catching up

So I've been welcoming my new-to-me Schacht Matchless over the past week (one but not the only reason for radio silence)... and I realized I had some skeins of handspun spun on my lovely little Ashford Joy that I hadn't photographed yet!


Handspun 2-ply sock yarn, 70/30 superwash wool/alpaca
roving from fromthewoolroom.etsy.com -- "jam" colorway

Oh, it is so red! Purple too, but I can't get enough red lately. It is one of those yarns whose colors shift in the light; bright when under sun like this, more muted and heathery looking in ambient. I'm actually knitting this yarn into socks, my walkaround stst socks so they may a long time in the hopper, but they'll be so nice when done.

I worried that the alpaca would lend the yarn to have no stretch, that I had to knit this into a rib or pattern to help a sock keep its shape-- but the wool is helping with the bounce and I'm knitting the socks in a slightly less wide foot to help with any loosening. Lori did such a great job in dyeing this-- you may remember the roving from a past etsy friday. She took a base fiber that was grey, so the red and purples were more muted than if she had used a white. Such a good idea, and it ended up spinning into such a nice yarn.

So did the last half of the Crosspatch Creations batt from a while back...


laceweight singles spun from Crosspatch Creations batt-- "eggplant"
purchased from thebellwether.com

I worried before that I wouldn't have enough for a laceweight project... turned out to be 1300 yards (!!). I originally planned on Juno Regina, but instead am planning, sometime, to gank amy's idea of knitting laceweight circularly on a US 0 16" needle and making myself a lovely in the round stst scarf. I need to find a US 0 in 16", not a big deal but has kept me from starting (plus, the project'll prolly replace my walkaround socks, and I do like surprising those more than I'd like a scarf for myself right now...) but anyways, that's the plan :)

One more thing, plan...


Imogen Jacket, back
Noro Silver Thaw, color 11, US 8
Started: 8 feb 08

I have no idea what possessed me. Well... maybe :) I heard the Stash and Burn ladies talking about what they were working on to wear to Stitches West, and I had also just reminded myself that my first adult sweater attempt is making me mad taking up space in my stash and I'll never finish it even though nothing's wrong with it (anyone want some yarn and half a sweater for postage?) pending... Anyway-- I started and like 5" in I decided it was way too Dolly's coat... but didn't rip cos, well I was knitting in the dark and nothing else was close at hand :) I've managed to knit almost the entire back (the stripes'll run vertically like this) and I still don't know if it's too... much.

Then again, my noro kerchief is too much and I wear it ALL THE TIME. So... who knows :) Maybe I'll have a handknit sweater to wear for Stitches West. I will have a grip of zero stitch markers for Stitches though (courtesy of A Verb for Keeping Warm's booth-- booth 840 & playing in the Ravelry passport game)... more pics of my gargantuan task later.

For now, a reminder! Kate is holding a fundraiser in her brother's name for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. For every $10 donated in his name by Feb. 24th, you are entered to win one of *many* awesome prizes Kate and the fiber community have lined up (including 4 sets of zero.etsy.com stitch markers!)

Have a good one, til then :)