My Newest Obsession,

Spinning.

I decided to go visit Birkeland Bros a few days ago to look for a nice yarn for John's upcoming Tomten sweater. While I was browsing I noticed some drop spindles behind the counter. I've always wanted to learn, but never had anyone to teach me. I bought a small bag of Shades of Narnia (from Chilliwack) at the PNE a few years ago, and had no idea what to do with it.


So I bought a student drop spindle and 2 lbs of roving in two lovely greens. Pearl showed me how to use the spindle and I headed for home.

It took me a while to be able to spin the spindle and a) not drop it and b) know when backspin was going to destroy what I had just made. My first yarn was lumpy and ugly and wonderful.
I made about 6 yards. I seriously have no idea how much of it there is, but definately not enough to do *anything* with. I'm just going to keep it for sentimental reasons.


My *second* handspun is more like real yarn. I'm still not sure on the yardage of it, but it's about 100g of fibre. I should be able to actually make something out of it. It's a two-plu aran weight, made from the bag of Narnia roving. It's incredibly pretty. I've just got it drying at the moment, but I'll post photos of it when it's all clean and dry and wound. I can't wait to knit with it.


I also got a great steal at Value Village the other day. A large men's wool sweater, handknit. I'm in the process of ripping it all out. The yarn is a fingering weight, I think, and a beautiful blue-green colour. I'm looking forward to doing something with it, though I'm not sure what yet.

Charbonne On The Needles

The Cozy V-Neck Sweater from Fitted Knits. Or rather it will be. Really nice to knit, though there is a bit more ribbing than I enjoy. I'm using a bag of Shetland Chunky left over from when Lewiscraft closed. A little worried about the yarn not holding up over time after all this ribbing, but I can't justify not using it for something.


I also took a nice picture of John's hat. I think I may use this when I post the pattern. I just need some photos with him in it and I'm set.

BAMF!!!

I am designing some mittens:

They are, without a doubt, the coolest things I have ever designed. I'm working my second one, and refining the pattern so that I can release it. I'm hoping to make it a free Ravelry download once I get the sizes all figured out. They are super fun to wear!


I have had this idea in my head for a very long time, obviously inspired by Nightcrawler of Marvel fame. I used some Paton's Decor that I had lying around, the perfect colour blue. Not my favourite yarn but certainly well-suited for this project. The mitts I am making will be the small of the pattern; there will be an XS, M and L as well. I was considering doing a colour changed and a bit of a stitch change and making Ninja Turtle mitts as well!

On a side note: I have the most beautiful cat in the world . . .

Some Knitting For Your Eeballs . . .

I present to you: John's Cobblestone

This is the first sweater I've made John, but certainly not my last. It was a joy to knit, despite the yarn (Paton's Decor in Rich Blue) being full of knots and otherwise inconsistent. I very much enjoyed the construction and the garter stitch, which was surprisingly satisfying to knit up. It will need some blocking, and potentially some lengthening, but we will see how it goes after it is properly shaped.

In a potentially vain attempt to thin my ever-growing and mutating stash, I made some mittens. I had bought a skein of Thrumming when I worked at Knitter's Bazaar and had not yet built up the courage to use it. I had also acquired a bag full of half-balls of Paton's Classic Merino Wool in all manner of variegates. I thought it might be fun to work up some colourful Newfie Mitts . . . and it was! They are ridiculously warm and I really like the eclectic look of them. Unfortunately (?) it is not cold enough at the moment to wear them. Hopefully this doesn't change!

Admittedly I bought some more yarn. This is the one (ONE, just one) skein that I purchased at Granville Island on my Vancouver Adventure. It's silk and it's hand-dyed and hand-spun and it's lovely. It's hiding out in a zippered baggie at the moment. I can't risk anything happening to it. One day it will become a kerchief. The most beautiful kerchief in all the land.

And this beauty is my latest monster. It's Ganomy Hat, by Elizabeth Zimmermann, and arguably my favourite hat I've made to date. It was super-fast to knit up and valiantly managed to use up every last scrap of one particular ball of Alsfoss Lopi that I had no clue what to do with.

The little star is from "Christmas-Fiddle-Faddle" by Zimmermann, and (I think) adorable.
This Lopi stuff I have never before had the honor of working with. I use "honor" lightly. It was like a Norwegian sheep stomped on my fingers before exploding in my face. My entire workspace was/is (depending on when one reads this post) covered in wiry bristles of yarn. My fingers are sore and dry. The hat looks awesome though, and isn't unpleasant to wear at all. It sure does make me feel like a gnome!