Fall FO's Part III

 
  Off My Spindles/Wheel:
 
  Columbia-Merino cross:  there is a definite difference in this Columbia/Merino cross ("CxM") fiber than the solely Columbia fiber I previously spun.  The Columbia fiber was soft but crisp.  This CxM fiber is soft with an almost whispy/silky texture.  Also the finer staples allowed me to spin my finest singles from attenuated longdraw to date.  Very little veggie matter, short cuts & nepps meant I could card without precombing or flicking, giving me little waste and excellent (for me) yardage: three skeins of woolen spun fingering wt 3ply, about 840 yds total from eight ounces of fleece.  
   
   
   
   
   
 
   
   
  
   
   Manx Loughtan This is a breed I didn't get to spin in 2011 when I was doing the SpinDoctor Wool Breeds Challenge, so when I saw it at The Spinning Loft I couldn't resist. Manx Loughtan is one of the Northwestern European shorttail sheep breeds, and is on the Rare Breeds Survival Trust's watch list.
  
  "Loaghtans and their relatives covered the hills of the Isle of Man until the 18th century but by the 1950s numbers had declined to a handful. As a result of the work of enthusiasts on the Isle of Man and in England, numbers have steadily increased over the last 50 years. Continued success will ensure the Loaghtan has a future providing excellent quality meat and wool as a pure bred." [Source: Manx Loughtan Sheep Breeders Group http://www.manxloaghtansheep.org/ ]  
  
  "Manx Loghtan fleece is a uniform dark brown, but is paler on the outside where it has been exposed to the sun. It can be either woolly or hairy. The wool is used for hosiery and knitwear, and the staple length is 7-10cm. Technical information about the fleece: Staple length 7-10cm, Fleece weight 1.5-2kg, Bradford count 46-54, Micron measurement 27-33" [Source: British Colored Sheep Breeders Assoc. http://www.bcsba.org.uk/coloured-sheep/manx-loghtan-sheep.html ]
 
  This fiber was spun point of twist from the fold on both my spindle and wheel, and wheel plied for about 490 yards of 2ply fingering weight yarn from four ounces. I enjoyed spinning this and would spin it again.  
  
   
 
   
   
 
   
 

Fall FOs Part II

Off My Needles/Hooks:   
  
  Finally finished knitting one of the many pair of socks I've got going!  These were started one year ago today, Nov 24, 2011, and finished yesterday, Nov 23, 2012.  They are a holiday gift for a friend, and were knit on size 1 (2.25mm) double pointed needles out of the defunct Cables and Lace Lizard Toes base (merino/nylon) sock yarn in the Samhain colorway. The only problem I had with these socks (other than they're black and that's difficult to work with) is the yarn splits a lot.  I hate split stitches; they're so annoying to have to fix.  It slows me down. 
   
   
 
  
 
  Off My Spindles/Wheel:

 
  Targhee fiber:  in the "Freshwater Pearls" colorway from Enchanted Knoll Farm was finished in early October.  This is the fiber I started spinning at the Campaign For Wool spinning demonstration in Bryant Park, Manhattan back in September.  I ended up with about 280 yds of sport weight 3ply yarn from four ounces of fiber. The colors in this yarn are very subtle so there are actually more colors than the picture shows.
 
 
 
 

 
  Brought To Me By: Crafting accomplished with the following audio/video accompaniment:  
  Audiobooks:    
  DVDs etc:   True Blood S4; The Dresden Files;  
  Pod/VideoCasts:   The Knit Girllls; Electric Sheep; Cast On; The Knitmore Girls; Round The Twist;

Fall Spinning FOs Part I

Off My Spindles/Wheel:
  Remember the 8oz of Bluefaced Leicester fiber I really really wanted to spin but was supposed to finish two UFOs first before starting?  Well, the oooo pretty lure of the fiber was stronger than my good intentions.  Here it is all finished:  approximately 522 yds of fingering wt worsted spun, Navajo plied yarn in the Annunaki at Tiamat colorway from Crown Mountain Farms. I just love the colors in this!  
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Next up is this approx 360 yds of Shetland 3ply fingering yarn in dark brown and white, spun smoothed point of twist from the fold.  My idea for this was to make a kind of gradient yarn by starting with three strands of the white, then swapping out one strand at a time until I had three strands of the brown, then reversing.  I also experimented a little with changing plying twist to accentuate one color over the other.  It didn't come out exactly as I envisioned, but I am pleased with it.  I'm thinking of maybe using for a Hitchhiker shawl.  This fiber is also from Crown Mountain Farms
 
   
   
   
   
  Brought To Me By: Crafting accomplished with the following audio/video accompaniment:    
  Audiobooks:  Succubus on Top by Richelle Mead; A Modern Witch by Debora Geary; Blood Oath by Christopher Farnsworth;          
  DVDs etc:   True Blood S4; The Dresden Files;    
  Pod/VideoCasts:   The Knit Girllls; Round The Twist;
 

I Can Haz Badges!

 
  Hogwarts at Ravelry group finished up the last class rotation for year five and has started classes for year six, and that means more badges!  Squeee!  I know, it's kinda dumb, but I like Badges.  So here are the badges my new badges for the end of year five: 
 
  :::Drumroll please:::  
 
For completing all my O.W.L.s with an Outstanding grade: 
 
 

For completing all three Dumbledore's Army missions:
 
 

For completing Level Four of the Order of the Phoenix:
 
 

And finally, because Badgers Rule The Pitch, and I helped, our Hufflepuff Quidditch Championship badge:
 
 


Coming soon, Finished Objects both spinning and knitting.

Reinbeck 2012

This year was my first trip to Reinbeck for the New York Sheep and Wool Festival.   Last Saturday was a beautiful day for it, sunny, warm but not too warm, with a nice refreshing breeze. All the yarn, fiber and fleece you could ask for, plus podcasting celebrities, a good selection of food, and animals from the expected (sheep, llamas, etc) to the unexpected (kangaroo).     
   
First up, what I bought. From the top down:  a bump of multicolor Jacob roving, Bosworth featherweight spindle (my first Bosworth), two Loop bullseye bumps (merino/nylon/angelina & oh so soft) and a Jessalu project bag in Tardis fabric.  Not much, but I stayed within budget for once and that counts.  
   
   
   


Next up, a few animal pics.   
   
 
   
    
   
    
   
 
 
 
 
 
I had a great but exhausting time.  (I slept for eighteen hours when I got home.). Next time I go I'll go with a plan for what I want to buy so I can pace myself and do other than shopping stuff.  

WIPs and SWIPs

 
 
On My Needles: I keep poking through my knitting WIPs basket, but my only reaction is  Eh!   Not good.  I should be swatching for my SPAKAL sweaters (yes, plural), but its just not happening.  Also Not Good.  So the only knitting I've been working on lately are my striped socks in the Woolgathering colorway.  I'm about four inches down the foot on the second sock. I need to finish it, put the afterthought heel in the first one, and then they'll be finished.  At least something will be finished.
 
 
 
  On My Spindles:  
 
  Once again I'm working on multiple projects at the same time, or perhaps it's more accurate to say serially rather than at the same time.  
 
  There's the Manx Loughton.  This is the first spindle worth:
 
 
 

Then there's the Shetland in black and white I'm spinning for my Dumbledore's Army project on Hogwarts at Ravelry group (sshhhh it's a secret).  My singles are spun, I just need to ply




 I finished spinning the Columbia and moved on to the Columbia/Merino cross or CxM.  The staple length for most of this is less than 2 inches so I'm not combing first, just hand picking and hand carding.  I'm almost finished carding and already spun 10 bobbins worth.  Pic shows rolags left to spin, fleece left to card and spun singles.

 

Of  course, there's also the East Friesian cross that I haven't touched in over a month.  I'm not even sure where I left off on that.  Think I needed to wash more fleece and just wasn't in the mood. 
 And the "Promise" fiber that's buried in the bottom of the SWIPs basket.  Haven't touched that since August or thereabouts.

And then there's this:



This  bit of loveliness is what I really want to spin right now.  It's 8 ounces of BFL from Crown Mountain Farms, dyed in the Annunaki on Tiamat colorway.  I keep picking it up and petting it.   But No. There's this voice that keeps telling me to Step Away From The Fiber. You can't spin it until you finish two SWIPs. Three would be better but two is good.   Damn annoying voice! insert fingers in ears La la la la, I can't hear you!



Brought To Me By:  
  Audiobooks:  These Old Shades & Devil's Cub by Georgette Heyer;    
  DVDs etc:   True Blood S3; Cadfael;
  Pod/VideoCasts:   The Knit Girllls; Round The Twist;
 

We Have Knitting & Spinning

On My Needles:
"Woolgathering Socks" were started as stripey plain vanilla afterthought heel socks in Three Ewes Twisted in Fiber yarn.  The first sock was finished (except for the heel) last month, and the second started.  Along the way on the second sock, I read about Cat Bordhi's Sweet Tomato heel and couldn't wait to try it.  So I did.  Me likey!   This is my first Sweet Tomato Heel:  
   
   
 
Of course, this means my socks will be mismatched with two different heels, but who cares -  they're heels
  Modifications to original pattern:  heel worked on 60% instead of 2/3rds(66%) of stitches; center heel sts 12 on 1st repeat, 10 on 2nd, & 16 on 3rd (no idea why I did that, but it worked).  
   
   
  On My Spindles:   
   
  I've been working on the Columbia fleece I started processing/spinning last year. This was slightly less than a pound of pre-washed fleece from two sheep that I acquired separately, so there's a difference in the fiber's texture & color. As of this morning when I finished spinning, I have thirteen bobbins of singles to ply tomorrow. That should be enough for two more skeins of 3ply.
 
   
   
   
   Also started spinning the Manx Loughton I've been eyeing for six months. Its really wonderful fiber prep and lovely to spin. This will be a 2ply, and I'm spindle spinning semi-worsted.  
 
   
  Brought To Me By:  
  Audiobooks:    
  DVDs etc: True Blood S3.1-4; Buffy TVS S7.11-end; Moonlight S1.1-16;   (guess I'm on a vamp role)
  Pod/VideoCasts: The Knit Girllls; The Knitmore Girls; The Pagan Knitter; Round The Twist;