WIP Wednesday

First, an update on something posted before:

The Corgi Hill BFL is plied. I decided to go for a basic 2 ply, and it looks lovely on the bobbin at least.  Of course it still needs to be skeined and washed but the spinning at least is done.

I also casted on a new projects recently.  (Don't worry, I've finished stuff too but that's for another day)

The beginnings of a the Beautiful Baby Sweater from 101 Luxury One Skein Wonders, which will be going to one of my co-workers who's having a baby towards the end of the summer.

FO Friday: Mother's Day Nutkins

 Like so many parents, my mom and dad are hard to shop for.  Fortunately, my mom can usually be pleased with one of my knits.  So when I realized that Mother's Day was approaching back in April I offered to give my mom any of the projects that I was working on at the time or to make something else for her.  When I mentioned I had a pair of socks on the needles she made her decision very quickly.

These are the socks she choose, Nutkins made with Dream in Color Smooshy in Beach Fog.  As many have said Smooshy is a lovely yarn.  The colors are vibrant and the yarn is smooth and springy. It even holds up well after wearing and washing.  It's just perfect for socks in my opinion.  The pattern was great too, though I decided to do my regular heel rather than the short row heel called for.   I'm a little sad to give them away, but of course my mom deserves them.

WIP Wednesday

A half granny square shawl using Plymouth Zino.  I lost the tag so I'm not sure what color this is, but it looks nice in the pattern.

Two bobbins of corgi hill farm BFL.  I'm still trying to decide if I want to navajo ply them or just do a 2 ply.  We shall see...

WIP Wednesday

My latest projects...

A diamond rain vest in Knitpicks Comfy for my sister.  The back is already done so just the front to do.

And...

Nutkin Socks in Dream in Color Smooshy.  They hardly count as a WIP since all I need to do is close up the toe on this sock and then weave in the ends.  Yay progress!

My New Toy

This year I got my birthday present early.

Its my very own spinning wheel!  A Lendrum double treadle that I found used on Ravelry.  The former owner is moving across the country so my family and Robert all chipped in so that I could give it a new home.

I have to say I am in love.  In the two weeks since I got it I've managed to spin a lot of fiber.  First, there's the 4 ounces of Romeny that I spun the very first weekend I had it.  Its now 120 yards of plush 2 ply aran weight yarn.  Its feels soft and squishy and I plan to knit it into a ribbed hat.

There's also the alpaca/silk I bought at Rhinebeck last fall.  Its now 260 yards of DK weight 2 ply. The loose blend of the fibers gives the finished yarn a tweedy look, which I love.

I also learned how to Navajo ply on it and made 2 mini skeins to practice

On the wheel now is Corgi Hill Farms BFL in Bells of Ireland.  The BFL is very nice to spin. The long fibers make it easy to draft, and its pretty soft.

This picture was taken Friday, and that bobbin is almost full now. If I keep this up I'll be plying by the end of the week.  Good thing the Sheep & Wool Festival is this weekend :)

Comfort and Joy

I have been a bad blogger of late.  It turns out that working full time eats up a lot of free time.  My job is very busy, so I have no spare day time to blog. This is complicated by the fact that I've been doing holiday knitting recently.  So much of knitting can't even be shared right now.

But tonight I did a little something for myself.  I wound up 2 skeins of Lorna's Laces Greenline Worsted in Ysolda Red. I plan for these to become a hat and mittens.  The colorway is a bright, bright red.  This little phone photo (my camera is dead of course) doesn't even come close to portraying the glorious, almost  neon, red of this colorway.  But I have Christmas carols stuck in my head and this colorway makes me feel cheery so I had to share anyway.

Hopefully, my camera batteries will charge quickly and then I can share a better in progress shot soon.  I hope everyone else if enjoying the holiday season and finding their own little bits of joy.

Happy Halloween!

Yikes it's been so long since I've updated.  Working seriously cuts into my blogging and internet time but I've still been enjoying lots of fiber related goodness.  Like I went to Rhinebeck for the first time, and it was awesome!  I only did a day trip on Sunday and can now understand why people go for the weekend.  There is so much going on that I just couldn't get to everything.  I walked around all the vendors and animals but I missed out on the events since I was so busy fondling yarn and fiber.

I did get lots of goodies.  The one I'm most excited about is my new Bosworth spindle made of Tasamanian Rose Myrtle.  It weighs 26 grams and spins beautifully.  In the picture its wearing some baby camel fiber, another Rhinebeck goodie.

I also went to the Stitches yesterday.  I didn't sign up for any classes since they filled up so quickly but I wandered around the market place for awhile.  I loved the Miss Babs booth and simply could not resist getting some of their lovely spinning fiber.  I picked a wool, bamboo, and silk blend in their 'Up up and away' colorway.

And tomorrow marks the beginning of Knit a Sweater Month! Rather than start a new project I'm pledging to finish my current sweater project before November is over.  I have a pretty serious head start so maybe I'll actually succeed.  Below are the fronts of the Minimalist Cardigan from the Fall 2007 IK.  They're coming along nicely and the back is already done.

I'm using Berocco Ultra Alpaca.  What is truly amazing is that I bought this yarn to make this sweater probably two years ago.  How often does a knitter buy yarn for a project, get distracted by other things for a long ass time, and then actually use the yarn for the intended project?  This is a first for me at least.