Hard to Spin

Look at the lovely colors of this roving. Aren't they beautiful?? I absolutely loved it until I started spinning it. I only have 4 oz and have half spun. I pre-drafted and I thought that would work nicely but boy were my hands in pain. I believe it might have been processed too harshly in the dyeing process and some of the colors had slightly felted. I have to spin it tightly to keep it from breaking apart. Then when I get to a couple of the colors it gets all stuck and it breaks again. I posted to the Yahoo Groups "Spin to Knit Socks" and asked what I could do. A lady responded that I could spin from the other end. I would except I am trying to make a striping yarn when I ply it together. Her other suggestion was to spray it lightly with hair conditioner and water just enough to dampen it and put it in a plastic bag. I think I will try the second suggestion. It is so pretty I just hate to work so hard to get it spun and about kill my hands in the process.

Peach Alpaca Yarn

I won this roving last year at a Spinners Flock meeting for making a felted purse out of my hanspun. I won 4th place and was on cloud nine! I finally got to spin it up yesterday. I sat on the porch and spun while my granson played in the yard. What a beautiful day! Anyhow the yarn is Alpaca/Wool mix and is so soft. It is a pastel peach with hints of yellow and little colored nubs running through it. I ended up with 316 yards out of 5 oz. I am not sure what it will be yet. I was hoping for some super soft socks, or maybe a scarf........ I will think on it.

Lace Knitting

The only lace knitting I have ever done is in sock knitting. So I decided it was time to try it. This project is only a scarf but I have a feeling it will take me quite a while to complete. Only because I will need quiet time to sit and concentrate. The pattern is from HeartStrings and called "Lacy Riverine" by Jackie Erickson-Schweitzer. I love the mauve color of the lace yarn. I am using Jaggersepun Zephyr Lady Slipper. It is 50% Merino Wool, 50% Tusssah Silk. So soft and drapy!!!!

Basket Weave Rib Watermelon Socks

I finished the first of my Basket Weave Rib Watermelon Socks. What a long name! I named them this for two reasons. The pattern is from the book "Sensational Knittted Socks" by Charlene Schurch and the name of the pattern is Basket Weave Rib. The yarn I spun myself and was named by the fiber artist I bought my roving from as "Watermelon" due to the watermelon colors. The colors are so much prettier than I can get with the camera. I modified the pattern slightly and made a regular foot instead of the purled foot that the pattern called for. I wanted the shades of the yarn to show up more. The yarn is a wool/mohair/silk blend and it is much softer than I expected. When I tried on the sock there was no itching from the wool, which I had expected. The only downfall will be I have to handwash these socks. Oh well, it will be worth it to me. Alot of work went into this pair

Watermelon Socks

Well, I finally get to post once again. I have been busy finishing up my pink beaded socks and the socks I test knitted for my girlfriend. I can't wait to be able to post those pics of her sock. They turned out so cute!

Tomorrow night is knit club at Elaine's Yarn shop and I need to buy some white cotton to start my sister a pair of white lace socks.
I made the time to go out to Millington to a fairly new yarn shop called "A Yarn and a Tale". What a nice little shop. Alot of handspun yarns and mostly natural fibers. She also carries rovings. I was so happy to find out that she wants to start a little spinning group on the fourth saturday of the month. I have been looking for months for a spinning group so I was happy to find this out. I really need practice on my spinning as you can see from the picture of my handspun. This is my first attempt at spinning fine for sock yarn and it is so lumpy in spots. I started a basket weave pattern from "Sensational Knitted Socks" book hoping to hide the inperfections of my spinning. I need to work on consistancy! The other picture is of the little miniature sock blocker and sock. I picked this up at A Yarn and a Tale. Isn't it cute. It took all of an hour to knit up this little sockie.