Shutterbug (Take Two)
(I just wrote this post, in its entirety, and when I clicked on 'submit' the entire post disappeared. Nowhere to be found. I will now emerge from my cloud of blue smoke and attempt to reproduce it.)
I've been composing so many imaginary blog posts in my head the last week that I have accumulated quite a pile of (non-imaginary) pictures. After downloaded and uploading them today, I realized that there were too many for one post. Gotta spread out the love!
Due to my spectacular packing efforts in preparation for our move to the Big Smoke, I only found my spindle last week (after unpacking the final box). During fibreartfan's visit I pulled it out and gave it a whorl (hee). Because you know that the knitting obsession wasn't enough...
This is my first handspun single. The roving came from knittinggoof with the spindle. The dye-job is mine.
A little... rustic. During the course of spinning this I got a lot better at controlling the spindle and drafting the fibre. I plied it for practice:
It is more than a little gaudy, but it served its purpose well! Now that I had been well and bitten, we headed out on a tour of the city, and having stopped at Lettuce Knit, I picked up a hand-dyed Fleece Artist merino roving. I was aiming to make a light worsted single that I could knit with directly. Something along the lines of Manos or Malabrigo. This is what I got:
There are about 70 yards/50g there. (as much as it pains me to measure in yards, the distance around the top of my kitchen chairs is exactly one yard. Can't argue with that) I was pretty happy with those results, though I suppose I should have got more yardage for the quantity. I like the texture of it, there are very few super-thin parts, it is much more consistent than my first attempt!
While at Romni Wools, I stumbled upon a basket of FA rovings... I couldn't resist taking home a Blue Faced Leicester roving. It was very different to spin than the merino, it was much loftier and fluffy. It was also easier to get a thinner thread. I aimed for something thin that I could ply, but not so thin that it would drive me crazy:
This is 144 yards of sock weight. More consistent than the merino, but still some variation. I am planning on plying this when I am finished spinning. I have at least another 40 yards between what is on the spindle and the roving that is left. I am not sure whether to buy another roving and try and make socks, or just use what I have. I had put the spindle down since Monday, but picked it up again last night:
I love the way it looks with fresh yarn wound around. Mike pointed out that now the inscription is correct:
Those are the Latin principal* parts of the verb 'to spin': I spin, to spin, I HAVE spun, it has been SPUN! (by me!!) Very fitting now. Ah, the geekiness!
I haven't given up on Christmas knitting, just saving that for another post. This post seems a lot shorter than the original it replaces. I suppose that is for the better!
*I never can remember whether it should be principal or principle. I asked Mike, and he went to look it up just in case, whereupon we discovered that we do not have an English dictionary! Latin, Greek, Hebrew, German, and French, yes. English? No. What does that say??
I've been composing so many imaginary blog posts in my head the last week that I have accumulated quite a pile of (non-imaginary) pictures. After downloaded and uploading them today, I realized that there were too many for one post. Gotta spread out the love!
Due to my spectacular packing efforts in preparation for our move to the Big Smoke, I only found my spindle last week (after unpacking the final box). During fibreartfan's visit I pulled it out and gave it a whorl (hee). Because you know that the knitting obsession wasn't enough...
This is my first handspun single. The roving came from knittinggoof with the spindle. The dye-job is mine.
A little... rustic. During the course of spinning this I got a lot better at controlling the spindle and drafting the fibre. I plied it for practice:
It is more than a little gaudy, but it served its purpose well! Now that I had been well and bitten, we headed out on a tour of the city, and having stopped at Lettuce Knit, I picked up a hand-dyed Fleece Artist merino roving. I was aiming to make a light worsted single that I could knit with directly. Something along the lines of Manos or Malabrigo. This is what I got:
There are about 70 yards/50g there. (as much as it pains me to measure in yards, the distance around the top of my kitchen chairs is exactly one yard. Can't argue with that) I was pretty happy with those results, though I suppose I should have got more yardage for the quantity. I like the texture of it, there are very few super-thin parts, it is much more consistent than my first attempt!
While at Romni Wools, I stumbled upon a basket of FA rovings... I couldn't resist taking home a Blue Faced Leicester roving. It was very different to spin than the merino, it was much loftier and fluffy. It was also easier to get a thinner thread. I aimed for something thin that I could ply, but not so thin that it would drive me crazy:
This is 144 yards of sock weight. More consistent than the merino, but still some variation. I am planning on plying this when I am finished spinning. I have at least another 40 yards between what is on the spindle and the roving that is left. I am not sure whether to buy another roving and try and make socks, or just use what I have. I had put the spindle down since Monday, but picked it up again last night:
I love the way it looks with fresh yarn wound around. Mike pointed out that now the inscription is correct:
Those are the Latin principal* parts of the verb 'to spin': I spin, to spin, I HAVE spun, it has been SPUN! (by me!!) Very fitting now. Ah, the geekiness!
I haven't given up on Christmas knitting, just saving that for another post. This post seems a lot shorter than the original it replaces. I suppose that is for the better!
*I never can remember whether it should be principal or principle. I asked Mike, and he went to look it up just in case, whereupon we discovered that we do not have an English dictionary! Latin, Greek, Hebrew, German, and French, yes. English? No. What does that say??