Huzzah! I have written up my very first pattern – my self-designed Cable Car Socks.

Cable Car Socks

They were created from Mountain Colours Bearfoot in the ‘Meadow’ colourway, which i purchased at Knitty City in NYC (after eyeing it off at String Theory in Illinois). I wanted a simple pattern to show of the yarn that was a bit more interesting than plain ribbing. I couldn’t find anything and so I used my initiative and the maths I learnt in school to work out a cable pattern. I could SEE it in my head, it was awesome. Used what I knew about sock construction to create these!

The dual cable runs down the front and back, with a single cable either side of the front dual cable. The back cable runs into the heel flap. I’m quite proud of that bit! Having just been to San Francisco, with their famous cable cars, the ‘tracks’ of the cables reminded me of the cable cars (also, the word is the same ) and lo, they were named.

And so, this fine sock pattern, dutifully test knitted by the lovely Auntiejan and Shoshanah from Ravelry, is now available for you to download, completely free! Whilst I have made edits based on these lovely ladies’ feedback, there may still be changes to be made or errors to be spotted, and I hope to replace some of the images with the socks from the test knits as mine are a bit worn already!!

But for now, here it is – CABLE CAR SOCK.

I spent four weeks in London attending the summer school at RADA, which didn’t afford a lot of time for yarn shopping, but i did manage to head to two yarn stores, and of course london has the amazing quality of DEPARTMENT STORE YARN SHOPPING. we used to have that here in aus – i just remember it from when i was little. i managed to score an absolute BARGAIN on debbie bliss pure silk at John Lewis! three pounds ninety or similar. got 12 skeins of one colour  I also picked up a bunch of kim hargreaves pattern books while i was in the UK, since i totally heart her (Precious, Amber and Breeze).

I headed to Loop the weekend before the class started, at a very opportune time as they had 20% off everything! They didn’t have quite as large a range as i envisaged, but it’s a lovely little shop, just near the angel islington. Picked up some more Casbah sock since it was on sale and I was LOVING knitting with it. I also picked up some adorable project bags called Pretty Cheep, with pictures of birdies printed on the fabric. Great for larger projects.

The other yarn store i went to was I Knit, London’s only liscened yarn store! Some of my course mates came with me, one just to drink in a lys – which was a GREAT novelty. It had a fantastic range, a lot of locally produced yarn and fibre, and some yarns from further away – like Biggan Designs from Aus! *proud moment* The whole alcohol policy seems to work – i went a little crazy!

Suprisingly enough, Edinburgh was not exactly crowded with yarn stores. I did snaffle a few purchase – one skein of handspun from a market stall and some of the new Rowan Alpaca Cotton yarn from Jenners department store on my very last day!

UK photos are here and here

1. Cherry Tree Hill suri lace, 2. Rowan alpaca cotton , 3. baby camel handspun, 4. DB pure silk, 5. knitwitches seriously gorgeous, 6. handmaiden casbah in amethyst, 7. DB pure silk, 8. habu cotton boucle

The handspun shetland that i picked up at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival Markets were transformed in my first weeks back in aus into these mitts – they are super warm and toasty! It’s totally natural colour and the cables look perfect.

*sigh* so that’s my yarn collection from my travels. I am not allowed to buy any more yarn for myself for QUITE a while (besides, when all my stuff comes out of storage, it will be like going shopping anyway!!) I am allowed to buy yarn for presents, since ALL THIS IS MINE, MINE I TELL YOU *crazy laugh*. It’s definitely going to be fun working through it and finding patterns for all of these delicious yarns!

Europe was a whirlwind travel wise – 6 days in Paris and then 5 cities in 12 days! I didn’t do a heap of yarn shopping – in fact i found the yarn stores relatively disappointing in Europe. Very ‘no touch’y and all boxes and bags. The french brands – Phildar and Le Bergere de France are similar to ACS – lots of acrylic and acrylic blends, or yarns great for larger garments, but not so much for souvenirs. The stores in Austria and Germany were better – a few brands i hadn’t come across and some scrummy sock yarns. No wollmeise though lol.

you can read about Paris, Toulouse, Venice, Vienna, Prague and Berlin on my lj and there are photos of all the cities on flickr.

I will comment on La Droguerie though – this is a french chain store… sort of like clegs on crack but in a tiny french space… Quality fabrics, ribbons, buttons, beads, fixings, findings, feathers, patterns and of course, YARN! the yarn is in display hanks so you choose the colour and fibre you want and they wind off the quantity. They also had adorable knit kits – an elephant (!) and rabbit and other adorable things, but i resisted. I did get three different fibres though in the most glorious colours. It’s a great way to buy yarn.

1. alpaca from la droguerie, 2. carmen alpaca silk – blue, 3. schoppelwolle crazy zauberball, 4. linen from la droguerie, 5. opus dk with aloe vera!, 6. kaleido bamboo and linen from la droguerie, 7. trekking xxl, 8. carmen alpaca silk – silver

Ah Canada, the Great White North. Place of Yarn Stores and awesome people…

I love canada. I really do. It was my first time there and i headed to Toronto and Montreal (next time i’ll have to go to vancouver and edmonton)  and i bought more yarn in those two cities than anywhere else… I spent a week in both cities and generally took it easy – again you can read about my canadian advetures on my blog here and see photos of toronto and montreal on flickr.

In Toronto I visited no less than five yarn stores…

The Knit Cafe – I headed here and joined in the regular SnB, which was an absolute ball! I picked up some more handmaiden here, making the most of being in canada The cafe is lovely and the store is small, but well stocked. Was very inspired here and finished off the thank you socks for my lovely friend of the family host whilst here.

Americo Original – This is actually an outlet for Americo Original yarn company – a nth american company specialising in sth american  fibres – llama, alpaca etc… They sell patterns, or give them away with the yarn and have a beautiful range of cottons, merinos, alpaca and llama in beautiful colours. they also have buckles, buttons and leathers for creating truly original knitwear!

Lettuce Knit - found this store almost by accident. I had done my yarn store research and when i saw i was on this street i thought, hang on – there’s a yarn store nearby! it’s in a gorgeous street surrounded by cafes and bookstores. The little store has socks that rock!!!!! that was exciting! and habu, blue sky alpacas and all sorts of other deliciousness.

Knitomatic – Headed there for another knitting night, but no one else showed . Instead i spent and hour or two chatting with the store owner, her birdie (so cute!) and two awesome local indie spinners. Barbie heads in yarn people! bit much for me, but have to admire the achievment! Managed to snaffle some Misti Alpaca Lace on sale here too!

The Purple Purl – What a lovely store – the staff are absolutely hilarious and a conversation about Jenny Kee ensued once it came out i was australian. I was also given a free copy of the stores charity calender… yarn and naked people – awesome! I finally succumbed to the temptation of mooi here – it had been following me around the continent. although the temptation of vicuna was also great!!

I only went to four yarn stores in montreal, one of which was very disappointing, but i still managed to do my fair share of purchasing!

Mouline – This store is packed to the rafters with yarn! rowan, handmaiden, fleece artist plus  a whole range of local indie sock yarns. The staff are friendly and i had a great chat with some customers too. It’s a bit dark, but the range makes up for it.

Tricoteuse a laine – this was a very disappointing shop. I’m sure it would be great if i lived in the city and were looking for larger projects but there wasn’t much in the way of ‘treat’ yarn – sock yarn, lace weight etc. They did have a great rowan collection though!

Effiloche – now this is a store to die for. Comfy couches, massive range, workstations for classes etc and very friendly staff. pretty much the complete handmaiden and fleece artist range, plus a whole pile of international yarns and local indie dyed and spun yarns. Cotton, wool, cashmere, linen.. all sorts! I spent about two hours here playing with bison and muskox…

Tricot Quartier – This is a bit out of the way, but like a lot of out of the way yarn stores, took me to a lovely area of the city i might not have gone to otherwise. Not the biggest range, but again, lovely staff. very friendly. This is more of a workhorse yarn store – berroco, cascade etc.

1. socks that rock lightweight!, 2. louet mooi bison blend laceweight, 3. 4ply cashmere, 4. classic elite alpaca sox, 5. indigo moon handdyed sock yarn, 6. misti alpaca handpainted lace, 7. tanis fiber arts sock yarn, 8. be sweet bamboo, 9. americo dehaired baby llama, 10. suri blue, 11. americo pima cotton, 12. handmaiden casbah, 13. arequipa alpaca sock yarn, 14. biscotte et cie self striping sock yarn, 15. handmaiden sea silk, 16. hemp for knitting dk

I am desperately searching for a pattern for the mooi that will do it justice – some sort of cowl or scarf.

The Bamboo is currently being transformed into a Ms Marigold. I wouldn’t have thought of that, but they had one knitted up in the EXACT colour i wanted and i couldn’t resist! the colour is amazing…

the Casbah sock yarn was transformed whilst i trained my way around Europe into a pair of Nutkin socks.

I’m also looking for ideas for the suri blue and seasilk – I’m sure something will pop up!

As promised I will give a run down of my many MANY yarn purchases while in the northern hemisphere.

this might take a while

So! I arrived in San Francisco on a crisp Spring day. I LOVED San Francisco and you can read about my adventures in the Golden Gate city here and here and view photos here.

Yarn store wise I really like SF. The stores i went to had good ranges and really nice people and were all light and sunny The stores I went to were:

Imagiknit – This is definitely my favourite in S. I love the area, the shop, the whippet (!) and the incredible range of yarns. Here I touched Manos for the first time and saw the Lorna’s Laces colourways up close and got to see Brown Sheep and Cascade and all sorts of things I hadn’t seen in Aus. It was like being released into a whole new playground! Of course, this was the first yarn store of the trip so i was conservative in my purchasing. That soon came to a halt! I had a fantastic chat with the store owners and workers, bought Norah Gaughan patterns and helped with australian yarn conversion (they stock Jo Sharp) and generally made a nuisance of myself for a few hours

Noe Knits - This is a large store with a comparatively small range. I was a little dissappointed to be honest, but the awesome staff made up for it. They were really lovely and laid back (like most San Franciscans) and I did pick up a exquisite little handdyed skein from Alaska (!) from Rabbit Ridge Designs.

Greenwich Yarns - Small Store with a largish range, recommeded to my by a melbourne knitter as it used to be her haunt when she lived there. It gave me a chatting point with the staff and I passed on hellos and such. Picked up a few things here, but found it a better store for project purchases than souvenir purchases (if that makes sense)

I almost went yarnstore-less in LA, well techically i did, but i stumbled across a sweet little store in Santa Barbara, but for the life of me I can’t remember the name! I didn’t get any yarn, just a copy of Vogue Knitting you can read my other LA adventures here (disneyland here)  and see photos here.

Chicago is a very knitterly city and I discovered very quickly i was staying around the corner from one of the best chicago yarn stores! I went to one up the  top of Michigan Avenue, whose name i don’t remember and wouldn’t say if i did, because it was the most unwelcoming yarn store i’ve been to! everything was in plastic, I was afraid to touch things, it was a teeeny space and the staff member, although very nice and chatty, didn’t really explain what could be touched or looked at and what couldn’t. there were no prices on anything either! All other yarn store experiences in Illinois were great – I actually spent some time in the ‘burbs in Glen Ellyn, and the stores out there are just LOVELY! blog photos

Loopy Yarns -  HUGE range, particularly of Lornas Laces – i think they had all their colourways on every yarn available! This was the place i first came across Artyarns Silk Rhapsody, I was VERY tempted (and would continue to be everytime i came across it!) they also had beautiful llama and alpaca and all sorts of sock yarns and a great selection of roving too! (from lornas laces and fleece artist). I did pick up some fleece artist kid mohair in a glorious pink (just as i was about to walk out with just a magazine!) but i don’t have a photo of it!

String Theory Yarn (Glen Ellyn) – This is a delightful little store, full of wondrous things – manos, moutain colours, alchemy, wagtail (from Aus no less!) frog tree (hmm didn’t end up getting any frog tree ) and more! lovely helpful staff too – if you ever find yourself in the area, you must go!

Knitche (Downers Grove) - slightly bigger than string theory, with fleece artist, prism and handmaiden dyed yarns (plus a cafe! very popular in Nth America) as well as all the american staples. Lots of handdyed and kits and all sorts – again really nice staff (including a young cute guy!) Bought FAR too much here

Then it was on to New York, New York. What a fabulous city and a real knitters delight! The home of Artyarns! I finally caved and bought one little skein of artyarns in nyc – it seemed fitting – as well as some other beautiful brands – alchemy, the fibre company (far more fancy than it sounds – Road to China? DIVINE!) be sweet… *happy sigh* blog photos

Purl Soho -this is one of the most beautiful shops i’ve been in. Not huge in space (where is in NY? its sister quilting store is even smaller!) but full of the most delicious fibres! sadly i didn’t actually buy anything here, but i wish i had – ended up buying some things stocked here elsewhere. the best news – flat shipping rate to Aus!! i will DEFINITELY be splurging here sometime.

Gotta Knit -Another tiny store on the third floor down the road from the Empire State building. Not a massive range, but what they lack in quantity they make up for in quality and ARTYARNS! yes this is where i caved. they have a great range and a bunch of instore patterns too. They also have a good range of sock yarns.

The Woolgathering -This store is worth it for the windows alone! soooo beautifully dressed. Unsual for america this store is sans sock yarn. yup, not a skein. but they do have be sweet – the most ethically conscious yarn i’ve come across, and pretty too! they also stock garment yarns – good workhorses and those yarns that are a bit more special too.

String -Luxury luxury luxury, This store is definitely not for those on a budget. put it this way. they have a custom yarn from artyarns. i wanted it sooooo badly, but at US$80 i resisited. it’s a divine store to walk around though you feel a bit naughty touching the expensive yarns. definitely a place for special purchases.

Knitty City – This is a lovely store too with a large range from cascade to artyarns with malabrigo, handmaiden and alchemy in between. Spent quite a while browsing, sitting on the floor sorting through sock yarns to find just the right one… (which i did!) and chatting to the staff.

So! That was my yarn adventures in america – wanna see what i bought?

1. be sweet bambino cotton and bamboo, 2. malabrigo silky merino, 3. Artyarns mohair splash, 4. Crystal Palace mini mochi, 5. manos del uruguay silk blend, 6. mountain colours bearfoot, 7. the fibre company road to china and alchemy haiku, 8. handmaiden camel spun – photo by penelope_waits, 9. handmaiden silk lace – photo by penelope_waits, 10. lana grossa sock yarn – photo by penelope_waits, 11. rabbit ridge merino dk , 12. prism yarns laceweight – photo by penelope_waits

Created with fd’s Flickr Toys

The Road to China and Haiku yarns were specifically bought to become a pair of Mrs Beetons, which they did about a week ago. The Road to China is the SOFTEST yarn to knit. just scrumptious. I have half a ball left and it’s going to be patted regularly!

The mountain colours bearfoot became my very first pair of self designed socks. I am in the process of having the pattern test knitted at the moment! Hopefully I will be making the pattern available soon. The yarn is just so gorgeous and the socks are cozy to wear!

The be sweet bambino was cast on in Canada and became a chevron scarf in the brightest colours!

The Artyarns beaded mohair was cast on and knitted whilst I was in Paris (seemed appropriate!) the photo doesn’t do it justice. I knitted a simple garter stitch on the bias so the clumps of beads and sequins would be diagonal. It’s for going to the opera. and hey, i’m going to tripods’ Dungeons and Dragons the Opera on Tuesday! does that count?

Last summer was the summer I discovered Blue Faced Leicester, Wensleydale, Camel and Cashmere blends. It was the summer I plyed using a prespun laceweight for one ply. It was the summer of the three ply. It was the summer I spun exotic singles and bought from Spindlefrog and Exclusively Linda Lee,  my favourite International crack fibre suppliers. Here are some of my spins and you can see the improvement from previous spinning posts!

you know how when you get a box of chocolates you eat your least favourite first, even if you love all of them? well it’s a bit like that when you’re a newbie spinner choosing from your stash. So even though I LURVE this fibre, I chose it as ‘not my most precious’ and spun it up when i arrived in Adelaide.

Gumnut Magic Angorino from Ixchel: 14wpi, 86g, 204m of 95% 18micron merino, 5% angora, which makes it a sport weight of yum!

Then my first package from Spindlefrog arrived. I couldn’t resist the colours of the Mermaid BFL and was so curious about this raved about fibre it was instantly on the wheel

don’t you just want to dive into it! It’s not the most even yarn, varying from 13- 16 wpi. but it’s a good little heavy fingering (that sounds dirty) weight yarn. great meterage too at 365m from 119g.

So I took part in a dye your own swap, and working in my parents house, with curious cats and a clumsy dog around, I chose to dye with jelly and food colouring. I have a great technique where I do a standard jelly dye (simmering the fibre in jelly with a bit of vinegar) and just dribble some food colouring in of a similar colour to give a semi solid effect. I dyed up a batch in green, blue, pink, purple and red-pink for my swapee, but there was a little pink and purple left over. YIPPEE! so I spun a single with that, just to see what it was like after the dying process. At about the same time, this optim/seacell blend from the incomporable Mandie at EGMTK arrived in a slightly more vibrant colourway than i was expecting. but, low and behold GENIUS struck me and I spun it up as a single and plied them together… the result?

360m of AWESOMENESS. It was so SHIMMERY, which is of course how it got it’s name – Fairy Princess -  since it reminded me of luminescent fairy wings and it was just so damned GIRLY! My friend ended up buying off me and knitting a morning surf scarf for her good friend’s birthday. it looked amazing

Before heading to Adelaide I’d gone to visit Charly  (aka Ixchel) at the Sunday Arts Markets and not only had i bought far too much fibrey goodness, but she sold me a skein of laceweight cashmerino to experiment with plying. It was a perfect match for one of the braids, and so I chose that at my next adventure, using a couple of defaced coathangers and a champagne bottle as a swift!

It was my first time plying like this and it took me quite a while to get the hang of it, but where it works I love it! the colours were a great match, i got a CRAPLOAD of yardage – 537m -  and a whole pile of angorino left over for later… I called it Ocean Shadows, after the name of both the braid and cashmerino and it sits at about a sport weight.

So I was feeling pretty confident about now and my first pile of deliciousness had arrived from across the Pacific from Linda Lee. She specialises in exotic fibres and I’d ordered 2oz of Camel/Silk in the Syrah colourway – it seemed like kismet having grown up with a cat of that name! It was divine to spin. I got some advice from LL herself on rav which really helped to make it a simple if time consuming spin. I kept the yarn as a single to maintain the colour and to gain maximum yardage (210m) from this delicious fibre. It sits at a light fingering, perfect for a lacy cowl…

Continuing on the ELL adventure, I ordered two different fibres in the same colourway – a cashmere silk and a cashmere baby alpaca in Crushed Cranberries – with the intention of plying them together. When the second lot arrived, I buried my face in it, spun them together! this is the most beautiful skein i’ve spun and it’s sooooooooooo soft and squooshy. If i were to sell it, it would be for about $100 because of the fibre content and the love that i have for it. But there’s no way i’m selling this. Come Autumn it will be draped around my neck in some lacy concoction and whenever I feel blue I will bury my face in it, like i did the day it arrived.

I got a fantastic 375m from the 4oz and it’s a fingering weight, so will create a lovely drapey fabric.

Hey remember that gumnut magic angorino? well I only spun about half of it, since Charly’s braids are a whopping 150-160g (6oz) and I had this fantastic idea that if i spun it with a creamy white, it would look like snow in the australian mountains (not that i’ve SEEN snow…). So of course i did exactly that. Charly advised keeping the white/cream ply really thin and if i were doing this again, I would do it as a three ply, with 2 of the main colour, one of the cream. But still it’s an interesting effect and i’m curious to see it knitted up.

I called it Snow on Blue Mountains and got just under 300m of light fingering weight out of it.

i had ordered some custom dyed machine wash merino from miss Mandie at EGMTK for my birthday, and since that was always going to be destined for sock yarn, i thought it time to experiment with three plys. The challenge at EGMTK for the month was inspired by a song, and this merino and tencel fibre, with its shimmery moody blues, made me think of Regina Spektor’s Lady (sings the blues so well, as if she mean it…)

I still can’t get over the shine of ‘Lady Toko’ and want to do a beret in it. I should have enough at 250m of DK weight!

I wanted to try a new fibre next, so i turned to another Spindlefrog creation – Wensleydale in the Unicorn colourway. wensleydale is hard to get your hands on in Aus. It’s not an overly soft fibre, but it spins like BUTTER!

It wasn’t a lengthy spin though, only 165m from 100g at a DK weight, but it will find a purpose somewhere!

Before I get to the last spin… you guys remember this yarn?

well, as per the deal with Miss E, it became this

It’s based on a simple shell lace pattern from the Harmony Guides Lace Stitch Dictionary by Erika Knight. The buttons are kinda retro and there are a gazillion different ways to wear it! Miss E loves it and apparently wore it all the time i was away over winter!

One last spin to tell you about. This is the custom colourway from Mandie, that I named Roses for Jen, being on a account of my sending a bunch of pink rose images to Mandie and her dying the yarn for me. I wanted socks. so a three ply it was. I did a sort of variation on a fractal spin, so one strip was spun as it appears in the braid, one was split twice and one about five or six times.

I got 340m of heavy fingering 3ply out of 140g of fibre.

And, just last week I finished knitting my socks from them! My first pair of handspun socks! I was sooooo excited. The pattern is Firestarter by Yarnissima (ravel it! go on i dare ya) The yarn was a bit thick, realistically. I actually broke a needle, working cables on 2mm wood needles! I didn’t use a cable needle, since they were all twisted stitches. I loved the construction and watching the yarn variegate as i knitted was totally exciting! I have about 100g of yarn left too I think!

ok, so maybe not the worst, but i’ve left the internet (I’m not arrogant enough to think i have readers) hanging for ten months!!!! In all fairness I was overseas for about half of that, and i am only just starting to put my life back together! Apparently that includes blogging!

I wanted to reconnect with this blog for a number of reasons. Firstly I have a crafty travellers adventures to tell you all about. So many yarn stores, so much yarn.  have some gorgeous purchases from all over the western world

Secondly, I made some amazing improvements in my spinning ability over the summer. I was in Adelaide working on a theatre show, so i pretty much just rehearsed, organised and spun (and knitted a bit…). I moved on to some BEAUTIFUL fibres and worked with plying different fibres together and all sorts of things. My wheel is still in Adelaide and I am in Melbourne, so i have to take yet another break, but luckily it is much like riding a bike. I do have a nice new spindle, so I really should try that out.

Thirdly, I have written up my first pattern. Yep. My very first written out pattern that I created. It’s socks, so I kinda borrowed heel flap concepts from another pair I’d just knitted, but other than that it’s all me. I worked out how many stitches, and a cute little cable into the heel flap and all sorts! I have two lovely ravellers knitting it at the moment and hope to have it available as a free download on this site and on ravelry (or at least as a post here) in a few weeks!!! EXCITING!

meanwhile, as soon as I finally get around to measuring up my bestie E, I will be designing and knitting a soft little sleeveless cardi for her, hopefully ready for next autumn (which for you Nth Hempisphere folk is March/April). I will be knitting it in the absolutely sumptious Filatura Di Crosa Superior,  a laceweight silk cashmere blend, which I will be working on 4mm needles for a lacy effect. I have worked out the gauge (written next to sketches in my Stitch n Bitch designer’s notebook, thanks Debbie Stoller) but  need to get the measurements of the lady in question so i can start doing the maths. And I thought I’d never use it outside of school! lol. (well to be truthful I have NEVER had to do integral calculus or use group theorums since graduating)

Christmas is also coming up, but i don’t quite know what I will be doing knitting wise, since my aunt has decided to do a stupid secret santa thing. So not sure who my chosen recipient is, but will make something for them. As for besties and my mum, dad and grandparents, I’m not sure. Definitely not as organised as last year. But on the plus side, I only work one day a week (boo, more days in the yarn store please!) and can knit like the WIND! and of course there’s always crochet.

So. Exciting posts ahead. I will pace myself though, otherwise I’ll be burnt out by xmas and you’ll have to wait another ten months!

I feel like i have come so far in the last month! (not too mention bought so much delicious fibre!!)

First Up – I’d had some pure merino roving in two different colours since i first got my wheel, which i’d always planned on plying together. So! that’s what i did!

Summer Orchard

It ended up a nice bulky weight – about 7 wpi – and i have a whopping 170m of it, So i’m thinking a lovely scarf! I actually don’t have a scarf in these colours at all, so it’s just perfect! It’s sooooo lovely and smooshy. I called it Summer Orchard because the colours remind me of the plums and cherries i get to scoff in December and January

Second – Again, some merino I picked up ages ago at the Handweavers and Spinners guild of victoria. This was a gorgeous multidyed blue based roving, which had been dyed seperately and then carded together (rather than hand dyed). I considered plying with a solid colour, but in the end i just practiced my fineness and evenness and 2 plied the yarn with itself.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3280/3103681719_65c05f4d5c.jpg?v=0

Mariana

This one i named Mariana after the Underwater trench in the pacific. I’m sure the Mariana Trench is actually pitch black but these are such beautiful underwatery colours that the name just fit. This one is about 92m and a heavy worsted weight at 8 wpi.

Third – Fractal Spinning!! I received some beautifully hand dyed Norwegian roving from Ewe Give Me The Knits! in a ravelry swap. The colours ranged from bright red through pink and orange, great combination, but not for me, so i had the ingenious idea of spinning it up for my new friend S who is a total orange girl!! Since the colours were really clear i decided to try Fractal Spinning – this is a technique for getting a less randomised colouring through the yarn The basic idea is to split the roving into two halves – one which is spun with one full colour repeat (ie as is) and the other split three or four times and spun in multiple colour repeats. Depending on how the original colours are spaced, the colours should start to line up like so AA, AB, AC, BA, BB, BC, CA, CB, CC.

Cherry Bomb

This is one of the most even yarns i’ve spun and whilst the Norwegian is not as soft as Merino, it’s a dream to spin! almost spun itself!! The final stats were 100m, 100g, 10wpi (my finest yarn yet too!)

And S love it, naturally

Fourth! My friend E is a felter and had a whole pile of beautifully coloured merino slivers left over. she gave them to me for spinning, suggesting i put all the colours (she’s a quilter so she spends a lot of time putting colours together) in the one yarn. She’s also suggested that were i to make something out of it for her, that might not be a bad thing lol.

E's Roses

stats: 115m, 85g, 8-9 wpi (worsted weight)

It’s going to end up a cowl based on a scallop stitch pattern with pearl buttons

Five (omg) Is another Christmas present! I went and picked out a beautiful red based merino and silk blend at the spinner’s guild. The plum red is flecked with white and black and is just gorgeous! SJ had commented that she loved the smooshiness of my early yarns so i deliberately spun the first single thick and thin with a lot of smoosh factor. The other single i spun as evenly as i could (i do need to practice lol) and then plied the two together.

Cherry Ripe

Stats: 80g, 85m, 8wpi

SJ loved it, and the 15% silk really does add a real shine!

Six (wow) nummy nummy bunny fur! I FINALLY got around to spinning some beautiful Angorino (80% 18 micron merino, 20% angora) from Ixchel. This was an unnamed colourway and so i named it Soft Sunset because of the colours i’d seen in the sky  just the day before! I decided to navajo ply this to try and maintain the colour bands. The result was ok… It was my first time spinning straight from the braid without separating it all out – i found this really hard and tiring. And found it MUCH harder to maintain an even yarn this way. That being said, i spun the finest single i’ve spun, since the result is a 3 ply and about the weight of my previous 2plys. I let the wheel get away from me whilst plying (SLOW wheel for navajo) so it’s over plied in places, but it’s still quite lovely and the slow colour changes are gorgeous

Soft Sunset

144m, 151g, 9wpi. I’m thinking fingerless gloves to really show off the colour changes

Seven (phew) My first Silk Hanky! This was spun on the spindle and was a lot of fun. and i just lurrrrve the colour. I navajo plied after i spun the single – also on the spindle, but not on the fly. D came over and commented on the colour – so it ended up being her christmas present in the form of a crocheted choker!

Silk Hanky

Silk Choker

And Last but not Least – My first Art Yarn! Mandie at Ewe Give Me the Knits kindly carded some gorgeous green merino with red wing flash angelina. I spun it nice and thick (and not so thick) and plied it with a cranberry variegated plying thread which i’d strung with seed beads! Wow. was that a lot of work! the single kept breaking, the beads got tangled, the plying thread doubled back on itself… but i love the result: A christmas yarn for the spin up challenge at the Ewe Give Me the Knits group on Rav.

Happy Hollydays

Named for the holly green colour and the season of course! 104, 113g, and i haven’t bothered to take wip reading… it’s to varied.

On Sunday I went up to Tacoma in the Melbourne foothills to Foothill Fabrics and Threads – the home of Leanne Beasley -  with a good friend to do an apron sewing workshop. (you can even see a picture of me on Leanne’s blog – and underneath the apron is my awesome handknitted 50s style cardi!)

Now I can sew – I can follow a pattern and put stuff together and make 3D objects from flat pieces of fabric, but it was nice to go to a class and learn some new techniques which can be applied to other items besides aprons and to hang out with some not-knitters (mostly quilters and patchworkers) and generally begin to appreciate why i probably should press my pieces BEFORE i sew them (fine, fine, I get it now!)

I decided to make an apron for my mother for christmas, since when i mentioned the workshop to her she reminded me that all good aprons should have pockets!! With E’s help I decided to do my first stitchery on the pocket! I used to do cross stitch a lot as a child (and this has actually inspired me to FINALLY finish the winnie the pooh xstitch i started over 4 years ago for my little cousins) but I haven’t even stitched onto a proper existing fabric before. But E showed me how to trace the pattern i want and we picked out some thread and i spent sunday and monday nights finishing it off! I managed to sew up the rest of the apron during the class so I only had to sew the pocket on, wash and iron it… and here it is!

finished apron

pocket embroidery

I’m really happy with it and i think she’ll like it. I’m now also planning two more! one for myself which I’ll probably not get round to till after xmas – with a kitteh and my name on it. the background will be a mid to dark purple with diagonal lines of paler purple flowers, the pocket will be a pale purple with little grey and purple flowers on it, and the stitchery will go on a plain cream before going on the pocket – i might even make a double pocket!

and one for marmie for xmas, even though she’ll tell me off for it! I’ve picked out this gorgeous fabric wih oak leaves on it, and will embroider an owl and ‘marmie’ on the pocket for her.

I hate to think how much i spent *sigh* I deliberately didn’t ask for the total and just chucked a bit of money back in the account when i got home. but mum sill had to rescue me today! ooooops. still, it was worth it to totally learn how to a) make an awesome apron b) do a stitchery (i can always borrow E’s lightbox to trace the image – i even have keys to her house!!) and c) put fabrics together for that sort of project.

while i was there i also asked Leanne about some fabrics for a bag – a sequel to this one made from her pattern!

a bag for knitterly things

she ended up agreeing upon the combination i had selected, so that will be made sometime soon so i can have 2 knitting bags – I will make the handles longer though – and maybe it will just be my new bag? who knows!

so (ha!) those are my sewing adventures in recent weeks. but that being said, there are many many things i want to sew before i travel next year!

I have already cut out a gorgeous 50s style dress which needs sewing up

I have material and pattern for a 50s fullskirted dress

I have material and pattern for a maxi dress – which i really need for summer

and i have material and pattern for a kaftan style dress – again i really need it for summer (and this one will hide mah belly!) – and that one is TWO summers old!! *sigh*

it never ends!

PS: one more xmas present off the list

Kate's bowtie scarf in pure baby alpaca

as i mentioned previously, I’ve been spinning a lot lately – mostly inspired by my lovely gift from Knitspirations on ravelry.com – two beautiful tops – and a trip to visit charly at ixchel where i purchased a new spindle and beautiful angorino top (and have since purchased another one, plus some more tops from Ewe Give Me The Knits!!)

new spindlemaker spindle - mulga wood

I’ve been spinning undyed (which is starting to boooooore me) because it’s cheaper and i can experiment with dyeing it. And I’ve taken up the spindle to finish of the packet of sample fleece i got ages ago from sunset fibres on etsy.

So I looked up some great videos on you tube and practiced on both my spindle and wheel. I’m getting more even, but i’m still a bit thick and thin and have trouble maintaining a single any smaller than an 8ply (which means my plied yarn is very bulky)

here are some photos!

merino single, drop spindle

silky top (not sure of the exact composition - but nice long staple) spun on the wheel

my first plied yarn. 2 merino singles wheel spun

There’s another skein of this sort of weight 2 ply currently drying. I will re skein the two together and get a meterage. I’m considering making the dumpling bag from interweave knits from this for my friend – hand dyed in her favourite colours!

Things i have learnt

- how to predraft properly. in order to get an even fibre I really can’t afford to skimp on this bit.

- how to draw out the draft while i’m actually spinning – not a lot, but enough to thin out some of the ‘thick’ bits.

- i need to find a better way to guide the two singles when plying in order to get a more even twist in both singles

- i’m still over spinning a bit in some places, particularly on the wheel.

- i like having a notch on my spindle, especially when they’re as beautifully smooth as the spindlemaker!!

I really want to try navajo plying – especially with my coloured tops, in order to keep the colours even.

I have some raspberry and fuchsia merino i want to spin and then ply, in order to see what the two singles are actually doing.

i have plans to spin the more orangy of these two rovings into a skein for my friend for christmas. hence all the practicing!! Of course it’s important to remember – there ARE NO SPINNING POLICE lol.

a fibrous gift