Spin A Yarn for Ewe

or at least that is how I feel. The 3 day weekend was so busy I had almost no time to knit or spin. Saturday was taken up by our local Western Days. It consists of a very fun parade followed by a carnival and fair set up. We all had fun. They also had a rodeo but we passed on that and went to the barrel racing on Sunday instead. We also went to a vintage car show on Sunday. We also managed to go swimming both days. Monday we rested.

What I did manage to get done on the knitting front was ripped out by Saturday night as I was just not happy with how the lace was looking on the size needles I was using. I started with size 5's which should of been fine but the yarn is just that much thinner then lace weight that you really could not see any of the pattern as all of it was so open. Of course I decided this after I had kept on knitting on and off for 2 days. Guess it is better to rip it now rather then after it is all done.

Here it is started again. Not much to look at as I am only half way through the first of 25 repeats of the chart. The yarn is a really beautiful alpaca and is so soft. I am doing the Kimono Shawl from Folk Shawls. I may have to start something else that requires less concentration to knit along side it as otherwise I might go crazy. The pattern is easy but the yarn requires you to watch what you are doing especially on the new size 3 needles.

I did manage some spinning but really not much. This is the merino/bamboo from the Sweet Sheep Club.

I am going for a 17-18 WPI yarn and this single should get me that. Now I just have to finish this bobbin and do the next. If it turns out as planned and I get enough of it I plan to do the Diamond Fantasy Shawl with it. It has just enough subtle color shifting that I think it will be beautiful.

We finally got some sun yesterday so I ran out and took pictures of the Flower Basket. The colors are very close to real life. I really like how it turned out but I think I am going to give it away. I know the perfect person who I know will actually appreciate it and wear it.

Here is a close up of the edge and the basket pattern.

Specs
Pattern: Flower Basket Shawl from IK Fall 2004 or you can buy it at Fiber Trends
Yarn: Lace yarn from Spunky Eclectic in Dinah well under one skein
Modifications: I held the yarn single instead of doubled like they called for so I went down to size 4 needles to get a similar look. I had to do 5 extra repeats of the chart to get a similar size.

This was a great pattern that was easy to memorize as much as I can memorize 10 rows of knitting. Basically I would refresh my mind every row and then just knit away. One last shot.


I have already started on my next shawl. Yes, I am obsessed but I just love knitting them and then blocking them. It is so much fun to do. Plus lace weight yarn is probably about the right weight for wool yarn around here.

Now I just have to practice spinning my own 2 ply at that weight. I am thinking that merino/bamboo roving I have might be the first attempt.

Thank you all for such nice comments on the yarn and the shawl. But here she is in blocking stage.

You can click on any of these for the whole photo.

I finished it this morning since the bind off took me about an hour and a half to do. I ended up having to do 5 extra repeats to get a decent size but I am really happy I went with the needle size I did since it has good solid to lace ratio for me. The color is totally off in this photo but we haven't seen the sun since Sunday afternoon so outsides shots will come when it is dry.

A close up just for fun.

I also got a surprise package yesterday from Gina. She had gone to the New Hampshire Sheep and Wool Festival and got me a surprise.

The fiber is a BFL and Angelina batt from Foxfire Fiber & Designs, the small package is a sample of llama down. Basically it is llama that has been dehaired and it is so soft it should be illegal. Plus the program from the show. I love it all and especially that she took the time to think of me.

I am about to start on my next project with some new yarn that I found but for now we will just keep it secret until I decided for sure which pattern I am going to use. The yarn is so good that I think I might have a hard time confessing where I got it.

I finally got something done this week.

Yes, Strawberry Fields is finally plied. The yarn came out as a nice 2 ply and 281 yards so a little lighter then I usually spin.

I really like the colors in this one but I have no idea what to make with it.

I also worked on the Flower Basket Shawl.

See it really is getting bigger. This is with 3 extra repeats. I am going to do 4 then the last chart of 10 rows should make it about the size I want. I really have no idea what blocking will do to the size but it should be close. Worse case I think I have someone to give it to that will like it no matter what the size.

This weekend was so nice. We started out with a trip to Sea World since our annual passes are about to expire. It turned out to be a beautiful day with lots of sun but plenty of cool breezes. It also was special because there had been a dolphin birth just 36 hours before. It was so neat to see a baby dolphin. She was only about 40lbs and 3.5' long and very cute.

Sunday was totally relaxing. We had celebrated Mother's Day earlier in the week with my Mom and Grandmother as well as the men so the day was completely free. I decided since it was so nice that I would sit by the pool and knit and that is what I did.

See, I got lots done. I still have more to do even though the pattern says 7 repeats of the lace chart. This is 6 already and even with severe blocking it will be nowhere near the size I want. So I am thinking I will just keep going for a while. I knew this was going to happen since I used lace yarn but not doubled like it calls for and smaller needles, size 4 instead of 7, and of course I did not swatch since I just figured I could make it bigger by knitting more. I mean who really swatches for a shawl any way except to see if you like the fabric.

I also got some spinning done this weekend.

I now have 2 bobbins full of Strawberry Fields. Plying will be starting soon.

First off thank you all so much for your nice comments on my shawl. It was especially cool to even have Susan, the designer, see it done and like it. Also Ruth asked about putting in the wires and I have to say I really just slid them in. They are very fine, about a size 1 needle or 2.25mm, and I started at the top and wove it back and forth through the YO at the top and then just pulled out the points went through them and pulled and pinned. Much faster I know then all pins would of been. Plus straighter. Leah also asked if I was keeping it and I think I will since I really like it.

Now to the yarn I just got. Let me start out by saying I LOVE it but boy did my monitor trick me. I just got 2 skeins of lace yarn from Spunky Eclectic. I already know her fibers and colors are great so I had no fears in ordering yarn. I ordered Water Nymph and Dinah. I opened my box yesterday and thought, "Wow, is that what I ordered?" The Water Nymph on my monitor has a very light purple, almost pink, in it along with the other colors.

No light purple/pink in my skein at all and I am thrilled. You know after you order something and then you start to second guess your choice? Well, I did this with this one. No more.
Dinah was the same way. The skein I got has lots of dark pink in it which I love and I didn't even see in the picture I looked at.

You can see which one I plan to use first. I am going to do the Flower Basket Shawl form IK Fall 2004...or maybe the Swallow Tail Shawl from IK Fall 2006. I am having a hard time deciding but am leaning more towards the Flower Basket since I have seen more in the variegated yarn and like how they look.

Spring Things is done. Warning if you don't want to see tons of pictures of my first lace shawl then tune out now.

Once I finished the cast off this is what it looked like. Since there was no time to waste as I wanted it done I threw it into a bath with my Soak wash. I gathered all the rest of my supplies and a white towel and got ready to block. I have to say that the blocking has to be the most fun and with the wires it makes it so easy. I can not imagine doing it with pins only after using these wires and since I bought them at the welding supply I got about 15 for $5.

It was finally dry this morning and I got an after shot on at the same spot on the stairs.

Sure does grow with the blocking. I have to say that black is the hardest color to photograph and the beads are next to impossible but the color of them is great with the little bits of purple in the shawl.

I would say I am beyond pleased with this one.

Spring Things Shawl By Susan Lawrence
Yarn: Fingering Yarn dyed by me in black with bits of purple and grey in it.
Needles: Knit Picks Options in size 6 (Love these needles!)
Beads instead of nupps placed with a crochet hook
I made no modifications to the pattern other then the yarn substitution. I wanted to use something I had in stash instead of buying yarn since it was my first lace and I wasn't sure that I would like it. I have to say I really have the lace bug now. This pattern is super well written and the charts were great. I have never really used charts before but I really see why people love them. I finally get it.

Now all that is left to do is decide on my next lace project. I am thinking rectangle maybe.

I had lots of weekend progress the week. I am almost done with the Spring Things Shawl. I just finished the last of the scallop edge and I now have just 2 rows left. I am so ready to block this thing.

This is a shot of the bottom with the beads. I really love how it looks and can not wait to see the transformation that I know will happen with blocking.

As far as the blocking goes I decided to take some advice I found online and got some steel rods from the local welding supply store. It was so funny to go in there as the guy took one look at me after I told him what I wanted and said, "Are you going to be welding with these?" I should of said yes just to freak him out even more.

I also did some spinning this weekend. Not a lot but I did get started on the Spunky April fiber, Strawberry Fields.

I decided to split it up differently then I normally do so it will be fun to see what that does as far as lining up the colors. I don't really care I just needed to do something different. This time I split it lengthwise instead of just in half.

Today I really had nothing to post about since the black blob of lace is just looking bigger but I am almost done. I have one more row of beads then on to the last 14 rows. I can not wait to see it blocked as I think it should look really good. Hopefully.

But this came today from the Sweet Sheep club.

Oh my! It is merino and bamboo and I love the color. I have been on a pink thing for a while now and this really gets it. I can not wait to spin it up or maybe it will sit on my desk for a while so I can stare at it. I just love getting surprises in the mail. I see more club subscriptions in my future.

The other day Vera asked how I measure the yardage of my yarn. What I do is count the number of wraps on my niddy noddy as I wind it off and then to the math. I am sure there are other ways but I find this the easiest for me. And yes, Gina, those are Knit Picks needles you see in my lace. They are my new favorite and right in my price range. I fact I just ordered some more of the smaller sized ones.

I finally finished the MARCH fiber from Spunky and I love it. The colors are great and I think I may have enough for the sock/hat set I want to do. I ended up with 241 yards of DK weight yarn. Surprise, surprise on the yardage. The last 2 club fibers I spun up, Sweet Sheep and Spunky, both 4oz both exactly 241 yards just like this one.

Guess you can say that my spinning is consistent.

The lace is plugging away and I am almost up to the next set of beads. Those rows just have to be done at home since between the beads and the very small crochet hook all I can say is that it is not portable. I really hope that I can have this done by next Tuesday for dinner at my parents. I think it is possible. I am also eyeing other lace patterns already so I can see the lace bug coming on. Gina even made a button for lace in May. See over on the left.