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So, I’ve been a big slacker lately.
Not really. There’s just been a lot going on and my knitting and spinning time has been sparse. But tomorrow night is knitting night (I’m playing hostess this week!) and Sunday and Monday look promising as I have no plans. Hopefully I will get some things finished this weekend.
Speaking of which, I finally made some progress on the Noro socks last weekend:
I finally finished one of the socks and I’m now about halfway through the leg of the second sock. So, it will definitely get finished this weekend.
So, yeah. This was a sad little update… but I’ll have more to update this weekend. Much to do, much to do!
I’m obsessing over my macabre batt tonight. I’m desparate to get this spun up just because I’m dying to see what it is going to look like once it is plied. I really think that I’m going to be in love with it.
I need some more fiber to spin. I’ve spent the last couple of days window shopping online for yummy fiber and I’ve found plenty that is begging to be purchased. The amount of self-control that I’ve been exercising lately has truly astounded me. I honestly don’t know where it’s coming from. Normally, stash enhancement is my biggest weakness (and favorite indulgence). But I feel as though all of my restraint is going to burst through in a fit of a fiber-buying downward spiral that will leave my checking account feeling the wrath. It’s going to be ugly (BEAUTIFUL) when it happens. (I can’t wait!)
This past week has flown by. Tonight I am mentally preparing myself for the return to work tomorrow. The thought of waking before 8:30 am is probably the biggest thing that I am dreading. Although, I suppose I really am dreading the actual work itself, but there’s not a whole lot that I can do about it. I’m just trying to figure out how I’m going to make it through ravelry withdrawl since I will not be able check the forums every hour as I have been for the last week. Stupid work firewall.
Lots of photos ahead…
For the record, I didn’t complete 7 projects. I only eeked out 4 completed items this week. But I’m okay with it. Because I did still accomplish quite a bit. Plus, I’m relaxed and content and that’s really what my ultimate goal for the week was. In addition to the first two pairs of fingerless gloves I have also completed a second pair of Maine Morning Mitts in Noro Silk Garden:
and most exciting of all, I finished the Eclipse socks!
I love these socks. Like, really really really love these socks. They look awesome. I was surprised at how long it took me to add the ribbon to the socks. (This is probably why I only finished 4 projects this week!) I can safely say that I will not be doing another swiss darning project for at least a couple of months, as I am all swiss darned out for right now. But, it does look really good and well, these socks would not rock as much as they do without the swiss darning.
And I’ve started a new sock project. I finally broke down and cast on the embossed leaves socks that I’ve been saving my knitting notions sock yarn for.
These are knitting up more quickly than I expected, which is always a good thing.
And lastly, I broke down this week and purchased my first Bosworth spindle. Oh, I am in love.
It’s a purpleheart mini. .77 oz of spinning beauty. I can’t decide what to spin on it first. Hmmm… what wants to become laceweight? Look at it… it almost glows!
I’m off to find some dinner and enjoy my last few hours of vacation. So sad that it’s ending…
I had good intentions today. I was going to knit up some groovy fingerless mitts. I’ve had this gorgeous Araucania Nature Wool in my stash for too long that has been begging to be knitted and I knew that it would be awesome as fingerless mitts. So, I grabbed the pattern that I had been eyeing for a while and cast on. So, the gauge wasn’t right on the first try. So, I frogged, went down a needle size. I knitted the cuff and started the cables. But wait! The cable in the pattern was NOT the same cable in the photo of the finished mitts that the designer had so kindly provided. I felt jipped. I frogged a second time. At this point, I grabbed a new pattern and cast on again. Well, these mitts just looked sad. It would have been a waste to use this lovely yarn on these dull mitts. Screw knitting. So, I give you the remains of my efforts:
What a waste of knitting.
So, I gave up on the knitting all together and decided to tackle the macabre batt that has been frustrating me for a few weeks. This is the first time that I’ve spun from a batt (I’m used to spinning top in strips) and it’s been rather difficult to maneuver. So, before I dove into it, I did a little googling and found a page on the rolag method. Ah, the answer to all of my blended batt problems! I made my first rolag and went to town, spinning it up in no time at all. So, now I’ve just started the second rolag and I’m sure that this fiber will be spun up in no time at all now.
And have I mentioned how much I love my BFG spindle? Oh, I do, I do, I do!
In other knitting news, I finished the first sock of the Eclipse socks last night. The first sock for the Noro socks is right behind it, only needed the heel added. Three days down on the vacation and I only have one finished product, so I’m a little concerned. But I’ll get to seven. Back to the batt…
It’s day two of my sorely needed vacation. I’m loving it. I’m loving it even more that I don’t have to go to work tomorrow.
I’ve decided to spend this week knitting and spinning and getting caught up with all of the projects that I’ve been dying to work on. I’ve made a list of 11 projects (both knitting and spinning) that have been begging to be done and my goal is to finish at least 7 of them and have a good start the other 4 projects. I kept all of the projects simple because I’ve been in need of instant knitting gratification as of late. The lace shawls and scarves are just a little too exhausting for me right now. Plus I’m going through a fingerless mitts phase.
Speaking of fingerless mitts, I can now cross off the first project on my list. Evangeline Eclipsed.
(I’m loving this pattern. Can you tell?) I used my recently spun Spunky Club fiber for these and I love them. They also hold the honor of being the first project that I’ve knitted with my own handspun. And I love that about them. Again, process. Taking the unspun fiber and turning it into a knitted finished object is immensely satisfying. But, I still had quite a bit of yarn left over after finishing these beauties, so I grabbed another fingerless mitts pattern and knit these up this afternoon: Maine Morning Mitts.
These are a really simple 2 x 1 rib and took about 4 hours to knit up. I love that I was able to get 2 projects out of this fiber.
So, now I need to get hopping on another project. (And for the record, I WILL finish that damn cormo that has been sitting on the wheel for months this week if it kills me. And it just may…) I’ve got two socks in process that need to be completed: Eclipse socks and noro striped socks. I’m thinking noro striped socks tonight. Well, they won’t be finished tonight as I’m only half-way through the first sock. But I think that I could get it finished tonight, no problem. And tomorrow I will tackle the spinning for a while.
It’s going to be a good week.
I have finally finished spinning my very first shipment of Spunky Club fiber! I give you Eclipse:
It’s hand painted Romney and it’s fuzzy and wonderful in a way that only Romney can be. (I’m more than pleased with my first month in the club and now I cannot wait for the August fiber to get here!) I spun it as singles on a spindle and it’s approximately 11 wpi. So, a good worsted to bulky weight. It was a relief to be able to spin something a little more substantial than lace. I worked so hard at spinning thin that it was almost as if I had forgotten how to spin a heavier weight.
On the knitting front, I’ve gone back to the striped Noro sock. I wasn’t happy with it. The heel flap was screwing up the stripes and the colors and it just wasn’t working for me. So after some thought, it came to me: afterthought heel! Now there will be no break in the color progression of the stripes and I will be able to feel much better about them. So, I ripped out the gusset and heel flap and have knitted in my pseudo row and I’m ready to finish these babies up!
I’m still not pleased with the not-seam that I’m praying will block away…
And for the record, Dawn has Broken. I read Breaking Dawn and while it was not what I expected, I’m learning that I loved it more than I thought I would. And I’m happy. I’m really truly happy with what happened. And that’s all that I shall say here in the realm of possible spoiler-land (for those who haven’t finished yet). Now, if she’d just release Midnight Sun…
