I just found a Solution to the problem of my neglect of a certain lovely yarn in my stash. I purchased this at least 2 years ago when I was living in Richmond, KY and shopping at The Stitch Niche in Lexington. I planned to design a shell with it, but at the time I'd not knit a garment before and wasn't really sure about how to construct it. This was my first big yarn purchase (i.e. enough of one thing to make a garment) so I wanted to make sure I'd devised/found the perfect pattern. Now that I've been knitting for more than a few months I actually feel like I can do this lovely yarn some justice. Very exciting.I do rather adore knitting socks and I've been admiring patterns and just generally looking at sock related things lately. Here are some super-awesome links I've found. I'm putting them here so I'll always be able to find them as I frequently reformat my hard drive.
Sock Size Analysis - gives average foot measurments for the different US shoe sizes. This is really handy if your recipient is not available for sizing sessions. I've linked to women's sizing, but you'll find links to men's & children's sizes at the bottom of the page.
Don't feel like paying $25 for sock blockers? Here is a simple and cheap alternative.
Work has been pretty crazy (but rewarding) lately, so I've not made much progress on the Green Gable. I still photographed it this morning since it was good picture-taking weather (i.e. sunny enough that even my dark apartment had vaguely natural light).So far the most impressive thing about this sweater is the drape of the bamboo yarn. I had my first bamboo spinning trial this morning and I've decided that it is the most difficult fiber to work with EVER! The fibers have no elasticity, nor do they have any affinity for each other. I'd just be twirling away, minding my own business, and my unworked fiber would just keep sliding until it broke under its own weight. Once I finished I realized that my black shirt was absolutely covered in little white bamboo hairs. It looked like I live with a very stressed out cat. I'll be content to purchase bamboo yarns rather than make my own. Totally not worth the trouble or the pethair rollers.
I also finally got around to photographing the incredibly thoughtful birthday gift Laurie gave me Wednesday night. The yarn is a superwash jacquard from a German company, ON LINE Yarns. They show all the colorways on the ballband, and Laurie totally picked the same one I would have - because she's awesome like that! She also included little goodies like foot soak tablets and cuticle balm (this will be especially handy in winter when my fingers are so dry that they snag the yarn as I knit). The little circles I've attached to the ball band are actually magnets designed to keep your knitting in place when you set your project aside. Now I can toss my WIPs (That's Works In Progress for those of you back at home ^_~) into my bag with impunity! Thanks so much, Laurie!
I did ply it, and it is my first yarn that resembles real yarn. It's so even! I'm in love. I took my other 3 yarns to work with me today and showed everyone (totally not kidding). This beauty will definately be coming tomorrow so I can demonstrate my slub-free prowess!
Note the lack of slubs!!! I can't believe that this is only the 4th sample I've spun. Your fingers just learn so quickly. I really want to switch to a wheel eventually, though. On a spindle I can't really keep the spin and draft well at the same time. My spindle spinning method is not at all correct, but it works for me. I want to switch to a wheel to free up both hands for quicker spinning.
I will spend tomorrow daydreaming about which fiber to try tomorrow night. I really want to do another tonight, but I must make these samples last! Hopefully Jan will attend open knit night on Wednesday so I can ask her where she gets her fibers. I've been eyeing some blends at Paradise Fibers, but I don't know how much to get as a beginner!
I've separated the arms on the green gable and I'll be starting some waist shaping soon. This fabric has such a lovely drape - just perfect for summer. I plan to wear this top on my birthday - leaving 11 days to finish. I can totally do that. According to yarn consumption I've got 2/3 left to knit.I have a theory that every knit blogger eventually trys spinning yarn. I took a spinning class down at Knit Picky on Saturday and created my first 2 yarns. The first is from combed merino, and the second is a dyed soysilk blend. The class was very informative and you could tell that Jan (the instructor) was someone who was passionate about her craft and loved to share it with others. She gave us samples of almost every kind of fiber available so we could play around and see what we like most. We even got to try our hand at a spinning wheel. She got so genuinely excited about our yarns - the whole experience was really encouraging and thrilling. Thank you Jan & Helper (whose name I have forgotten - I met a lot of new people that afternoon)!!
When I started I was a little frustrated with my corkscrews and slubs, but by the end of the 2 hours I was free of the corkscrews and I'd learned to love my slubs. Someday I'll spin an even yarn, but until then I'll pet the slubs because really they're much softer than the rest of the yarn. It just brings you back to the fiber used to spin it.
My favorite part is plying to create a balanced yarn (one that won't unspin). You take this wirey beast of a single, twist the ends in the opposite direction and suddenly it's yarn. Truly a magical moment.
I am so proud of them! Tonight I will be trying another fiber type and really working on spinning a thin single. I know spinning evenly comes with practice, my biggest questions now are more technical. For example - how does one create a 3-ply? Do you have to keep the third strand separate? And how would one ply on a spinning wheel? I expect I'll be purchasing one by the end of the year!
