and now for some spinning

Posted on Posted in projects, spinning and fiber, Uncategorized

thanks everyone for all the feedback on the bee shawl swatches and your opinions on shawl size. i dunno where i got the idea that you would prefer something smaller, but i’m glad i asked.

now, what to do til the yarn comes? ha! like i don’t have projects to work on til the end of time.

for sure i am going to dive into this, from deb

this will become a fine, transluscent pair of mitts and a wide scarf to go with—a long, elegant and deco-flavored piece. something you could wear to wedding, or a chilly restaurant when a coat won’t do. you know, a little nothing to drape across the collar bones and down the back of a plain dress.

this yarn is scrumptious—just heaven to work with and devilishly delicious to have knit.
i already wound it and have a date to swatch with it later tonight. maybe with drinks.

i finished that first tree scum sock last night in class

and it fits the man. minor adjustments made it so. it’s snug but it works. and get this—i sat there with a half-hour to go and couldn’t start the second one. why? i left my other needles at home. arrrgghh.
i started the cuff of this sock with a slightly larger needle, and i really do want them to match. so i actually sat there with no knitting. i didn’t bring a backup project, for once.
and boy-oh-boy, i gotta tell you it is hard for me to just chill and watch other people knit.

but speaking of all things tree scummy, i got some more of this yarn spun this week for my trade
with adam.

and so now, i’m casting about for a new spinning project. of course, a quick rummage around my workroom proved i don’t have to look far—i am loaded with options. i think i want to explore the stuff in this box next.

more specifically, i think i’m finally going to get cracking on this combination

silk from Chasing Rainbows Dyeworks, purchased from crown mountain farms, paired with this superwash merino, another gift from deb, when she experimented briefly with dyeing roving. the wool is actually quite a bit richer and deeper than it appears here, but i wasn’t going to go back up and re-photograph it. a strand of each should make a fetching yarn. i have quite a bit of each one, so it’s a bigger spinning project.

i might just tackle this first, as a sort of wild little break

some merino silk roving from spunky eclectic that i purchased at SPA in february. i’m getting ready for some fun with this one.

yeah, it feels great to be spinning again. i have such awesome stuff in the house too. it’s a shame i didn’t spend more time doing that this winter . . .

i spent a bunch of time working on the pattern for the new socks

anne came up with a great name BTW—teosinte, which is the the name of the original plant they think corn came from. cool, right?

kim is going to test knit them and is raring to go. and then, i need to think up another sock . . .

33 thoughts on “and now for some spinning

  1. Ooh, that’s a gorgeous sock! Love it. It’s very subtle, yet striking. It looks great in those darker colors too. Awesome job.

  2. Oh the Tree Scum sock is beautiful! I just love the textured stitch!
    Those rovings are going to spin up into a really fabulously raspberry confection. And the Spunky Eclectic is such a great color. (I really need to “get me some” Spunky Eclectic roving.)

  3. Yay for the Tree Scum sock! She’s beautiful!
    That bombyx looks delectable. I spun up two oz. of it a couple months ago (different colorway) and it was so utterly luxurious…

  4. Both pairs of socks are awesome–but when I look at the unspun fiber I feel like I am looking into the abyss 😉 I have never spun in my life and I feel drawn, drawn, drawn into the whirlpool. LOL

    Kathleen

  5. I don’t dare show the Tree Scum sock photo to husband, because he’ll want a pair! As for teosinte, I’ll probably make a pair for myself, even if it is a “man lace” pattern.

  6. Oh, I look forward to seeing that Chasing Rainbows silk spun up. I have been spindle spinning her silk/merino in a copper colorway — it’s great stuff.

  7. David is lucky, tree scum proved to behave very nicely indeed. The sock turned out splendidly. That pinky-purply roving you’re about to spin up just trips my trigger, I love it’s color! Vibrant!! Yeah for spinning, I wish I could see yours in person. The computer screen just doesn’t do them justice I’m sure….

  8. Tantalizing! Good stuff all around.
    I have some of that same CMF silk. Spun some that was used in a small a weaving project. Time to pull it out and spin some more, it’s wonderful stuff.

  9. I love the way you describe what you have in mind for that Fearless Fibers yarn; can’t wait to see how it turns out.
    Your fiber bin is extremely inspiring! I guess I should buy more fiber in order to have more options; maybe this is what I need to bring me to spin more often. I’ve been restricting myself to the white Corriedale I’ve got started with, not allowing myself to touch nicer stuff until I get better at spinning, but I’m now suspecting that it wasn’t such a good idea: I’m not wasting nice fibers, that’s for sure, but I won’t get any better any time soon if I’m not practicing because that white Corriedale isn’t inspiring enough… Yeah, I’ll have to try the stash enhancement solution!

  10. Love the new pattern! It is gorgeous! If you publish it, I’m going to definately give it a try!

  11. I just got three skeins of Miracle myself. I torn between Madli’s Shawl and Flower Basket. Do you think this is too heavy for Madli’s? I know I had something else in mind when I ordered it…but I can’t remember what.

  12. Wonderful spinning fibers, wow. I really like the color of the tree scum socks still. And last, Teosinte is much better than Ty Cobb! No offense to Ty.

  13. Mmmm, I don’t know which fiber I love more! (Oh wait, yes I do!)

    And I finished a sock before a class the other day and realized I didn’t have the 2nd half of the skein that I had wound into a ball with me…it was terrible having to sit there and not have anything to do with my hands!

  14. Love, love love the color of the tree scum socks…they came out great!!

    You have a pretty impressive fiber stash there…lovely!

  15. looks like you have some colorful spinning ahead – I love seeing it before and after – I’m always amazed how different it looks when spun!

  16. Such wonderful colors to start my day this morning! Makes me itchy to try out my drop spindle again…oh and hey, if you ever need another test knitter, I’d be happy to volunteer 😛

  17. That is a lot of great fiber porn. Will be cool to see what it looks like after it’s spun.

  18. Wow, this blog entry had a lot of great stuff going on! I love the roving from Spunky Eclectic. The colorway looks like so much fun! And you’re going to spin silk – mmmmm. Sounds wonderful. Loving on the socks, also – but no backup knitting? Wow. That hadda hurt…

  19. Ahhhh… spinning. Wish I had the time for it, although I may try to fit in an hour or so this weekend. I am envious of all the colors in that box of roving of yours!

  20. That roving is spinning up SO nicely. 🙂 It looks just a tad warmer (color-wise) than the socks, or is it just the lighting? Anyway, wow.

    I sneaked in about 7 minutes of spinning this morning before I had to catch my train. It was over so quickly, but still a great way to start off the day. I’m going to try to do that more often. 🙂

  21. Mmm, silk. I tihnk a two ply wool/silk will be very nice. I have a bundle of each that i have the same plans for!

  22. That new sock design is GORGEOUS. Test knit it for you any time!

    And will you STOP calling that lovely mossy green Tree Scum? Warned you already.

  23. I’m loving that sock pattern. The reds are compelling, even for this nonred person. I may have to check this out at NH and Morgaine’s booth.

  24. I’ll be curious to see what you come up with for the FF mitts and scarf. The description alone from a previous post just leaves me hanging with curiousity . . .:-)

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