I've been working on spinning a braid of Juliespins Rambouillet for the last week or so and am really enjoying it. In fact, I thought it was merino since it's so soft and lovely and drafts so beautifully. I've never spun "Rambo" before but now will probably do so again. The colorway is Stormy and the date on the tag is 6/09, so I've had it for awhile.
As I was spinning along, I realized that all the projects I'm currently working on are being knit from my handspun. I guess I've come a long way from a time when I decided I'd never be a spinner...how things change! I thought it might be fun to document these three projects. (Also, I'm still in the desert, where it's been about 114 degrees F the last couple of days, so I can't think of anything better to do than sit inside and knit, photograph knitting, and write about it. When I do actually venture out to the pool and sit in the sun (or more likely, shade) I work on the socks. The thought of even laceweight wool touching my lap is unpleasant. I know, I'm a weather wimp and probably when I get home next weekend I'll enjoy the coolness for a couple of days and then start whining about the clouds. Can't please some people!
Socks: I'm knitting with my Fiber Optic handspun in this lovely purple color called Iris. This was the first pencil roving I had spun on my wheel and I really liked working with it. And of course, the colors are gorgeous. The pattern is called Roundabout Socks and have a simple pattern on the cuffs and then plain stockinette feet.
Shawl: I spun up a batt I got from Butterfly Girl Designs in a club I belonged to a couple of years ago. I didn't note the fiber it was made from but it's sparkly so it has some angelina in it and probably is merino/silk or merino/bamboo. I kept it as a single and started the Norwegian Woods Shawl by Sivia Harding. I'm going to plan to do an extra repeat of the middle chart to use up as much yarn as I can. I already ripped this out once and started over, which is annoying but it does show me that my singles yarn, even in the veeeery thin spots, is stronger than it looks.
Shawl #2: This is being knit out of some nummanumma Alpaca/Merino that I spun awhile ago, too. I tried to knit with this yarn twice before but the patterns and the yarn didn't like each other. The garter stitch on the Piper's Journey shawl is just what the doctor ordered and I like the way this is coming out. I'll weigh the ball as I go along and try to use up as much of this yarn as I can, too.
So there ya go! Handspun heaven with "vintage" spinning. It's all good.
As I was spinning along, I realized that all the projects I'm currently working on are being knit from my handspun. I guess I've come a long way from a time when I decided I'd never be a spinner...how things change! I thought it might be fun to document these three projects. (Also, I'm still in the desert, where it's been about 114 degrees F the last couple of days, so I can't think of anything better to do than sit inside and knit, photograph knitting, and write about it. When I do actually venture out to the pool and sit in the sun (or more likely, shade) I work on the socks. The thought of even laceweight wool touching my lap is unpleasant. I know, I'm a weather wimp and probably when I get home next weekend I'll enjoy the coolness for a couple of days and then start whining about the clouds. Can't please some people!
Socks: I'm knitting with my Fiber Optic handspun in this lovely purple color called Iris. This was the first pencil roving I had spun on my wheel and I really liked working with it. And of course, the colors are gorgeous. The pattern is called Roundabout Socks and have a simple pattern on the cuffs and then plain stockinette feet.
Shawl: I spun up a batt I got from Butterfly Girl Designs in a club I belonged to a couple of years ago. I didn't note the fiber it was made from but it's sparkly so it has some angelina in it and probably is merino/silk or merino/bamboo. I kept it as a single and started the Norwegian Woods Shawl by Sivia Harding. I'm going to plan to do an extra repeat of the middle chart to use up as much yarn as I can. I already ripped this out once and started over, which is annoying but it does show me that my singles yarn, even in the veeeery thin spots, is stronger than it looks.
Shawl #2: This is being knit out of some nummanumma Alpaca/Merino that I spun awhile ago, too. I tried to knit with this yarn twice before but the patterns and the yarn didn't like each other. The garter stitch on the Piper's Journey shawl is just what the doctor ordered and I like the way this is coming out. I'll weigh the ball as I go along and try to use up as much of this yarn as I can, too.
So there ya go! Handspun heaven with "vintage" spinning. It's all good.
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