Playing catchup

It's true, I've been a lazy blogger lately. Manon kindly pointed this out in her last comment :)

Things have been busy (as per usual) but that hasn't kept me from playing with fiber in many ways. Here is a quick update to attempt to get you up to speed.

SPINNING OBJECTS:

This is what I'm calling Autumn Foliage Yarn. It's the Coopworth that I dyed myself and then spun up at the spinning retreat. I really love how it turned out and I think it's destined for a pair of socks for me. Possibly the Tyrolean Socks in Interweave Fall 2007.




Next up we have a bit of a mess up really. Manon kindly gave me some beautiful dyed silk in gorgeous colors (I'm kicking myself for not taking a picture of it). I spun it all up onto one spindle and then wasn't sure what to do with it. I had this white yarn in my stash and it had a silky sheen to it and I thought they would go well together. The white yarn was a single ply so I decided to ply them together. This was almost a good idea because they do look beautiful together. Look closely at the picture below to see the colors of the silk come through.


It turned out though that the yarn was spun in the opposite direction as the silk (I think). I've soaked and hung this skein but the plies don't seem to want to stay together. I'm not sure if I'll be able to knit with it so I have not plied any more. I'll have to knit a swatch and see if it knits up ok. This was an important lesson learned.


I have also picked and washed up the Romney fleece I bought at the spinning retreat. No pictures yet though.

FINISHED OBJECTS:

Using handspun Navajo plied polworth, I knitted a Montego Bay scarf. I love this pattern and this yarn!




Socks for my Secret Pal (shhh). They are knit in Regia bought when I was in Ottawa and it's the Heat Wave pattern (of course).


These are my first pair of toe up socks I made and they are men's size 11 so the foot is long compared to the leg. The pattern is a garter rib and they are knit with a cotton-wool blend.



STARTED and ON THE NEEDLES:

100% cotton socks (yuck). I really don't like knitting in cotton but I have a really good friend that this is worth making for. She can't wear wool so I found some Regia 4 ply cotton that is mentioned in No Sheep For You. I do love the color though. This first sock is completed (no pic yet) but the second is not yet casted on.


Another toe up sock. This is Fleece artist merino yarn and I'm very glad I split the yarn in 2 equal amounts and knit toe up. They are for my step dad who has size 11 feet so I ran out of yarn. I changed to a brown Fleece artist merino and knit the cuff. It's not a perfect plan, but I still think he'll like them. I'm also nervous these are two narrow, but Troy tried them on and width wise they were comfortable. Fingers crossed they fit my step dad too as they are a Christmas present. This sock is complete now (no pic) and the next one is cast on and knit up past the toe.


This is the start of my Mom's cardigan vest knit in BLACK SOCK YARN! I'm absolutely crazy to be attempting this for a Christmas present but I never did claim to be sane.


That's all for now. There are a few more items but I'm going to do a photo shoot tonight and I will try to post those before the weekend. Besides, this catchup post is getting too long already. See up much stuff I get accomplished when I'm not posting.