loaded with some washed Targhee locks. The comb handles have holes drilled in them. When fit back into the clamping jig, there is a wood-handled pin that goes through the jig and into the hole in the handle, thus holding the comb securely. There are two holes to match two different holes in the handle, so the comb can be mounted tines-up, or on its side with tines going sideways.

I mounted the comb with tines upward, then combed from one side to transfer the wool onto the moving comb. The next picture shows me about to start the second pass, where I comb downward and transfer the wool back onto the stationary comb.

Next I am pulling the wool from the stationary comb through a "diz". This pulls the fibers on the comb off into a nice long continuous roving that is ready for spinning.

The fibers really "poof up" if you release the tension on them, even though the hole in the diz seems so small.

Here is a shot of the waste that was left from combing. It is a little hard to photograph! It consisted mostly of short fibers and little fuzz balls, etc. Some of this fleece has lots of little bits of vegetable matters (VM) in it, and most of that seemed to fall away during combing, as well.

Here are the combs stored in the carrying case/combing jig with a basket of some finished rovings in the background! The combs also came with a tine-straightening tool.

These were definitely a splurge, but I have to say I am pretty pleased and think I will get a lot of use out of these combs.

Katie

Bustle on the Porch

Today, some Maryland spinners got to meet one another for a tea. This was laid out adjacent to the porch,

but pretty much we just did this.

That's Vicki, with her Ashford, and Amie with her Lendrum. Amie's only been spinning since the summer but she was spinning a wonderfully fine yarn out of some beautiful purple silk. Vicki was spinning up some batts she'd carded and dyed herself. She left me a little sample of llama top to play with. I was still spinning on my wonderful wonderful white Cormo, and I almost have one bobbin full.

We spun and gabbed, and gabbed, and gabbed, and Emily alternately ran wild around the house pulling out every toy she owned, and served everyone handfuls of cookies on toy plates. I was happy to meet some spinners who lived within 60 miles of me. I think we'll be doing this again.

Here's a summary of what's being knitted on the porch. This is Saga Rose, about 20 rows above the armhole steeks.

I just love how these colors work together, it's pure genius. I went and ordered one more hank of each of the dark blue background colors because I just didn't want to be worrying about this the whole time I was knitting.

This week, I finished up another little hank of shetland on the spindle. I've had this fiber for well over a year and I chip away at it because it spindles so easily. I seem to have a much easier time making lofty softspun yarn on a spindle than I do on a wheel, and that's what I'm purposely doing with this shetland.

This is the body of the Dale lace cardigan, I'm nearly done with one sleeve. This thing has been in work since June. I'm making faster progress now that I knit on it at lunch time, but there's still one more entire sleeve plus all the finishing (picot hem trim on the front edges and neckline, and picot hems to sew up all around every other edge, 6 button loops... AAGH!).

It's in fingering weight Alpafina, which is making a nice fabric but sheds like mad so I'm fearing I won't be able to show it off over a nice black shirt.

Finally, here is the 'macaroni and cheese' fisherman rib scarf, about 3/4ths done. I just love this Mostly Merino yarn and am sad that there does not seem to be anymore to be found anywhere - it's natural sheep white with dark hairs through it. I'm exploring crocheted edges so that I can put an edging on this with about 20 yards of spindled yarn that I have.

It's been a very happy fibery day.

Mittens

The 'Selbu' mittens are finished. They're a teeny bit big in all directions so I'm considering felting them lightly to bring them down in size. We'll see if I try it.

I found some errors in the pattern (found in Folk Mittens) that I sent to Interweave, and I found one additional one in the thumb chart (but not until I'd already knitted one thumb with the error). Also I made a mistake knitting one of the thumbs. So if you have sharp eyes maybe you can see two small ways in which the thumbs are not a perfect match?

On the left thumb, it's hard to see but the center dark stitch of the star is interrupted. about 3/4ths of the way up the motif, in one place by a bar of 5 light stitches - it should be 2 light, one dark, 2 light, and I got it right on the right thumb. Also, I accidentally knitted an extra dark row before starting the chart on the right thumb. Nothing I ever knit is free of these little personal goofups! I'm also not pleased that the caston edge of the right mitten flares so much. How did I manage that, on only one mitten? I'll never be bored as long as my own knitting is so mysterious to me.

I'm only about 8 rows below the armhole steeks on Saga Rose - pictures in a few days after I set the steeks. I'm thinking of swatching with my troublesome handspun black merino that I finished the other week, to see if it can be turned into anything.

That's all folks...

In hibernation

I spent two and a half weeks making one and a half sweaters.

Very cozy. The big one - for me - is only 100 stitches around. Scary, I know, but very satisfying for a time-strapped knitter. I've even worn it twice. The small one is for the small one - it's the "Funky Five Hour Baby Sweater". Seventy-six stitches around, but a lot fewer rows.

I feel like knitting with big chunky yarn is cheating, but the quick fix can't be beat at times.