sock porn for knitting voyeurs.

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

now with 69% more love

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Handspun superwash BFL
(Blue Faced Leicester, silly :))
4 oz, approx 14-15 wpi (sport weight)
roving from pigeonroofstudios.etsy.com, "blackthorn"
singles spun long draw

If it were possible to put more love into handknit socks (not convinced quite yet, I always feel toppedoff in that department), I suppose it would be by knitting with handspun yarn. Sure, yarn I've spun myself (and sometimes dyed myself) is more work, super special, but it's the love that's gone into it with extra pairs of hands and head on top of the knitting, more time spent thinking with hands busy in and on the yarn. Maybe it's why I like handpainted yarns so much as well... they're more expensive but it's because they've been thru someone's head and thought process, not a machine and printer.

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I'm really happy with these skeins, even though they're not totally even. This is my second (completed) attempt at spinning long draw... and it WORKED. It looks like magic flying out of my hands, like it shouldn't work this way but it does. My main goal in spinning is to spin my own sock yarns, and inching thru I've been happy with the result but not the time it took. Using the long draw method, I was able to spin almost all of the singles for this yarn over a Saturday afternoon filled with anticipation-- where before it would take me (much, much longer than that).

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The roving is from pigeonroofstudios.etsy.com -- in Krista's "blackthorn" colorway. I just love the look of it, and this time (as opposed to my last 2-ply sock yarn), this yarn has a lot of loft and light in it. And the color! It'll be fun to see how this one knits up; as a sportweight it should be quick. Too bad I already have a stockinette pair otn...

I wonder if the longer staple length of the BFL helped with my long draw... I'm going to try out some superwash merino later to see if there is a difference.

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I'm glad I've overcome my fear of 2ply sock yarns... the 3 ply bfl knit into pomatomus look beautiful, but I was a little bummed running out of yarn at the toe on that pair and 3 plys are pretty much necessarily shorter yardage wise than comparable 2 ply in the same weight. I also think the colors will pop more to the eye, having one color bouncing off the other as opposed to the threeway mishmash, giving up individuality for the good of the team.

Since it's your favorite...

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There were two, but we'll save that secret for later.

16 comments:

Lothlorian said...

I do envy you spinners!! It looks amazing and it must be very very satifying making something from scratch like that! I love the colour too, very me

Annie said...

You make me want to spin! I have enough crafts for now, or so I keep telling myself. Eventually i will spin...maybe when the baby is a little older...like next week... ;-)

HPNY KNITS said...

because you rock! you are declared rocking girl blog!
come and get your badge from my blog!
you go girl.

Josiane said...

It's always interesting to see how different the color looks when the roving becomes yarn. I really like this one; it is so pretty, both as roving and as yarn! You did a great job with the long draw. I still have a lot of practice to do before I get there...

jenfromRI said...

That's just lovely. I've stuck my toe in the waters of spinning, and I'm eager to jump in when I've got more time. You're an inspiration!

btw - My word verification is "aejae." Pretty darn close, no?

adrienne said...

The yarn looks awesome! I'm totally afraid of and confused by long draw (but that's not a problem till I get a wheel!), so double-plus awesome :)

Bridget said...

Beautiful. I loved the BFL Pomatomus. I haven't knit another pair since my first because I had SSS so bad. It is one of the greatest patterns for showing off yarn so I always think about using it again. The handspun gives yours something different.

lexa said...

Love it! I so love the color, and hand-spun makes it all the more special. :)

Stacey said...

Your spinning has come so far! The yarn is amazing! I like 2 ply better than 3 for that type of barberpolish yarn...it really makes the colors pop!

Kirsten said...

You make me realize I have so much to learn about spinning! I must confess that I don't really know what a "long draw" is. It has produced quite beautiful yarn though.

Courtney said...

I love that colorway :-) BEAUTIFUL... those would make very nice socks on my feet :-)

Anonymous said...

Soooo goooooooood. :)

Anonymous said...

and i think it's gonna be a long, long time:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NN3MGN899yE&mode=related&search=

Anonymous said...

Gorgeous! Your spins are always lovely to look at not to mention something to be envious over!!!!

Anonymous said...

http://www.psychology.uoguelph.ca/faculty/trick/mot.html

On the most difficult level I scored 2/4, 3/4, 4/4, 4/4. :)

I think it's from keeping track of all the patterns I do. LOL

Chris said...

GORGEOUS colors!

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