Flashing

For Secret Pal 11, contest number 3 is to Flash Your Stash so here it is:



My stash is all kept in this rack. It was in the shed when we bought the house so I cleaned it up and it became my Yarn Rack. Recently I destashed my stash (there is a big garbage bag sitting in my craft room over flowing with yarn) and I'm giving away the yarn I no longer have a use for to a seniors home. Since I packed this bag up probably over 3 weeks ago I figure it is now no longer part of my stash, I just haven't gotten it out of the house yet.

When I destashed, I put all of the yarn I was keeping into the rack in colors.

Pinks


Greens


Browns & Oranges


Blues


And last but not least, Greys



Before the color system my yarn was categorized by type of yarn and weight of yarn. I like this system better, especially for using left over yarns with other left overs into projects you would never have thought of until you saw the yarns together.

Like this scarf I made yesterday. It's a combo of some fur yarn and ladder yarn worked horizontally.

Next up ...

... An extremely colorfully pink lizard scarf!



Half way done this quick easy knit. Again, this is my handspun plied using a navajo ply. The fleece is polworth and was dyed at London-Wul Farm.

Tizzie Episode 3: Mixed is Spun

For those that have not been following the Tizzie episodes you can read back here and here.

All of the Tizzie fleece has now been washed.

The next step was to start really spinning it. The mixed colored (medium grey) was first on the agenda. It was carded first, by hand with dog slickers. Next came the fun part, spinning! I spun all of the fiber into 8 single ply balls and labeled them as I went. They were all very close to 50g so that when I plied them I would not have much waste. I then plied the first with the eighth, the second with the seventh and so on. I did this so that if I had veered off from the ply I wanted it would blend in better to make a more consistent yarn. I have no idea if this really worked but it seemed like a good theory.



Here is all the medium grey fiber spun up into a 2 ply worsted yarn. It is about a worsted weight as well. I have not counted the yardage yet but there is 382g in total of this color.





Back to carding the white fleece now.

Lizard scarf mistake

If you previously copied the Lizard scarf pattern please go back and get it again. I mistakenly mixed up the rows.

Thanks Kim for letting me know!

My favorite handspun yet

All time favorite handspun to date is now completed. The fiber was purchased at London-Wul farm and had been hand dyed by Heidi in these amazing colors.



My friend, Line, had purchased the fiber after I pointed out to her how it was a perfect match for her color tastes. And then I said "And I would spin it for you, as long as it's less than 8ounces!". Heidi kindly bagged it for her, providing a little more than 8 ounces but I wasn't supposed to know.



She plans to make this gorgeous shawl. Can you imagine how beautiful that will be? I can't wait. I'm sure she will blog about it so we can all follow along in the progress.

My first SP11 Package has arrived!

I received a terrific package from my 'Pal' for the Secret Pal 11 exchange. She is from Edmonton and that's my first clue to try to figure out who she is. How many computer savy knitters can there be in Edmonton anyway?



First the yarn: Trekking XXL (love) in subtle shades of beige, pink and browns (love it!). And Tofutsies which is made of soy silk, cotton and chittin, how cool! Two types of stitch markers from Crimson Orchid. Yarn sewing needles, a zipper charm in the shape of a sweater on the needles, row counters and M&Ms. Quite the loot!

Thanks PAL

Lizard scarf

This is my newest favorite project!



It is made with navajo plied Polworth handspun from fleece I bought at London-Wul. Heidi had dyed it in the best autumn colors.


I found the stitch pattern in Stitchionary I and it worked out perfectly.

**UPDATE - The rows were mixed up but are now corrected**
Here are the instructions:
CO 26 sts on 5.5mm needles (larger than normal)
Row 1 & 2: Knit
Row 3: *K6, YO, K1, YO x 2, K1, YO x 3, K1, YO x 2, K1, YO, repeat from * to last 6 stitches. K6.
Row 4: Knit letting all YO's drop
Row 5 & 6: Knit
Row 7: K1, *YO, K1, YO x 2, K1, YO x 3, K1, YO x 2, K1, YO, K6, repeat from * to last stitch, K1
Row 8: Knit letting all YO's drop

Repeat 8 rows until scarf is desired length. I used the full 4 ozs with just enough left to cast off.




I like this scarf so much I've now bought 2 more bags of fiber to make more for Christmas presents. Better get spinning, but first I'm now off to an Organizational Behavior class.

Secret Pal Contest #2

I'm involved in the Secret Pal exchange again this fall. They are having contests every once in a while and all you have to do is post the answers to questions. Here are the questions and answers for contest #2:

1. What is the one knitting accessory you could not live without?

My ball winder and swift. I can't believe I survived without them for so long, but now that I have them I will always need them.

2. If you're heading on vacation, do you take knitting with you? If so, how much and what type of project?
Check out my last two posts. I brought 5 projects and there was a variety of knitting 'types'. There were 2 pairs of socks, one easy and one that you need to follow a chart for. Also an easy to knit scarf. One project that had not been started yet and one vest that is a bigger project.

3. Where have you travelled to that you'd consider your favorite spot?
Southern California was my favorite spot that I've travelled to lately. I love the coast there and the warmth and lack of rain. British Columbia was also great but the weather there just does not match California.

4. What is your favorite knitting book at the moment? Do you own it?

It's a toss up between Sensational Knitted Socks and Victorian Lace Today. I love them both but for different reasons. I find SKS a great reference book and actually brought it with me on my last trip. VLT has many patterns I'd love to knit but they all take a long time (mostly). It's the type of book you can just sit and enjoy thumbing through the pages and admiring the beautiful pictures.
I own both of these books but I'd love to get More Sensational Knitted Socks to see if it would become my new favorite.

5. Do you listen to podcasts? Which is your favorite(s)?
Yes I do. My favorites are Cast ON, Lime & Violet and Knit Picks Podcast. I often listen to podcasts while spinning.

6. If you could only knit with 1 color for the rest of your life, what color would that be?
Oh, it's so hard to pick just one color! I think I'd have to say green. I love knitting with green and have noticed that since I reorganized my stash in colors that I have a lot of green so I could possibly knit with it for the rest of my life!

7. If you were far into a project and then noticed a mistake near the beginning what would you do?
Depends on the project. There are some that just have gotten put into a bag and set a side for a few months. Typically then once the bruising has gone I will dig it out and frog it. Sometimes I will then start over or I'll just move on and not do that project again. It really depends on how much I wanted it.

8. Where is the most unsual spot you've ever knit?

I've knit on the rocks at Peggy's Cove. I didn't knit long but it was long enough for a photo opp.

Back at it

I've been back for a week today and have been so busy I didn't even have a chance to blog. My trip to Ottawa was terrific.

Anna and Rob are officially married and here are the cute couple. Check out her shoes... I just love that she wore red shoes. This wedding was very original but keeping with some tradition as well. It was beautiful at an old Mill in Mannotick, ON.


While in Ottawa I visited a couple yarn shops. The first was Wool-Tyme where I picked up a few items. Just a couple balls of sock yarn and a couple really neat (and cheap) sock bags.



I also visited Yarn Forward out in Kanata but didn't purchase anything there.

An update on the items that I brought with me for the car drive:

1. One Toe up sock completed. It looks very ackward due to the 2x2 ribbing but it fits a man's size 11 pretty well. Not crazy about the heel though. I might try a different heel technique the next time I make toe up socks. By the way, this pattern is from Interweave Summer 2007. They have a great tutorial on toe up socks.




2. Montego Bay scarf completed




3. One Sweet Pea sock completed




4. Half a cable bootie completed and ready to be frogged. Love the pattern and the yarn but half a bootie has taken up half the yarn. There is no way I'll get 2 booties out of this yarn.
   
   



5. Vneck vest has progress. I'm not at the arm holes on the back.
   

I of course did not get to the 'extra' yarn I brought with me.